Directory / Use cases / Free mortgage tools
Every mortgage decision that matters, with the math to get it right.
A mortgage is most people's largest financial instrument and least understood one. Borrowers obsess over getting the lowest rate, then ignore the decisions that matter just as much: what to do with a lump sum, how to handle the escrow shortage letter, whether the assessment is fair, what the VA fee actually costs. Rate shopping is one afternoon. These decisions recur for 30 years.
The lump-sum question deserves more attention than it gets. Come into $40,000 and most borrowers either spend it or vaguely consider refinancing. Recasting is the third option nobody mentions: pay the lump toward principal, keep your rate and term, and get the payment recalculated lower. On a $320,000 balance at 6.5 percent, a $40,000 recast cuts roughly $250 off the monthly payment and about $50,000 in lifetime interest, for a $250 fee. The recast calculator compares all three paths, recast, refinance, and extra payments, so you can see which actually wins for your situation.
Escrow is the annual surprise. Your servicer estimates taxes and insurance, reality differs, and the shortage letter arrives demanding more per month. You typically have two choices: cover the shortage in one payment or spread it over 12 months. The escrow calculator models both against your cash position. And property tax assessments deserve a yearly challenge: mass appraisals are wrong often enough that appeals succeed regularly, and a $40,000 reduction at a 1.8 percent rate is $720 back every year.
VA borrowers get a dedicated calculator for the funding fee, including the disability exemption that saves eligible veterans thousands. And the lender directories below list Black-owned banks and community development financial institutions, which are worth including in any mortgage shopping precisely because they are so often overlooked.
A mortgage is a 30-year relationship that rewards annual attention far more than signing-day heroics. Challenge the assessment every cycle, model the escrow letter instead of dreading it, rerun the recast math whenever a windfall lands. Your lender will never optimize any of this for you. That is your job, and it pays remarkably well.
Compare recasting vs refinancing vs extra payments on your mortgage.
Open the tool →Your escrow went up? Model lump-sum vs spread repayment options.
Open the tool →Estimate your VA loan funding fee, including disability exemptions.
Open the tool →Estimate savings from appealing your property tax assessment.
Open the tool →Directory of Black-owned banks and credit unions across the US.
Open the tool →Recasting keeps your existing loan, rate, and term: you pay a lump sum toward principal and the lender recalculates a lower payment, usually for about $250. Refinancing replaces the loan entirely with a new rate and term, costing thousands in closing costs. Recast when you like your rate; refinance when rates have dropped significantly.
Your servicer estimates annual property tax and insurance, collects one-twelfth monthly, and pays the bills. When actual bills exceed the estimate, the account goes negative and you get a shortage notice. You can usually pay the shortage as a lump sum or spread it over 12 months.
Yes, the VA loan requires no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance, which is a combination no conventional loan matches. You do pay a funding fee of 2.15 percent on first use with no down payment, unless exempt through disability. The funding fee calculator shows your exact cost.