Mortgage & Home calculators

Programme minimums vary widely and some require very little. But the deposit affects more than eligibility: it changes the loan amount, whether mortgage insurance applies, and often the rate offered. A frequent mistake is a deposit large enough to leave no cash reserve, which turns an ordinary setback into a forced sale.

Minimums differ by programme and lender overlays add further requirements. So there is no universal threshold. What is consistent is that pricing improves in bands as scores rise. So a modest improvement before applying can be worth more than it appears, particularly if it moves you across a band boundary.

Yes, and understand the difference from prequalification. Preapproval means the lender has verified income, assets and credit and issued a conditional commitment. Sellers treat the two very differently, and only preapproval is meaningful evidence that financing will complete.

It varies with programme, property type, appraisal scheduling and how quickly documentation is supplied. The controllable part is documentation: applications stall far more often on missing paperwork than on underwriting decisions. Assembling income, asset and identity documents before applying removes most of the avoidable delay.

A lock fixes the quoted rate for a defined period, protecting against increases and forgoing decreases. The right length is the one that comfortably covers your expected closing date, since extending a lock usually costs money. Locking too short is a more common and more expensive mistake than locking too long.

Yes, subject to debt-to-income limits that count your monthly obligations against gross income. Which debts count and how they are calculated varies, and paying down a small balance with a large monthly payment can improve the ratio more than paying down a large balance with a small one.

Typically property tax and hazard insurance, sometimes mortgage insurance and other recurring charges. The servicer collects a twelfth of the annual total each month and pays the bills when due. It changes the timing of those costs, never the amount.

Almost always escrow. The loan portion of a fixed-rate mortgage does not change, but property taxes are reassessed and insurance premiums rise. When the annual escrow analysis finds a shortfall, the new payment covers both the higher ongoing amount and repayment of the shortfall, which can be a noticeable step.

Points buy a lower rate and pay back over time. A larger deposit reduces the balance immediately and may remove mortgage insurance. Points win only if you hold the loan past the break-even, which many borrowers do not. The dedicated comparison calculator prices both against the same cash.

A common guide is a total housing payment near 28% of gross income, but the Home Affordability Calculator adds your debts, down payment and rate.

When the monthly savings recover the closing costs before you sell or refinance again, which the refinance calculator shows as a break-even in months.

Property tax, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance below 20% down, and maintenance, which many first-time buyers leave out of their budget.