Comparing a 7.10% 30-year fixed quote on a $500,000 New York purchase

That connects to the property timeline: ask what happens if closing is delayed. You need not predict a delay, but you should know which quote leaves less room for one.
 
Pick an honest expected ownership period and a longer fallback period. If the winner changes between them, the decision is really about flexibility, not simply which lender has the lowest rate.
 
Total interest over all 30 years can be misleading if you are unlikely to keep this exact loan for 30 years. It is still a useful stress case, just not necessarily the main decision period.
 
I’d run three cases: keep the mortgage for the full term, sell at your plausible moving date, and refinance later without assuming a particular lower rate. That shows which quote depends most on favorable events.
 
Check whether the large fee is paid in cash or added to the balance. If it is financed, it affects both the starting balance and future interest, not just cash needed at closing.
 
Early repayment deserves separate questions for a full payoff and for occasional extra principal. A loan can treat those differently, so confirm how your intended overpayments would actually be handled.
 
Thanks—this is a full 30-year fixed quote, and $500,000 is the approximate purchase price, not the loan amount. I’ve now normalized the offers to the same loan amount and LTV. The lower advertisement relied on assumptions that did not match mine.

The large-fee quote only becomes attractive beyond my more likely moving window, so I’m leaning away from it. I’ve asked for written clarification on portability and full versus partial repayment.
 
That points toward the lower-upfront-cost option, provided its monthly payment is comfortable. You would be paying the big fee today for flexibility or savings you may not remain long enough to use.
 
Before deciding, reconcile each quote with the full cash-to-close estimate. Some items are part of obtaining the loan; others would arise regardless of lender. Combining everything can distort the lender comparison.
 
I agree on separating costs, but wouldn’t automatically choose the cheapest upfront quote. If the payment difference strains the monthly budget, paying more initially could still be rational while preserving enough reserves.
 
Your final table could use columns for rate, APR, lender fees, points or credits, required cash, monthly principal and interest, payoff restrictions, lock period and balance at the likely exit date. That should expose the trade-off.
 
There is also execution risk. If two offers are financially close, clarity of the written terms and confidence that the lender can meet the purchase timetable may reasonably break the tie.
 
When you say “total cash cost,” make sure principal repayment is not treated as a fee. It leaves your bank account, but it also reduces the debt. Track cash flow and true borrowing cost separately.
 
Yes—principal matters for monthly affordability but should not be counted like interest or an arrangement charge. At a sale date, compare the remaining balances as well as cumulative payments.
 
The large upfront fee also becomes sunk if you refinance early. Better overpayment terms do not offset that automatically; they only have value if you expect to use them enough.
 
Ask what an extra principal payment changes. Does it only shorten the payoff path, or can it reduce the required monthly payment through some later process? Don’t assign value to a feature until its effect is clear.
 
I would leave possible tax treatment out of the comparison unless you have confirmed how it applies to your circumstances. A clean pre-tax comparison avoids making the decision depend on an uncertain benefit.
 
One last timing item: note when each quote or lock expires and what must happen before then. A comparison can become obsolete if one offer changes before the purchase reaches closing.
 
The requested portability explanation should include whether a new property, new underwriting or a changed loan amount affects it. A feature with many conditions may be less valuable than the label suggests.
 
A compact calculation is: upfront lender cost plus interest paid through the chosen date plus any payoff charge. Then compare remaining balances separately. That avoids counting principal as though it disappeared.
 
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