Wheatworks Blog: Financial Matters

The MoneyToys(tm) Web Site Calculators have been updated to version 2.1. The most important feature of these new financial calculators for web sites is their ability to read a user’s default regional settings and accommodate the settings with the local currency symbol.

For example, if your web site’s visitor’s computer is configured for English (US) regional settings, the Dollar Symbol will be displayed in the MoneyToys calculators. However, if the visitor’s computer is configured for English (United Kingdom), the browser will display the Pound Symbol. Other countries’ currencies will also be displayed as configured for the visitors’ regional settings.

Installation is simple. Three sample web pages and step-by-step installation instructions are included for each of the MoneyToys calculators.

More information about the 17 MoneyToys Website Calculators is available from MoneyToys.com.

This release is a free upgrade for all current MoneyToys customers. The entire collection of 17 MoneyToys calculators is available for only $139.95 USD.

Wheatworks Software, LLC announces the release of Free Loan Calculator, 4.5, a loan comparison calculator for Windows-based computers.

This free loan payment calculator for Windows allows you to quickly calculate and compare loan payments based upon variable payment frequency. It offers Daily 365/year, Daily 360/year, Weekly, Biweekly 26/year, Bimonthly 24/year, Monthly, Quarterly, Biannual, and Annual payment periods. Free Loan Calculator is a financial calculator designed for 2000/XP/Vista systems. It offers integrated help, provides automatic hints, and offers Wheatworks’ integrated Upgrade Center for easy, online updates. It allows you to compare two loans side-by-side and calculates Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance (PITI).

Free Loan Calculator is available as a free download from: http://www.wheatworks.com/free-loan-calculator.htm

Wheatworks Software announces the release of a new Free Rent or Buy Calculator for people considering the question of renting or buying real estate.

Deciding whether it’s better to rent a home or buy a home is a complicated decision. One fallacy that many succumb to is that home ownership is the cornerstone of the “American Dream”. It’s not.

The American Dream is related to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A lot of happy people rent. They’re happy to let a landlord care for the property instead of enduring the stress of falling real estate prices and home maintenance.

Other important considerations include the local real estate market, how long you intend to live in the location, whether it’s a “buyer’s market” or a “seller’s market”, whether you have grown children or haven’t yet had children, and whether your concept of “home” requires ownership.

There are many things to consider when deciding whether to rent or buy a home. Some of these include whether or not you believe real estate is over-priced, the real estate market conditions where you wish to live, how long you’ll live in the home, and other considerations.

The most important consideration is probably financial. Wheatworks’ new Free Rent or Buy Calculator helps people look at the decision from a financial perspective.

Learn more about the Free Rent of Buy Calculator.

Download the Free Rent of Buy Calculator.

A new version of Real Estate Calculator Suite has been released by Wheatworks Software. Version 4.8 is a free upgrade for licensed users of previous versions. Real Estate Calculator Suite is an integrated collection of 16 real estate and financial calculators designed for Windows®-based computers.

Designed to make real estate math easy, Real Estate Calculator Suite provides calculated answers to financial questions related to buying or selling a home, refinancing a mortgage, or borrowing money.

Learn more about Real Estate Calculator Suite

Wheatworks Software announces the release of an updated version of Free Mortgage Loan APR Calculator. One of the free financial calculators from Wheatworks.com, this Windows®-based calculator runs on 2000, XP and Vista.

Learn more about the Free Mortgage Loan APR Calculator or download all of Wheatworks Free Financial Software.

New! Home Selling Calculator is the latest real estate calculator from Wheatworks Software, LLC. Home Selling Calculator, $39.95 USD, shows how the time a house is on the market impacts the home seller’s potential profit.

Home Selling Calculator accepts a homeowner’s financial values related to selling a home, calculates the monthly carrying costs and shows the homeowner how long a house can stay on the market at a range of sales prices while allowing the seller to make a profit. If a profit is not possible, Home Selling Calculator shows the loss.

Selling a house for a profit is not easy in a falling real estate market. Setting a good selling price may be counter-intuitive. No home seller wants to start low because it is difficult to raise an asking price. However, it may be better to start with a lower asking price when selling into a slow market.

There are numerous ways a homeseller can determine a desired sales price. Some choose the “I want as much as I can get”, bottom line price based on a desired profit. Others seek professional help when determining a home sales price. Some explore the local housing market, comparing the house they wish to sell to similar houses.

