Saskatchewan Mortgage Calculator
Estimate your monthly mortgage payment and total mortgage costs when buying a home in Saskatchewan.| Year | Total Paid | Principal Paid | Interest Paid | Balance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Term Total | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
The line above displays the totals at the end of your mortgage term. At this time, you will renew your mortgage and choose among the rates that are available. | |||||
How to use this mortgage calculator
Even if you’re not ready to purchase a home in Saskatchewan immediately, a mortgage payment calculator is a powerful learning tool that can help you:
Compare how different interest rates affect mortgage costs.
Understand the positive impact of saving a larger down payment.
Choose an amortization period and payment frequency that best aligns with your budget and home ownership goals.
Decide which mortgage term you’d be most comfortable with.
Get a sense of how much house you can afford before viewing properties or applying for a mortgage.
Using the "compare" function of our B.C. mortgage calculator can give you a better idea of what mortgage costs might await you. For example, you can study the impact different mortgage rates or amortization lengths have on your monthly mortgage payment.
More ways to crunch the numbers
Costs included in a mortgage payment
Principal. The principal is the amount of money you borrow. If you purchase a home for $700,000 and borrow $600,000 from a lender to do so, that $600,000 is your principal. The difference between the home’s purchase price and your mortgage principal — $100,000 in this example — is your down payment.
Interest. Interest is the amount a lender charges a borrower for providing a loan. Mortgage interest can be the biggest contributor to the cost of a mortgage.
Mortgage insurance. This typically refers to “mortgage default insurance” and is sometimes called “CMHC insurance.” It’s an additional cost homeowners pay if they purchase a home with a down payment under 20%.
Saskatchewan property taxes. In some cases, borrowers wrap property tax payments into their monthly mortgage payment.
Mortgage payment terminology you’ll need to know
The amortization period is the projected time you’ll need to pay off your mortgage. Many borrowers with down payments of less than 20% can’t choose amortization periods longer than 25 years. First-time home buyers and anyone purchasing a new build have the option of 30-year amortizations.
Your mortgage term is how long the contract with your current mortgage lender lasts. Five-year terms are the most common, but terms between one and 10 years are also frequently available. You’ll have to renew your mortgage once your term expires, possibly at a different interest rate or with a different lender.
A down payment is the amount of cash you pay upfront for the house (your mortgage covers the difference). For example, if you buy a house for $400,000, you might choose to make a down payment of 20%, or $80,000. You’d need to take out a mortgage for the remaining amount — $320,000.
Variable mortgage rates vs. fixed mortgage rates
With a variable-rate mortgage, your interest rate rises and falls with your lender’s prime rate. If you choose a variable-rate mortgage with fixed payments, the monthly payment stays the same even if interest rates increase or decrease, but the amount going toward the principal adjusts. If rates rise, for example, more of the payment will go toward covering interest, and you’ll pay down the principal more slowly.
With a fixed-rate mortgage, the principal and interest portion of your monthly payments will remain the same for the duration of your mortgage term, regardless of what happens with your lender’s prime rate.
Payment frequency
The more frequently you make your mortgage payments, the faster you’ll pay off your mortgage. Mortgage payment frequencies typically include:
Monthly (12 payments per year).
Semi-monthly (two payments per month; 24 payments per year).
Bi-weekly (one payment every 14 days; 26 payments per year).
Weekly (one payment every 7 days; 52 payments per year).
5 ways to reduce your monthly Saskatchewan mortgage payment
1. Look for a lower interest rate
When exploring your mortgage options, you should always try to negotiate a lower mortgage interest rate. Any reduction can help.
A mortgage with a 4.5% interest rate might not appear much better than a 4.65% rate, for example, but shaving off even a few percentage points would save you thousands of dollars over the course of your mortgage.
2. Make a bigger down payment
Increasing your down payment decreases the size of your mortgage, which should result in smaller monthly payments and paying less in interest overall.
When determining how large a down payment you can make, remember that you’ll also need to set money aside to cover closing costs. Putting all your savings toward your down payment sounds like a solid plan, but you might need to come up with several thousands of dollars to pay for these one-time fees.
3. Choose a longer amortization period
Spreading your mortgage out over a longer amortization period results in smaller monthly payments, though the total amount you’ll pay in interest will be higher.
4. Pay down your debts
When lenders determine how much mortgage you can afford, they look at your finances for signs of risk. The higher the risk, the higher your rate is likely to be.
One sign of risk is high debt service ratios, which indicate how much of your income is already being put toward paying off debt.
The two debt service ratios lenders will look at are your:
Gross debt service (GDS) ratio, the percentage of your pre-tax household income that goes toward housing costs. These costs include mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes. Your GDS ratio should not exceed 39% of your pre-tax household income.
Total debt service (TDS) ratio, your GDS plus any other debts. Your TDS ratio should not be more than 44% of your pre-tax household income.
If you can pay down your debts and decrease your debt service ratios, you might be offered a lower mortgage rate.
5. Refinance
Refinancing your home loan can reduce your monthly payment if current mortgage rates are lower than the one you originally agreed to.
If you’ve owned your home for a while, have stayed on top of your mortgage payments and have good credit overall, you’ll put yourself in a position to score a lower rate.
When you refinance, you essentially begin a new mortgage. That gives you an opportunity to negotiate a lower interest rate and a new payment schedule, both of which can help lower your monthly obligations.
There can be costs to refinancing before your current mortgage is up, however. Review your current agreement to see what limitations you might face — those costs can sometimes outweigh any savings a lower rate would bring.
DIVE EVEN DEEPER
Clay Jarvis
Clay Jarvis
Clay Jarvis
