Common Questions
Is this a loan quote?
No. This is a planning estimate. The numbers come from standard formulas and the inputs you provide. A lender will quote their own rate, closing costs, and insurance based on your credit, the property, and current market conditions.
How much do I need for a down payment?
Conventional loans typically require 5-20% down. FHA loans can go as low as 3.5%. Putting down less than 20% usually means you will pay PMI (or MIP on FHA loans) until you build enough equity. In NYC, co-op boards often expect 20% or more.
What is a good interest rate?
Rates change daily and depend on your credit score, loan type, and the market. Check current averages, then use this calculator to see how even a small rate difference changes your monthly payment and total interest over the life of the loan.
Condo vs co-op: what changes in my payment?
With a condo, you own the unit and pay property tax separately. With a co-op, you own shares in the building corporation, and your monthly maintenance typically includes property tax. This calculator hides the tax field in co-op mode because it is already folded into maintenance.
How does the bidirectional calculator work?
Whichever field you edit last becomes the driver. Type a home price and the monthly payment updates. Type a monthly budget and the affordable price updates. The field you are setting is the filled one; the field it works out is the outline.
Can I share my calculation?
Tap Share to send a link. Your inputs are encoded in the URL so the other person sees the same numbers. Nothing is stored on a server. Their browser does its own math from the link.
What counts toward monthly housing?
Principal and interest on the loan, property tax, homeowners insurance, HOA or co-op maintenance, and PMI or MIP if applicable. Lenders call this PITI (principal, interest, taxes, insurance). It is the number they compare against your income.
What do extra payments do?
Extra payments go straight to principal, reducing how long you carry the loan and how much interest you pay over its life. Even small amounts add up. The payoff section shows exactly how many years earlier you would pay off and how much interest you would save.
What is the difference between PMI and MIP?
PMI (private mortgage insurance) applies to conventional loans with less than 20% down and drops off once you reach 20% equity. MIP (mortgage insurance premium) applies to FHA loans and typically lasts the life of the loan unless you put 10% or more down, in which case it drops after 11 years.
How accurate is this calculator?
The formulas are standard amortization math, the same ones lenders use. But your actual payment will also include closing costs, escrow adjustments, rate locks, and other factors a lender will disclose. Use these numbers for planning, not as a binding quote.
Do you sell leads or partner with lenders?
No. There is no quote form, no email capture, no ads, and no lender on the other end of this page. The calculator is here to help you plan.
What does the payoff section show?
It shows when you will own the home outright, how much total interest you will pay, and a year-by-year timeline of your remaining balance and equity. If you add extra payments, it shows how much interest you save, how many years earlier you pay off, and milestones at years 1, 5, and 10. Open it from the menu or press P.
How do I compare scenarios?
Tap Compare (or press C) and a saved scenario opens underneath the calculator. The numbers you are editing are always the top side, so the comparison moves as you type. Above it, a sentence says which one wins and what it costs up front. Five rows carry the decision: price, monthly, cash needed, rate, and maintenance or tax. Open Every number for the rest, including PMI, LTV, total interest, and five-year cost. New scenario pushes what you have into the comparison and leaves the fields ready to edit, so you are comparing before you have done anything.
Are there keyboard shortcuts?
Yes, when you're not typing in a field: 1–4 switch loan term (30, 20, 15, 10 years), M toggles between price and monthly budget mode, O toggles More options, P opens Payoff, S opens Saved scenarios, C toggles Compare, ? opens FAQ. In any number field, ↑/↓ nudge the value and Shift+↑/↓ nudge by 10×.
Common Terms
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
Insurance the lender requires when your down payment is less than 20% on a conventional loan. It protects the lender, not you. Once your equity reaches 20-22%, you can usually request to have it removed.
Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP)
The FHA version of mortgage insurance. Unlike PMI, FHA MIP often lasts the entire life of the loan on low-down-payment purchases, and includes both an upfront premium and a monthly premium.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
A government-backed loan program with lower down payment and credit requirements. Popular with first-time buyers. The trade-off is mandatory MIP for the life of most FHA loans.
Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)
A loan where the interest rate is fixed for an initial period (commonly 5, 7, or 10 years), then adjusts periodically based on a market index. The initial rate is usually lower than a fixed-rate loan, but your payment can rise later.
Principal and Interest (P&I)
The core loan payment. Principal reduces the balance you owe; interest is what the lender charges for lending. Early in the loan, most of the payment is interest. Over time, the split shifts toward principal.
Homeowners Association (HOA)
A monthly or quarterly fee charged by the association that manages a condo building or planned community. It covers shared expenses like maintenance, amenities, and building insurance.
Debt-to-Income Ratio (DTI)
The percentage of your gross monthly income that goes to debt payments. Lenders use it to gauge how much you can afford. Most conventional loans cap DTI around 43-45%; FHA can be more flexible.
Loan-to-Value Ratio (LTV)
The loan amount divided by the property value. A $280,000 loan on a $350,000 home is 80% LTV. Lower LTV means more equity and usually better loan terms. PMI kicks in above 80% LTV.
Total Cost
Your down payment plus the full loan amount plus all interest paid over the life of the loan. This is the true all-in price of the home: everything you spend, not just what you borrow. A lower rate, shorter term, or extra payments all reduce it.
5-Year Cost & Equity
Shown in the compare table. 5-year cost is your down payment plus 60 months of housing payments, which is the total cash out of pocket if you sell after five years. 5-year equity is your down payment plus the principal you have paid off by then, which is the portion of the home you actually own. The gap between the two is what went to interest, tax, insurance, and fees.
Interest/Principal Ratio
Total interest paid over the life of the loan divided by the loan amount. A ratio of 0.83× means you pay 83 cents in interest for every dollar of principal. Lower is better. Shorter terms and lower rates both reduce it. Compare this across scenarios to see which loan costs the least per dollar borrowed.
Cost per $100k of price
Your total monthly housing cost divided by the home price in $100k units. A $2,435/month payment on a $350k home is about $696/mo per $100k. This normalizes across price points: a $500k home at $650/mo per $100k is cheaper to carry than a $300k home at $750/mo per $100k, even though the absolute payment is higher.
Break-Even Timeline
Shown in the compare summary when two scenarios trade a higher down payment for lower monthly payments. It answers: how many months until the extra cash you put down is recouped through monthly savings? Before that point, the lower-down scenario has more cash in hand; after it, the higher-down scenario pulls ahead.
Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance (PITI)
The full monthly housing cost that lenders evaluate. This calculator shows you that total number, broken down into each component, so you can see exactly where the money goes.
Escrow
An account your lender may set up to collect property tax and insurance as part of your monthly payment, then pay those bills on your behalf. It smooths out large annual or semi-annual bills into monthly amounts.
Discount Points
An upfront fee you pay to the lender at closing to buy a lower interest rate. One point costs 1% of the loan amount and typically reduces the rate by about 0.25%. The trade-off is cash now versus savings over time. The insight line below the inputs shows the break-even point. Points make sense if you plan to keep the home longer than the break-even period.
How the math works: principal and interest use the standard fixed-rate amortization formula. Tax, insurance, HOA or maintenance, and PMI or MIP add to monthly housing. Extra payments in See Payoff apply to principal and shorten the term.