Estimate your full monthly mortgage payment — principal, interest, property tax, homeowners insurance, PMI, and HOA fees — plus the total interest you’ll pay over the life of the loan.
Enter the home price, your down payment, the loan term (most common is 30 years), and your interest rate. Add property tax (US average ~1.1% per year), homeowners insurance, and HOA fees if applicable. If your down payment is below 20%, the calculator automatically adds PMI. The breakdown shows where every dollar of your monthly payment goes.
Your full monthly housing cost is more than just the loan payment. It typically includes:
The industry shorthand PITI covers the first four. Add HOA and you have the actual monthly cost the bank cares about for qualification.
A common lender rule: total monthly housing payment under 28% of gross monthly income, total debt obligations under 36%. A more conservative planner’s version: keep PITI + HOA under 25% of net income. High earners often qualify for far more house than either rule suggests — that’s the trap. Lender approval is not financial advice.
A mortgage payment has two parts. Principal & interest (P&I) is calculated using the standard amortization formula M = P × (r(1+r)^n) ÷ ((1+r)^n − 1), where P is the loan amount, r is the monthly rate (APR ÷ 12), and n is the number of months. The full monthly payment also includes 1/12 of annual property taxes, 1/12 of homeowners insurance, monthly HOA fees, and PMI if your loan-to-value (LTV) is above 80%. The calculator above adds all of these together.
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is required by lenders when your down payment is less than 20% of the home price (LTV above 80%). It typically costs 0.3% to 1.5% of the loan amount per year, paid monthly. PMI automatically drops off when your LTV reaches 78% based on the original loan schedule, and you can request removal at 80% LTV. PMI protects the lender, not you — every dollar of PMI is pure cost.
A 15-year mortgage saves roughly 60% in total interest vs a 30-year at the same rate, and 15-year rates are usually 0.5–0.75% lower. The trade-off: monthly payment is roughly 50% higher. Math says 15-year. But the right answer depends on opportunity cost — if you can confidently invest the payment difference at a higher return than your mortgage rate, the 30-year wins. Most high earners optimize for the 15-year unless they have better uses for the cash.
A common rule is the 28/36 rule: housing payment under 28% of gross monthly income, total debt under 36%. A more conservative rule used by financial planners is to keep total housing costs (PITI + HOA) under 25% of net income. The calculator above shows your full monthly burden — work backwards from a comfortable percentage of your take-home, not from what the bank approves.
Mortgage pricing is tiered by credit score. A FICO of 740+ generally qualifies for the lender's best rate. 700–739 adds roughly 0.125–0.25%. 660–699 can add 0.5%+. Below 660, conventional financing gets expensive fast and FHA may be the better path. On a $400,000 loan over 30 years, a 0.5% higher rate adds about $42,000 in interest.
PITI stands for Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance — the four core components of a monthly mortgage payment. "Principal" reduces the loan balance. "Interest" is the cost of borrowing. "Taxes" is property tax (typically 0.5%–2.5% of home value annually, varies by state and county). "Insurance" is homeowners insurance, usually $1,000–$3,000/year. PITI is the standard lender uses to qualify you, but your true cost also includes maintenance (~1% of home value per year), HOA, and PMI if applicable.
A discount point costs 1% of the loan amount upfront and typically lowers the rate by 0.25%. The break-even is usually 5–7 years. If you plan to stay in the home longer than the break-even, points pay off. If you might sell or refinance sooner, skip them. Always check the lender's exact rate-vs-point trade-off — it varies daily.
Property tax is the assessed value of your home multiplied by the local tax rate (called a "millage rate" or "mill rate"). The rate varies dramatically by location: New Jersey averages 2.2%, Texas 1.7%, California 0.7%, Hawaii 0.3%. The calculator uses the national average of ~1.1% as a default. Property taxes are typically reassessed annually — budget for them to rise with home values, not stay flat.
Banks qualify you on debt ratios. They don’t care about your retirement contributions, your kids’ tuition, your travel, or the next 30 years of compounding you’re about to give up. Maxing out what the lender approves is the most common avoidable mistake high earners make.
The HomeCFO Program teaches the framework that catches this before you sign. Same income. Different choices. Different decade.
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