Tool · True Cost
The true cost of ownership, not just the mortgage
Lenders qualify you on principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. The house costs more than that. This tool adds the parts they leave out — and shows where every number comes from.
Default assumptions & where they come from
Every pre-filled figure below is editable. Example inputs (home price, income) are illustrations, not data; the assumptions listed here stand in for real-world statistics, so each carries its public source.
- Interest rate: 6.5% (30-year fixed)Editable. Near the Freddie Mac PMMS 30-year average at verification; the live figure is on the Fee & Rate Index.
- Property tax rate: 1.26%/yr of valueU.S. median effective rate (annual real-estate tax ÷ home value) from ACS tables B25103/B25077. State rates in the tool override this.
- Homeowners insurance: $1,584/yrNational average HO-3 premium (2022 data year). Varies sharply by state; state figures in the tool override this.
- PMI rate: 0.50%/yr of loan (while LTV > 80%)Mid-range of the published typical band (≈0.36%–0.84%). Your quoted PMI depends on credit score and LTV.
- Maintenance reserve: 1%/yr of home valueA planning reserve, not a bill. Older homes typically run higher.
Your scenario
Adjust any value. Defaults are seeded from public benchmarks, each cited on the right.
$42,500 · loan-to-value 90%
Rule of thumb: budget ~1% of home value per year for upkeep.
Older homes cost more to keep. Reserve is scaled ×1.5 for pre-1980, ×1.2 for 1980–2005, ×1.0 for 2006+.
What a lender approves you for
$2,985/mo
- Principal & interest
- $2,418
- Property tax
- $290
- Homeowners insurance
- $118
- Private mortgage insurance (PMI)
- $159
The cost lenders do not count
+$354/mo upkeep
True monthly cost of ownership
$3,339
Planning gap
$354/mo
The gap is the difference between what a lender qualifies you for and what the home actually costs to keep. It is not a judgment about affordability — just the full number, with its sources attached.
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The link reopens this exact calculation — methodology true-cost-v3, every default sourced. Your numbers are in the link itself, not our database.
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