Homeownership
This hub covers the money decisions around owning a home: what it actually costs each month, how much house you can afford, whether renting or buying wins for your numbers, how a mortgage works, and when refinancing pays for itself. Every calculator here does the math in plain English so you can see how the answer was reached, not just the answer.
The sticker price is not the cost
What a house costs you every month is not the purchase price, it is PITI: principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. Principal and interest come from the loan itself. Taxes and insurance are billed separately but usually folded into the same monthly payment through an escrow account. On top of PITI, budget for maintenance, typically one percent of the home's value per year, for repairs, replacements, and the things that break. A house that looks affordable on the listing price can be a stretch once all four pieces of PITI plus maintenance are added up.
How much house you can actually afford
Lenders lean on the 28/36 rule: your housing payment should stay under 28% of gross monthly income, and all debt payments combined, housing included, should stay under 36%. Those are guardrails, not guarantees you will feel comfortable at the limit. Your own number depends on your other debts, how stable your income is, and what else you want the rest of your paycheck to do. Run your numbers in the affordability calculator to see a realistic price range instead of guessing from a lender's pre-approval letter.
Renting is not automatically wasting money
"Buying builds wealth, renting throws money away" is a slogan, not a calculation. Buying comes with costs renting does not: closing costs, maintenance, property tax, insurance, and the opportunity cost of the down payment sitting in a house instead of invested elsewhere. Renting comes with a cost too: none of the payment builds equity. Which one wins depends on how long you plan to stay, local rent versus purchase prices, and what your money would otherwise earn. The rent vs. buy calculator runs both paths side by side with your actual numbers.
What a mortgage is actually doing with your payment
Each mortgage payment splits between interest, the lender's charge for the loan, and principal, which pays down what you owe. Early in a 30-year loan, most of the payment is interest; that split flips toward principal only over time. Extra payments applied directly to principal shrink the balance the interest is calculated on, which can cut years and tens of thousands of dollars off a loan even from modest, occasional extra payments. The mortgage calculator shows your payment, the full amortization schedule, and exactly how much extra payments would save.
When refinancing is worth the closing costs
Refinancing replaces your current mortgage with a new one, usually to get a lower rate, and it is not free: expect 2% to 5% of the loan amount in closing costs. The question is not whether the new rate is lower, it is whether the monthly savings pay back those closing costs before you sell or move again. That breakeven point can be a few years or over a decade depending on the rate difference and how much you are borrowing. Use the refinance calculator to find your breakeven month before you apply.
Two costs that live outside the mortgage
Property tax and homeowners insurance are billed by your county and your insurer, not your lender, and both vary enormously by location. Property tax is set locally, so two homes worth the same amount can owe very different bills depending on the county, city, and school district; see property tax by county for rates near you. Homeowners insurance premiums also swing by region and by the home itself; the insurance hub covers how much coverage you actually need and what drives the premium.