Baufi24 Mortgage Calculator
First impression
The calculator is tidy overall, but not everything is self-explanatory. If you’re financing for the first time, you’ll rely on the help texts in a few places to understand terms and options.
One thing stands out: “Purchase from parents/grandparents” is very prominent. For most first-time buyers this is a niche case and could be placed more discreetly or as an optional setting.
What’s missing:
- Down payment guidance: No hints on what counts as a “good” down-payment/equity share.
- Fixed-rate context: You can choose the fixed-rate period in 5-year steps (5 to 30 years), but there’s no guidance on how realistic the assumptions are or the pros/cons of each option.
- Input validation: Validation is quite permissive—it’s possible to enter unrealistic values by accident (e.g., extremely high initial amortization).
Bottom line: Usable for beginners, but more context and guardrails would make the first run much easier.
Results
On the plus side, a compact highlighted summary helps with initial orientation.
Room to improve:
- Key figures (monthly payment, remaining balance, total term) get a bit lost visually—stronger contrast or prioritization would help.
- The amortization schedule is table-only. A simple chart (e.g., remaining balance over time) would surface trends faster.
- The modal dialog didn’t consistently close via Esc or outside click in our test—sub-optimal from an accessibility standpoint.
Well done: When you calculate a second scenario, the tool offers a direct side-by-side comparison. That’s extremely helpful for first-time buyers.
Additional information
The page contains lots of background info—but mostly as one long block of text. It feels more like an “SEO wall” than a guided, beginner-friendly explanation.
Wish list: Attach the helpful explanations closer to the respective fields (e.g., inline info boxes or tooltips) so users understand context while filling things out.
Requesting a rate quote
Clicking “Request interest rate offer” opens a multi-step form.
Observations from the test:
- Navigating back clears previously entered values and results—unfortunate, because context is lost.
- The form doesn’t carry over all data from the calculator (e.g., state); you need to re-enter it.
- We encountered a “500 Internal Server Error” on the final step. The form still allowed us to continue and submit.
- Reloading the page sends you back to step one, and entries are lost again.
Tip for first-time buyers: Take screenshots of your calculation before submitting—this keeps everything documented.
Mobile
On mobile, the usual consent/newsletter overlays interrupt the start.
Minor frontend issue: In the amortization schedule, we repeatedly saw “Invalid Date” between January and September each year. It’s a small display bug, but it doesn’t inspire confidence.
Verdict
The Baufi24 calculator is modern and feature-rich, especially the scenario comparison. For first-time buyers, clearer guidance (down payment, fixed-rate periods), stricter validation, stronger result visualization, and seamless data handoff into the quote form would noticeably improve the experience.
Net-net: Despite some rough edges, it’s a solid starting point—and as a first-time buyer, I wouldn’t hesitate to click “Request interest rate offer.”