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Math Reflection

This document summarizes a student's reflections on a class project that examined different mortgage options through calculations and comparisons. The project tested knowledge of 15-year and 30-year loans, and the effects of extra payments on a 30-year loan. It also discusses applications of the analysis to home buying and selling. The student concludes they now better understand the usefulness of math for determining optimal mortgage plans.

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79 views3 pages

Math Reflection

This document summarizes a student's reflections on a class project that examined different mortgage options through calculations and comparisons. The project tested knowledge of 15-year and 30-year loans, and the effects of extra payments on a 30-year loan. It also discusses applications of the analysis to home buying and selling. The student concludes they now better understand the usefulness of math for determining optimal mortgage plans.

Uploaded by

api-470003801
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Reflective Writing for Mortgage Project

Pennie Dimond

3/25/20

This lab project tested our class's knowledge and ability of how to examine Mortgages.

We computed and compared values related with 15 and 30 year loans, calculated values

connected with selling the house after 10 years, and inspected effects of making extra monthly

payments on the 30 year loan. The techniques I used in this project were: loan formula, the

compound interest formula, logarithms (notation log for the common logarithm), percentages,

help from my dad, and (of course) help from a scientific calculator. I hope to share my growth

and thoughts from what I’ve learned in this project through a series of reflection questions asked

by my teacher.

The first question asks if this math project can be applicable in the real world and I would

have to say yes. Home loans are a big part of why we have homes to live in and finding the

results by using the loan formula are beneficial because we are able to figure out what we’d be

paying and what we’d be saving from the home payment. This also helps open up options of

what payment plans will best fit peoples’ life situations and living expenses. The next question is

very similar to the first, although asks for another application where the analysis is beneficial. An

answer that I thought of, is when a home is being sold. When selling a house we can use the

compound interest formula to find the future value of our home and then to find the principal

balance on a mortgage we can use the loan formula once again.


“​When shopping for a mortgage, many home buyers enlist the services of a mortgage

broker to find them the best terms and rates.” Angie Mohr writes in her article, “Mortgage

Brokers: Advantages and Disadvantages” -- helping to answer the oncoming question: if I were a

mortgage broker, why would it be important to explain the details of this project to clients?

Mortgage brokers need to gain trust from the people, so they (meaning the mortgage brokers)

would need to be familiar with a variety of lenders, terms, and rates. Explaining the details of

this project to my clients helps them know how to find, for themselves, the best decision for

those things. My clients can already have an idea of what average rates are available and what

type of mortgage they’d be applying for.

My next question asks for the differences between the 30 year, 15 year, and 30 year with

extra payment plans. In the 30 year payment plan we pay a small amount of money for a longer

period of time and for the 15 year payment we pay a larger amount of money for a shorter

amount of time. In the 15 year plan we are saving money from interest, but it is harder to pay so

much in such a short amount of time. The 30 year is longer and the interest adds up, however it’s

payments are easier when you have the choice to pay more money each month (which is the 30

year with extra payment plan) and this helps with the interest not building up.

My last question asks if this project assignment changed my opinion on the usefulness of

math. I have known most of the time math can be useful, but just haven’t been interested in

doing it. Going through this assignment, however, was useful because now I know how to use

the formulas to figure out mortgages. Using the same formulas for the 30 year plan and 15 year

plan really helped strengthen my understanding of how to solve for monthly payments I’d make
on my home, what interest I’d have, and what I can be saving. Knowing how to do this project

will help with my future home loan options and which ones are best for me to take.

I learned a lot going through all these questions and I decided to search the average salary

of my future profession. The range typically falls between $47,815 and $63,232. I found out that

I shouldn’t pay more than 25 percent of my gross monthly income. If I were living by myself, I’d

probably choose to live in a cheaper or “more humble” home. However, I hope to marry and

work as a team with my husband and pay for an average home mortgage in Utah which is about

4.44% mortgage rate and $1,172 for the monthly cost. I don’t think this would be too horrible to

pay as long as we are smart with our bills, payments, and other things we spend our money on.

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