Starting with GNUCASH

[jcard21 xxxxxxx]

Your bank should have a web site where you can register, log into, and
view your account (mortgage) status.

With any luck, you should be able to see the breakdown between
principle, interest, and any other fees or charges for the current
month's payment.

OR

If this information is not available to you on their web site, call
your bank and tell them the information you need every month.

Let THEM solve your "lack of complete information" problem.

If that fails, you can search google for "amortization schedule"
(A.S.), and find a web site that calculates your A.S. the same as your
bank to the penny.

OR

Use a spreadsheet to calculate an A.S. yourself.


On Fri, Dec 7, 2012 at 10:34 PM, Jeff VanderDoes <vanderdoes at msn.com> wrote:
> Thanks so much for the feedback from all!  Now a follow-up question..  Most
> of my entries for mortgage payment come from online transactions from bank.
>  Since I don't know the split out between principle interest, and escrow.
>  (I can do some homework and figure it out eventually... I can est pretty
> close my escrow)  Before I put transaction in in final form (ie figure
> interest,  principle, escrow) or is there a way to bring it and later split
> it out later?
>
>
> Thanks,
> Jeff
>
>
>
> On Fri, Dec 7, 2012 at 5:53 AM, Mike or Penny Novack <
> stepbystepfarm at mtdata.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>> Loans have me a little baffled. Say mortgage has payment and some goes to
>>> reduce principal and some goes to escrow for taxes and insurance and
>>> interest on loan goes to expense account.  Do I use the accounts and minus
>>> from checking and add to escrow. then do another set of transactions minus
>>> from escrow and add to interest expense; credit from escrow and debit (I
>>> get debit and credit confused) mortgage loan... then when taxes paid
>>> credit
>>> from escrow and debit home insurance (expense account)?  Do I ever have a
>>> transaction to some type of equity account?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> You can do it in separate transactions but since your payment is actually
>> a single item from your bank account more normal would be to use a SPLIT
>> transaction (a transaction involving more than two accounts). The escrow
>> account is an asset belonging to you (your property) except not under your
>> control. Just like another bank account (some bank account controlled by
>> the institution processing your mortgage). It should be in your books as an
>> asset account. Then when you get a statement from the institution
>> processing your mortgage that they have used some of these funds (to pay a
>> tax bill, to pay an insurance bill, whatever) you enter a transaction to
>> reflect that.
>>
>> So each mortgage payment would be:
>> debits:
>>    Loan principle
>>    Loan Interest
>>    Escrow
>> credits:
>>    Bank account (this would be entered first, then hit SPLIT, adjust the
>> other side amount to the first account you want to do and enter that
>> account, then proceed with the remaining amount till all allocated)
>>
>> Michael
>>
>> PS -- As always I will repeat, gnucash AUTOMATES the bookkeeping, posting*
>> from journal to ledger, but that doesn't substitute for knowledge about
>> basic bookkeeping. This automation is important/useful since transcription
>> errors during hand posting was one of the major sources of errors in the
>> old pen and ink on paper days. If the documentation provided with gnucash
>> isn't enough for you, get a book on "basic accounting". We can help you
>> with "how to do it using gnucash way" but you may still need help with
>> "what should I be trying to do".
>>
>> --
>> There is no possibility of social justice on a dead planet except the
>> equality of the grave.
>>
>>
>>
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jcard21