Whatever method one uses to determine a desired sales price, home sellers often fail to consider the house’s carrying costs that will accumulate before the house sells. Carrying costs are the financial alligators that take large, monthly bites out of the seller’s profit while a house is on the market.

Home Selling Calculator shows clearly how these monthly carrying costs eat into expected profits from selling a house. While it will not tell a home seller what price to set on a house, it shows the consequences of carrying costs on the sales price over time compared to other sale prices.

Home Selling Calculator is Windows®-based and runs on Windows 2000, Windows XP Home and XP Professional, and Vista. Home Selling Calculator includes a Home Inspection Form to help you understand what buyers may be looking for when they look at a house and a Mover’s To Do List which helps a home seller prepare for their move into another home.

Home Selling Calculator may be purchased for $39.95 USD. Site licenses and volume discounts are also available for real estate professionals. This release (version 1.1) of Home Selling Calculator is a free update for registered users.

A fully-functional evaluation version of Home Selling Calculator may be downloaded from http://www.wheatworks.com/hscsetup.exe.

Windfalls happen. An extra sum of money lands in someone’s pocket. Not as often as we may wish, but windfalls can happen after a settlement, a tax refund, your great work earns a nice bonus, you receive proceeds from a home sale. It happens.

And there are three basic things one can do with a windfall. Spend it. Pay off debt. Invest it.

The most tempting option for many is to spend it. “After all,” one thinks, “this is extra money.” One can always and easily spend a windfall, but unless you have no debt and all the money you’ll need in the future (which no one can predict), spending it is probably not the best option.

That leaves paying off your current debts or investing it. Investing always sounds like the wise thing to do. “I sold my house and made $40,000. I invested it in a no-load, tax-free, indexed mutual fund.” That certainly sounds good. But what if you have debt?

Is investing a windfall better than paying off current debt? Of course, it depends. And interest rates are an important factor in the decision. If you’re choosing between paying off credit card debt at 28% or investing in a 4% CD, the answer may be obvious. Or it may not. If it’s not, you’ll want to download Wheatworks Software’s latest Free Pay Down Debt or Invest Calculator.

Enter 3 numbers (the amount of the windfall, the interest rate of your debt and the interest rate your investment may earn) and Pay Down Debt or Invest Calculator spits out the amounts your investment will earn and the amount you debt will grow. And the results are crystal clear now and up to
ten years into the future.

Pay Down Debt or Invest Calculator is a free, financial utility from Wheatworks Software, LLC. Download and enjoy it!

MD5 checksums allow you to verify that the software you download hasn’t been changed by a sinister malware person or virus.

Security geeks love things like this. And because they do, the rest of use should, too. As an extra layer of security, any person who wishes to verify the software they download from Wheatworks Software will be able to do so using MD5 checksums.

To help with this, we’ve just posted a new page, “How to Use MD5 Checksums“, on our website.

MD5 checksums are the results of one-way calculations that turn a bunch of data (a software program in this case) into a shorter fixed-length value.

Because it’s almost mathematically impossible that two programs will produce the same MD5 checksum values, you can know for sure whether the software you downloaded to your computer has been altered between the time it was released by Wheatworks and the time you received it.

Real Estate Calculator Suite, version 4.7.20, was released this morning by Wheatworks.com. This is a minor update with a few changes which enhances the real estate software’s visual appeal on the Vista operating system. However, it still runs on the entire spectrum of Windows® operating systems including 95, 98, 2000, XP, NT4 and Vista.

The help system has been changed from Winhelp to HTML on all systems and a minor issue related to virtual file paths has been corrected.

This is a free update for all currently licensed users of Real Estate Calculator Suite. New users can purchase a license for only $39.95 USD. Learn more at http://www.wheatworks.com/real-estate-calculator.htm

I’ve answered a few questions recently about installing Wheatworks’ financial calculators on Microsoft’s Vista operating system.

As a graphical “here’s how to do it”, I’ve added an How to Install Wheatworks’ Financial Calculators on Vista support page. The screen shots and step-by-step instructions clearly show the one extra step someone with a standard user account must do when installing software on Vista.

What’s that step? If you have a standard user account, you must right click the installation executable and choose the “Run As Administrator” menu item that appears. Standard User accounts require an Administrator password be provided to allow the installation. It’s a more secure operating system.

Of course, if you have a user account with Administrator privileges, you install just as you always have and the one extra step is not required.

