Housing
What you actually need saved before buying a home
The down payment is the part everyone plans for. Closing costs, earnest money, reserves and the first month of ownership are the parts that catch…
The mortgage payment is the smallest number in a home purchase that anyone quotes you. Property tax, insurance, PMI, closing costs, maintenance and the money that leaves on the day you move all sit outside the advertised figure, and together they are what decides whether the house is affordable in year three.
These guides price the whole thing. What you genuinely need in the bank before you start looking, what each line of the payment is and which lines shrink over time, how renting compares once you count the equity you would have built, when a refinance pays for its own closing costs, and what you are really signing when you borrow against the house you already own.
Calculators for this
MortgageThe whole monthly payment, not just principal and interest: property tax, insurance, PMI and HOA. Then see what one extra payment saves you.
Debt-to-incomeAdd up what you owe every month against what you earn. It is the first number a lender looks at, and you can check it before they do.
Savings goalWork backwards from the number you want. Tell it your target and your deadline, and it tells you what to put away every month.
Loan paymentWork out your monthly payment and how much interest you’ll pay in total. With a full amortization table and a fixed-payment vs. fixed-principal comparison.
All 5 home & mortgage guides
Housing
Rent or buy: the honest comparison
"Renting is throwing money away" does not survive the arithmetic. The real comparison is rent against the part of ownership you never get back.
Housing
What your mortgage payment actually includes
The number your lender quotes and the number that leaves your account every month are not the same number. The gap is usually a third of the payment.
Housing
When refinancing a mortgage is worth it
Closing costs divided by monthly saving gives you the number that decides it — and a lower payment is not automatically a saving.
Housing
HELOC or home equity loan: which one
Both are secured by your house, which is why the rates are low and why the worst case is different in kind. The HELOC's second phase is the part…