Mortgage payment calculator

This is the amount of money the bank lends you. If the property costs €200,000 and you put €40,000 of your own money in (the deposit), the loan amount is the remaining €160,000. The more you borrow, the higher your monthly payment will be.

This is the «price» the bank charges you for lending you the money, expressed as a yearly percentage. If the rate is 3%, for every €100 you owe the bank charges you €3 a year in interest. A lower rate = a cheaper payment.

This is the number of years you have to repay the loan. If you choose 25 years, you'll pay 25 × 12 = 300 monthly instalments. The longer the term, the lower the monthly payment, but you end up paying more interest overall.

Fixed rate: your payment stays the same throughout the life of the mortgage. You know what you pay each month, with no surprises.
Variable rate: your payment is reviewed every 6 or 12 months according to the Euribor (an index that goes up and down). If the Euribor falls, your payment falls; if it rises, it rises.
Mixed rate: you pay a fixed rate for the first few years and then switch to variable.

This is what you pay the bank each month. It includes part of the principal repayment (the debt you're gradually reducing) and part interest (the cost of having been lent the money). It's like paying rent, but in the end the house is yours.

This is the sum of all the instalments you'll pay over the entire mortgage. It's always more than the loan amount because it includes the interest. It's the «real» cost of your mortgage.

This is the difference between what you repay in total and what you borrowed. In other words, what the bank «earns» for having lent you the money. For example: if you borrow €160,000 and repay €220,000, the interest is €60,000.

This tells you what percentage of «extra» you pay on top of what you borrowed. If the ratio is 40%, for every €100 you borrowed you end up paying €40 more in interest. A lower ratio is better for you.

When buying a property you have to pay certain mandatory costs on top of the price of the house. They usually add up to between 10% and 15% of the price. They include:

• Notary: the notary is the one who legally certifies the purchase. The cost depends on the price of the property.
• Land registry: registering the property in your name at the Land Registry.
• Appraisal: an independent expert values the property so the bank knows what it's really worth.
• Conveyancing agency: a professional who handles the paperwork (taxes, registry, etc.).

ITP (Transfer Tax): paid when you buy a second-hand property. It varies by autonomous region (from 4% in the Basque Country to 10% in Catalonia).
VAT: paid when you buy a new-build property. In Spain it's 10% of the price.
AJD (Stamp Duty): an additional tax (~1.5%) paid together with VAT on new builds.

This is a month-by-month (or year-by-year) breakdown of what you pay. Each instalment is split into two parts: interest and principal. At the start you pay more interest and repay little principal. As time goes on, you pay less interest and more principal. It's like a wheel that keeps gaining speed: each time you repay more debt and owe less.

This is the interest rate at which European banks lend money to each other. It serves as the reference for variable-rate mortgages. Your variable rate is usually «Euribor + a margin» (e.g. Euribor + 0.8%). If the Euribor rises, your payment rises; if it falls, your payment falls.