A mortgage payment is only the beginning. This tool stacks up every recurring cost — taxes, insurance, fees, upkeep — so you see the real number before you fall in love with the listing.
Mortgage P&I stays fixed; everything else grows at the rate above. PMI drop-off and refinancing aren't modeled.
This is a rough planning estimate, not financial advice. Real figures vary by lender, locality, and property. Verify tax rates, insurance quotes, and HOA/CDD documents before committing. I'm not a financial advisor.
How the loan unwinds over time. Early on, most of each payment is interest; the balance tips toward principal as the years pass. Driven by the mortgage inputs above.
Those extra dollars could instead go into the market. This compares the two paths over the original loan term, holding your monthly outflow identical: prepay the loan then invest the freed-up payment once it's gone, versus invest the extra from day one while the loan runs full term. Both end with the house fully owned — so the winner is whichever leaves a bigger after-tax balance.
This is a simplified model, not advice. It assumes a steady return with monthly compounding — real markets are volatile and not guaranteed, while paying down debt is a risk-free, fixed return equal to your mortgage rate. It also ignores mortgage-interest tax deductions, dividends/annual tax drag, inflation, and the value of liquidity. Treat it as one input among many.
Owning isn't only cost — each payment buys a slice of the house, and the home itself may rise in value. This tracks equity built against the shrinking loan, using the schedule above (extra payments included).
Give every path the same monthly budget and the same starting cash, then watch which builds the most wealth over 30 years. Renters invest whatever they don't spend on rent; buyers spend their starting cash on the down payment and closing, then invest the rest of the budget each month. Net worth = investments (after capital-gains tax) + home equity. The budget and all costs grow with inflation while a fixed mortgage payment doesn't — which is a real part of the story.
Every figure is a projection resting on the assumptions above — and small changes (return rate, appreciation, how long you stay) can flip the winner. Net worth assumes you liquidate at year 30: investment gains are taxed; home equity is not (primary-residence exclusion). Selling costs, security deposits, mortgage-interest deductions, and the risk gap between a guaranteed loan payoff and uncertain market returns aren't modeled. Not financial advice.
A quick, side-by-side look at how different loans stack up. Each column is one scenario — set the price, down payment, rate, term, and discount points, and see the loan amount, cash needed at closing, and the full lifetime cost laid out row by row. The lowest monthly payment, least interest, and cheapest total are flagged as best.
Discount points are assumed paid in cash at closing and are a percentage of the loan amount; each point buys down the rate you enter, so lower the interest rate yourself to model the trade-off. Monthly figures are principal & interest only — taxes, insurance, PMI, and upkeep live on the Monthly Cost tab. "Upfront" is down payment + points (your cash to close, before other closing costs). "Total for the house" adds every loan payment to your down payment and points. Not financial advice.
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