Mortgage Comparison Sheet
Run each quote through the same arithmetic. Compare the TOTAL interest, not just the monthly payment — that is where the offers actually differ.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/mortgage-payment-calculator
The loan
- Property
- Date
- Price
- Deposit
- AMOUNT BORROWED
- Rate
- Term
- MONTHLY (P&I)
- Total paid
- TOTAL INTEREST
Compare offers side by side
| Lender | Rate | Term | Monthly P&I | Total interest | Fees / points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The arithmetic
- Monthly rate
- annual rate / 12 / 100
- Number of payments
- years x 12
- Payment
- P x i / (1 − 1 / (1+i)^n)
- Total paid
- payment x n
- Total interest
- total paid − amount borrowed
- First payment's interest
- balance x monthly rate
- ⚠ This figure is
- PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST ONLY
- ⚠ Not included
- tax, insurance, PMI, HOA, fees, points
- Ask your lender for
- PITI — the comparable monthly number
Before signing anything
- Amount BORROWED used, not the property price
- PITI asked for — the full monthly cost including tax and insurance
- Mortgage insurance checked: required? removable? when?
- Fees and points added into the comparison, not just the rate
- Early repayment charges checked before planning overpayments
- Fixed period confirmed — how long is the rate actually fixed?
- Same term used across every quote you are comparing
- Total interest compared, not only the monthly payment
- A shorter term priced as well, to see the interest it saves
The interest is usually bigger than the loan
On a 30-year loan at a typical rate, the total interest exceeds the amount borrowed. That is not unusual and it is not a trick — it is what compounding over 360 payments does. It is worth looking at once, in full, before the monthly figure becomes the only number in the conversation.
Early payments barely touch the balance
The first payment is mostly interest — around 86 percent of it on the default figures. That is why extra payments early are worth so much more than the same money later: they remove principal that would otherwise have accrued interest for decades. Check for early repayment charges first.
This is not your monthly bill
Principal and interest only. Property tax, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance and any HOA fee are collected on top and routinely add hundreds a month. When a lender's quote comes in higher than this sheet, that is why — ask for PITI and compare like with like.