Your mortgage payment: Introduction

Understanding how your mortgage payment is calculated will help you know just what you can afford to pay each month.

Your mortgage payment is affected by many factors. In this chapter, we'll show how your credit score is considered by lenders and what you can do to improve it before you shop for a mortgage. The amount you put down on your home will affect other aspects of your mortgage, but there are programs for you even if you have a small down payment. We also discuss private mortgage insurance and points -- which also affect your mortgage payments.