Use this page as your control center for everything mortgage-related: estimate payments in seconds, see how much house you can afford, and jump into detailed tools for FHA, VA, refinancing, HELOCs, and more.
Get an instant estimate of your monthly principal & interest payment. For full details (taxes, insurance, PMI), jump to the dedicated calculators below.
Quickly estimate a comfortable home price based on your income and debts. For a full breakdown, use the dedicated affordability calculator below.
The big banks and lenders focus on selling you a loan. This hub is designed to help you understand your options first, using transparent calculators and plain‑English explanations.
Start here if you’re just beginning your home‑buying journey.
These tools are lender‑neutral and use standard industry formulas, so you can compare any bank’s offer.
Understand the differences between conventional, FHA, VA, and other common loan programs.
Use these to mirror the “loan options” pages on lender sites, but with transparent math and no sales pitch.
Already own a home? Explore ways to lower your payment, shorten your term, or tap equity.
Unlike lender marketing pages, these tools highlight both pros and cons of refinancing or borrowing against equity.
Understand the “fine print” that often gets glossed over in bank ads.
Use these before you sign a Loan Estimate or Closing Disclosure so there are no surprises at the table.
The quick estimator above uses the standard fixed‑rate mortgage formula. For a loan amount \(L\), monthly interest rate \(r\) (APR divided by 12), and total number of payments \(n\) (years × 12), the monthly principal and interest payment \(M\) is:
This is the same core math used by major lenders like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Rocket Mortgage. The difference here is that you can see the assumptions clearly and adjust them freely.
For a more realistic “all‑in” monthly payment, use the full Mortgage Payment Calculator, which lets you enter estimates for taxes, insurance, HOA, and PMI.
Lenders and government agencies (like the CFPB and FHA) often look at your debt‑to‑income ratio (DTI) when deciding how much you can borrow.
DTI is your total monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income:
Many lenders target a maximum DTI around 43%, though some programs allow higher or prefer lower. The mini affordability checker uses this 43% guideline by default, but you can mentally adjust up or down based on your risk comfort.
This gives you a ballpark number similar to what a loan officer might quote, without any credit pull or sales pressure.
A traditional benchmark is 20% down, which often lets you avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI). However, many buyers use:
Use the quick estimator and the full mortgage calculator to see how different down payments change your monthly cost and total interest.
The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the principal, while the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) attempts to include certain fees (like points and some closing costs) into a single yearly rate. When comparing offers from different lenders, APR is useful, but always look at the itemized fees as well.
Refinancing can make sense if:
Use the Mortgage Refinance Calculator to compute your break‑even point and long‑term savings.
The math behind these calculators matches standard industry formulas used by banks and government agencies. Actual offers will still depend on your credit score, property type, location, and underwriting guidelines, but these tools are designed to give you a transparent, lender‑agnostic baseline.
This page is for educational and planning purposes only and does not constitute financial or lending advice. Always review official Loan Estimates and consult with a qualified mortgage professional before making decisions.