Earlier this week Real Estate Calculator Suite version 4.7 was released by Wheatworks Software, LLC. This is a minor update with a few cosmetic changes which make it prettier on Vista. However, it still runs on the entire spectrum of Windows® operating systems including 95, 98, 2000, XP, NT4 and Vista. One new feature is an additional menu item in the Online Resources menu which links to Wheatworks’ new website, IdentityTheftChecklist.com

This is a free update for all currently licensed users of Real Estate Calculator Suite and costs only $39.95 for a new license. Learn more at http://www.wheatworks.com/real-estate-calculator.htm

Real Estate Calculator Suite, an integrated collection of real estate and financial calculators designed to help home buyers, has been updated to version 4.6.

For home buyers concerned about the temptation to buy more house than they can easily afford, the Mortgage Qualifier in Real Estate Calculator Suite can help a home buyer determine what an acceptable monthly payment for a fixed rate mortgage may be based upon their income and current debt load.

While a mortgage broker or lender may approve a home buyer for a loan amount that is obviously beyond a home buyer’s ability to repay, there are industry-standard ratios which have been used for decades to ensure a home buyer doesn’t borrow more than can be repaid.

The Mortgage Qualifier in Real Estate Calculator Suite uses the industry-standard debt and housing ratios that really make sense for a home buyer and help them determine an affordable payment amount and purchase price.

And while the dangers of adjustable rate mortgages and interest only loans have recently been outed in the main stream media, Real Estate Calculator Suite has always offered calculators only for the safer fixed rate mortgages that have long been the foundation of sound home buying finances.

What is so special about fixed rate mortgage? A fixed rate mortgage is exactly what its name implies. The interest rate is fixed and does not change during the term of the loan. With a fixed rate mortgage you know what your monthly payment of principal and interest will be from the first payment to the last.

Learn more about the Mortgage Qualifier in Real Estate Calculator Suite.

In the last few weeks, the MoneyToys™ APR Calculator and Closing Costs Calculator have been updated to 2.0. These calculators now allow webmasters to modify the fontface and size.

These two 2.0 versions have been added to the Entire Collection of MoneyToys which, as a result, has been updated to version 1.9.3. Visit MoneyToys.com to see the entire set of 14 financial calculators for web sites.

Our Free Loan Calculator has been updated again to version 4.1. This free software allows you to quickly compare two loans side-by-side. It accommodates different payment frequencies and considers taxes and insurance. By comparing different interest rates, length of repayment terms and amount borrowed, it gives you the ability to see the difference in regular payment amounts, shows you the total interest paid, total taxes paid, total insurance and the total amount paid. It’s designed to make the differences between two loans immediately obvious.

Learn more about Wheatworks’ Free Loan Calculator or see all of the free financial software from Wheatworks.

Why is it free? Because it’s a great way to introduce people to all of Wheatworks financial software products which are designed to make financial math easy!

LoanSpread Financial Calculator has been updated to version 4.6. Full details about this loan calculator are available on the web site at http://www.LoanSpread.com.

In summary, this version is a nice update to LoanSpread which compares 135 loans at once. For each loan, it allows users to drill into the loan’s details to view a loan summary which provides more information about payment amount, total interest paid, and total paid over the term of the loan. The detailed loan summary also includes information about taxes and insurance.

This update to LoanSpread is designed to take full advantage of the features of modern versions of the Windows® operating systems and runs on Windows 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 and versions of Vista.

For all registered users this update is provided free of charge. It can be installed from within the currently installed version by choosing “Check for Updates” in the “Help” menu. LoanSpread Financial Calculator is available to new users for $29.95 USD. (A price increase is planned during the first half of 2007.)

Download a fully-functional evaluation version of LoanSpread Financial Calculator from http://www.loanspread.com/download.php

For more information visit LoanSpread.com

Ruston, LA - February 11, 2007 - The MoneyToys(tm) collection of web site calculators has grown again with the addition of a Down Payment Savings Calculator. MoneyToys now includes 14 financial calculators which real estate webmasters can easily add to web sites and is available for only $139.95 USD.

Installing these web site calculators is simple. If you have the skills to create a web page, you have the skills required to install MoneyToys. Simple step-by-step instructions and 3 sample web pages are included with each calculator. With a few lines of HTML and MoneyToys a webmaster can quickly install online financial calculators so visitors can do financial math without leaving the web site.

