Monthly ownership worksheet

Mortgage payment before optimism.

Estimate principal, interest, property tax, insurance, PMI, and HOA before treating a home price as realistic.

Calculate monthly payment
Use this when
You need the monthly payment, not just the home price.Then check affordability and rent-vs-buy before making the move.
Source dates vary by dataset
Principal & interestLoan coreFixed-rate payment formula
Property taxEscrowAnnual rate divided monthly
Insurance / PMIRisk costsPMI applies below 20% down
HOA feesOptionalMonthly housing add-on
Run the payment

Adjust the assumptions that actually move the monthly number.

Start with home price and down payment, then test interest rate, tax rate, loan term, and HOA. Treat the result as a planning estimate, not a lending quote.

Mortgage Calculator

Adjust the values to see your estimated monthly payment.

Committed mortgage benchmark: 6.11% 30-year fixed, MORTGAGE30US, Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey via FRED, U.S., as of 2026-03-12. National survey averages; not a local quote, APR, approval, or forecast.
User property-tax assumption: 1% entered for this scenario. Not a city, county, parcel, school-district, exemption, or individual tax-bill estimate.
Estimated Monthly Payment
$2,399.25

An estimate, not a quote, guarantee, prediction, tax filing result, or lender decision.

Principal & Interest
$1,941.25
Property Tax
$333
Home Insurance
$125
Calculation method

What the calculator includes.

The calculator uses standard fixed-rate mortgage math, then layers in ownership costs that often make a payment feel different from the loan quote.

Principal and interest

Uses the standard fixed-rate payment formula based on loan amount, rate, and term.

Escrow costs

Property tax and home insurance are divided into monthly planning amounts.

PMI trigger

Private mortgage insurance is included when the down payment is below 20%.

Next checks

Do not stop at the payment.

A payment can be mathematically possible and still be a bad move. Use the next checks to put the number back into household and city context.

Check affordability

Use income, debt, and down payment to decide whether the payment range is realistic.

Check affordability Compare rent vs. buy

After the payment makes sense, compare ownership against renting over longer horizons.

Compare rent vs. buy Open a city verdict

Put the monthly number back into a real city page with rent pressure, buy pressure, and taxes.

Open a city verdict