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Course 157 · Money course 28

Manage a Mortgage and Test Refinancing

Practice manage a mortgage and test refinancing with complete fictional records, worked calculations and changed-input checks.

Before you start

Use the supplied fictional case; paper and a calculator are sufficient.

Prepare a First-Home Finance and Closing File See everything you’ll need

Free download · Original practice data · No external account required. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

A fictional mortgage servicing ledger with escrow reconciliation, transfer checks, refinance break-even and hardship contact plan.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesSupplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners ages 14+ practicing independently; adult-only transactions are studied as fictional future decisions.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Use the supplied fictional case; paper and a calculator are sufficient.
  • Recommended preparation: Prepare a First-Home Finance and Closing File. Do not supply private financial documents.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

A fictional mortgage servicing ledger with escrow reconciliation, transfer checks, refinance break-even and hardship contact plan.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • An annotated mortgage statement and debt roll-forward.
  • An escrow ledger and next-year bill/deposit comparison.
  • A transfer-continuity checklist and unexplained-difference log.
  • A refinance break-even worksheet with limitations.
  • A remaining-term and total-payment comparison with prepayment questions.
  • A completed mortgage servicing file and verified-help question plan.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • All supplied records reconcile and the decision uses the named case rules.
  • Calculations show units, intermediate values and a second check.
  • Changed-input practice revises the affected result and identifies uncertainty.
  • The final project combines six lesson records, separates fictional assumptions from current rules, and states a supported next step.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Trace the money

For manage a mortgage and test refinancing, keep the source amount, transformation and resulting balance together.

02

Keep the assumption visible

Use the stated rate, date, permission and case rule; a real arrangement can produce a different result.

03

Test the decision

Use a changed input and a clear stop or review condition before turning this practice into an action.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Escrow
Money collected and held for specified property expenses before disbursement.
Servicing transfer
A change in the organization administering an existing mortgage.
Refinance
A new loan replacing an existing obligation under new terms.
Terminal debt
Principal still owed at the end of the chosen comparison horizon.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Read a mortgage payment statement

    Reconstruct a mortgage payment and explain its effect on remaining principal.

  2. 2
    12 min

    Reconcile an escrow cycle

    Reconcile an escrow account and estimate equal deposits for explicitly stated annual bills.

  3. 3
    11 min

    Check a mortgage servicer transfer

    Reconcile principal and escrow across a supplied servicing transfer.

  4. 4
    10 min

    Calculate simple refinance break-even

    Calculate a refinance cash-recovery period and test it against an exit date.

  5. 5
    10 min

    Compare term extension and total payments

    Compare whole-term mortgage scenarios with consistent ending-debt treatment.

  6. 6
    12 min

    Prepare a mortgage error or hardship inquiry

    Draft distinct accounting-error and payment-capacity inquiries with truthful status tracking.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Manage a Mortgage and Test Refinancing practice files

Supplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.

Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

CFPB — How do I manage my monthly mortgage payment?
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable official webpage inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No interactive-tool operation is claimed.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

CFPB — Why did my monthly mortgage payment go up or change?
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable official webpage inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No interactive-tool operation is claimed.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

CFPB — Mortgage key terms
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable official webpage inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No interactive-tool operation is claimed.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

CFPB — Mortgages
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable official webpage inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No interactive-tool operation is claimed.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one