The Down Payment Calculator can be configured to match a web site’s color scheme. The calculators’ default values can be configured to meet the needs of a particular real estate market. For example, whether a typical loan in your market is $150,000 or $500,000 you can easily set the initial values you want your visitors to see. Also, the font and font size can be configured to match the web site on which it is installed

The 14 web site calculators in the growing MoneyToys collection now includes: a Down Payment Savings Calculator, a Biweekly Payment Calculator, a Home Seller’s Proceeds Calculator, an APR Calculator, a Pay Down Debt or Invest Calculator, a Loan Spread Calculator, a Refinancing Calculator, a Buyer’s Cash Requirements Calculator, a Simple Loan Calculator, the new Very Simple Loan Calculator, a Future Value of Savings Calculator, a Loan Comparison Calculator, a Discounted Cash Flows Calculator and a Rent vs. Buy Calculator.

MoneyToys web site calculators quickly add helpful, interactive content to a web site giving visitors additional reasons to return.

Individual MoneyToys calculators can be purchased for $39.95 USD. The entire MoneyToys collection of 14 real estate web site calculators is only $139.95 USD at http://www.moneytoys.com. These are one-time license fees. MoneyToys require no annual or traffic-based fees!

The entire collection of 14 MoneyToys is available for evaluation online at http://www.moneytoys.com. For more information, contact Wheatworks Software, LLC, Post Office Box 7, Ruston, LA 71273.

MoneyToys(tm), a growing collection of online financial calculators for web sites, has been expanded with the addition of a Biweekly Payment Calculator and updated to version 1.9. With a few lines of HTML and MoneyToys a webmaster can quickly install online financial calculators so visitors can do financial math without leaving the web site.

Each MoneyToys calculator can be configured to match a web site’s colors. The default values of these web site calculators can also be configured to meet the needs of a particular web site’s market. For example, while a typical mortgage loan in one market is $150,000, in another market a typical loan may be $600,000. MoneyToys can be configured to fit a web site owner’s market with the initial calculator values the web master wishes the visitors to see.

Installing MoneyToys is simple! If you’ve ever created a web page, you have the skills required to install MoneyToys. Simple step-by-step instructions and three sample web pages are included with each MoneyToys calculator. Full tech support is available from MoneyToys.com.

The MoneyToys collection includes a Biweekly Payment Calculator, a Home Seller’s Proceeds Calculator, an APR Calculator, a Pay Down Debt or Invest Calculator, a Loan Spread Calculator, a Refinancing Calculator, a Buyer’s Cash Requirements Calculator, a Simple Loan Calculator, a Very Simple Loan Calculator, a Future Value of Savings Calculator, a Loan Comparison Calculator, a Discounted Cash Flows Calculator and a Rent or Buy Calculator.

MoneyToys web site calculators allow webmasters to easily add practical, interactive financial tools to a web site which help it stand out and offer visitors reasons to return. MoneyToys are installed directly on a web site and do they require access to any other site or web server. MoneyToys financial calculators do not include links which can take a visitor away from the web site. MoneyToys are designed to keep visitors on your site.

Individual MoneyToys calculators may be purchased for $39.95, while the entire MoneyToys collection is available for only $139.95 at http://www.moneytoys.com. These license fees are one-time fees. Continuous use of MoneyToys requires no annual or traffic-based fees.

Try the entire collection of MoneyToys at http://www.moneytoys.com. For more information, contact Wheatworks Software, LLC, Post Office Box 7, Ruston, LA 71273.

About Wheatworks Software, LLC
Since 1997, Wheatworks Software has developed innovative financial calculators for consumers, professionals and companies in the real estate, investment, mortgage and financial services industries.

Wheatworks Software, LLC announces the addition of a Biweekly Payment Calculator to its MoneyToys(tm) collection of financial web site calculators for real estate web sites that real estate webmasters can quickly and easily install.

Biweekly Payment Calculator is an online calculator which shows web site visitors the amount of time and money they can save by making biweekly mortgage payments.

Installing the Biweekly Payment Calculator is easy! If you’ve ever created a web page, you have the skills required to install it on your web site. Simple, step-by-step instructions and 3 sample web pages are provided with the calculator.

The Biweekly Payment Calculator can be configured to match your web site’s colors. You can also configure the default values to meet the needs of your market. For example, whether a typical loan in your market is $150,000 or $500,000 you can easily set the initial values you want your visitors to see when they use the calculator on your own web site.

