Mortgage information for new account not calculating correctly (Q Mac)

Question

I'm trying to enter a new mortgage loan and the numbers Quicken autocalcs are not correct. The fields are not editable during the Loan set up process and then I can't edit anything after the loan is set up. Is there any way to edit these - or do I have to set up this loan as a liability? So frustrating!

UKR · Answer

AFAIK, if the amount of interest calculated by Quicken is not correct, you might not be using the correct interest rate, APR vs APY. The bold print might be saying that your interest rate ix x%, but they might be using a slightly different rate for making the monthly rate calculation. Find this rate and use it in Quicken to see if that makes for better results.

jacobs · Answer

Well, all I can say is many thousands of people are using Quicken Mac for tracking loans successfully. Without numbers, I can't speculate on what is causing  the difference you're reporting. Sometimes there can be a small discrepancy if the financial institution records the initial payment on a different date than what's entered in Quicken.

Is the discrepancy continuing month after month, or just in month one? If the balance is exactly correct after the end of the first month, and the number/dates of the payments remaining are correct, then the split between principal and interest should be easily verifiable from any website which can generate a loan amortization schedule.

Are you saying the dollar amount of the payment is correct, but the spit between interest and principal is wrong? To correct for the first month being off, you can do an adjusting entry like this: In your checking account enter a $0 transaction with two split lines: one to increase interest income by the amount which interest was recorded as overpaid, and a negative of that amount as a transfer to the loan account increasing the balance of the loan account.

ethansmama626 · Answer

Thanks for your response. I can adjust all of the fields on the left - it's the principal and interest fields that auto calculate that I can't adjust and they are incorrectly calculating, based on an actual payment. I've switched the corresponding period to daily, which puts the calculations close, but not correct to the penny - and the overage is added to the "extra principal" box which is not corret.