Taking Steps towards Understanding How are Bond Repayment Calculated
Many people who are in the market for making a large purchase and need to make use of a bond often find themselves a bit confused when trying to understand how bond repayment is calculated. The overall process is actually far easier than most people realize. Much of this confusion is related to the fact that there isn?t as much readily available information on the subject as most people would expect. Despite this the process involves little more than a simple mathematical formula and a few factors.
The most important and first factor which goes into figuring out what a monthly payback will be on a bond is the actual bond amount. This number is obviously based on what you are looking to purchase and also how much you can afford to pay back over the course of a specific amount of time, but simply put the higher the bond amount the higher the monthly payments. The next factor which plays a major role in determining what the monthly pay back will be on a bond is the term length on the bond. 15 years is the most common but 10 and 20 are also fairly common. On some rare cases 30 years may even be an option for people. One important thing to remember about the bond term however is that despite the fact that longer terms lead to lower monthly payments they also lead more money being paid out in interest.
The final factor which goes into determining the monthly payment on the bond is the interest rate. The interest rate on a bond is calculated using a number of different figures. Your credit history, employment status, employment history, age, existing debt, and even income all play a role in the interest rate you will pay. The higher the interest rate the more you will pay over the course of the bond and the more per month you will pay.
After these simple figures have been determined the bank now needs to figure out how much interest you will be paying per month. The interest rate that you receive is actually an APR or annual percentage rate. This rate is based on an entire year. To acquire your monthly interest rate you take the APR and divide it by 12.
The final step in determining your monthly payment on a loan amount over the course of the term is to perform some simple math. The actual formula is not terribly complex. There are also a large number of bond calculators available which are capable of performing these simple equations for you quickly and easily. A number are also available which are designed to perform the same figures in reverse. The purpose of this is to determine how large of a bond you can afford to acquire based on the amount per month you can afford to pay back.
Susan Reynolds is a content coordinator for a leading South African bond originator. For more information visit: http://www.bondcredit.co.za/