In addition to the Biweekly Payment Calculator, the MoneyToys(tm) collection of web site calculators includes a Closing Costs Calculator, a Home Seller’s Proceeds Calculator, an APR Calculator, a Pay Down Debt or Invest Calculator, a Loan Spread Calculator, a Refinancing Calculator, a Simple Loan Calculator, a Future Value of Savings Calculator, a Loan Comparison Calculator, a Discounted Cash Flows Calculator and a Rent vs. Buy Calculator. You can purchase individual MoneyToys or purchase the entire collection of more than a dozen web site calculators for real estate and financial web sites.

Learn more by visiting MoneyToys Biweekly Payment Calculator page.

LoanSpread Financial Calculator version 4.5 has been released with its own new web site at http://www.LoanSpread.com.

LoanSpread simultaneously compares 135 different loans and allows users to drill into the details of a selected loan to view a loan summary which provides details about payment amount, total interest paid, and total paid over the term of the loan.

Based on Loan Spread Calculator Pro, this new calculator is designed to fully take advantage of the features of modern versions of the Windows® operating systems. While Loan Spread Calculator Pro runs on Windows 95 and 98, LoanSpread will run on Windows 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 and will run on Vista.

LoanSpread is a free update for all registered users of Loan Spread Calculator Pro and is available to new users for $29.95 USD. A price increase is in the works for early 2007.

You may download a fully-functional trial version from www.LoanSpread.com

For more information visit LoanSpread.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ruston, LA, September 26, 2006 - Real Estate Calculator Suite version 4.5 is a Windows®-based collection of 16 real estate and mortgage calculators from Wheatworks.com.

Real Estate Calculator Suite makes real estate math easy for home buyers, home sellers and real estate professionals. The 16 real estate and financial calculators in Real Estate Calculator Suite form a powerful collection of financial tools for any person who wants to explore the financial scenarios related to purchasing or selling real estate.

Real Estate Calculator Suite includes sample data for each of the calculators and has helpful “quick start” instructions give new users an easy introduction. Even easier to use, this version of Real Estate Calculator Suite provides quick relief for any person overwhelmed by real estate or financial math.

Real estate professionals appreciate the comprehensive collection of real estate calculators which help get buyers “in the ballpark”. This new release focuses on enhanced ease-of-use, provides additional information in the help documentation and has more useful tips related to the software and real estate transactions.

Real Estate Calculator Suite includes the following calculators:

2 Quick Calculators
2 Downpayment Savings Calculators
Popup Calculator
Date Calculator
Mortgage Qualifier
Loan Spread Calculator
Monthly and Annual Loan Amortization schedules
Estimated Closing Cost Calculator
Refinancing Calculator
Rent or Buy Calculator
Biweekly Payment Calculator
Prepayment Calculator
Home Seller’s Proceeds Calculator

In addition to these 16 real estate, financial and mortgage calculators, Real Estate Calculator Suite contains helpful real estate forms built into the software. The Home Inspection Form gives home buyers a useful tool to help them review and compare different properties. The Documentation Checklist helps borrowers and co-borrowers gather and prepare their paperwork for a mortgage loan application. The To Do List for Movers is a comprehensive, 4 page checklist which helps movers organize and manage a well-planned move.

Real Estate Calculator Suite is Windows®-based and runs on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP Home and XP Professional operating systems. Special features in this release include “Quick Start” help for first time users, improved graphics and faster navigation among the calculators and an integrated Upgrade Center for easy, online updates.

Real Estate Calculator Suite is available for $39.95 USD at http://www.wheatworks.com. Site licenses and volume discounts are also available for real estate professionals. This release of Real Estate Calculator Suite is a free update for registered users.

A fully-functional evaluation version of Real Estate Calculator Suite may be downloaded from http://www.wheatworks.com/recsetup.exe.

About Wheatworks Software, LLC

Since 1997, Wheatworks Software, LLC has created innovative financial calculators for consumers, professionals and companies in the real estate and financial services industries.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Rick Wheat
Wheatworks Software, LLC
http://www.wheatworks.com

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For additional information and graphics, visit Wheatworks Software’s Press Center at http://www.wheatworks.com/press.htm or contact Wheatworks Software, LLC, Post Office Box 7, Ruston, LA 71273.

Real Estate Calculator Suite is available for magazine cover disks.

Click here to download a fully functional evaluation copy:
http://www.wheatworks.com/recsetup.exe