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Three numbers. Joint application support. Applicant strength scoring. Live mortgage rates. And a printable bank-ready submission report that gives you a real edge walking into a lender.
Most calculators give you the bank's number. We give you all three — so you can make an informed decision.
What the lender will approve at 43% DTI. This is not your budget — it's the ceiling. Buying here is how people end up house-poor.
The 28% front-end ratio — the industry standard for financial health. Your housing costs stay manageable and you have money left over.
The Comfortable price minus an emergency fund buffer. Buy at or below this number and you'll never be stretched thin by a surprise repair.
Built specifically for buyers who want the full picture — not just a monthly payment.
Not the maximum the bank will lend — the price that leaves you with an emergency fund, a manageable payment, and your financial life intact.
Pulls the current 30-year and 15-year fixed rates directly from the St. Louis Fed (FRED) in real time — not last week's rates.
Principal & interest, property tax, homeowner's insurance, PMI, and HOA — every dollar of your actual monthly payment, itemised.
Personalised, ranked action list based on your credit score, DTI, and down payment. Tells you exactly what to fix first — and the dollar impact of each change.
Uses real property tax rates and insurance averages for all 50 states — not a national average that's wrong for your market.
Switch between loan types in one click. FHA loans allow 3.5% down and are more forgiving on credit scores — the right path for many first buyers.
Toggle on a second applicant and the calculator combines incomes, applies the correct representative FICO score, and flags if a solo application would get you a better rate.
Every applicant is scored out of 100 using the Freddie Mac 4 Cs framework — Credit, Capacity, Employment, and Capital. Strengths and concerns are listed for each.
Generate a professional, printable report ordered by applicant strength — with a loan scenario table, personalised next steps, and a full Fannie Mae documentation checklist.
Enter your income and debts
Annual gross income, monthly debt payments (car loans, student loans, credit card minimums), and your down payment savings.
Add a second applicant (optional)
Toggle on joint application mode to add a partner or co-borrower. The calculator handles the FICO blending, income combining, and strategy flagging automatically.
Select your state and loan type
The calculator uses your state's real property tax rate and insurance average. Choose 30yr, 15yr, or FHA based on your situation.
See your three numbers
Bank Maximum, Comfortable, and the Honest Number — instantly calculated with live mortgage rates from the St. Louis Fed.
Review your improvement plan
Your personalised action list tells you exactly what to fix, in what order, and the dollar impact of each change on your buying power.
Generate your Bank-Ready Report
One click produces a professional, printable submission document — applicants ordered by strength, loan scenarios compared, documentation checklist included.
After you calculate, the tool analyses your specific situation and generates a ranked list of actions. Each one tells you what to do, why it matters, and exactly how much it will improve your buying power or monthly payment.
No generic advice. No "save more money" platitudes. Real numbers, specific to your situation.
How is this different from a standard mortgage calculator?
A standard mortgage calculator shows you one number: your monthly principal and interest payment. This calculator shows you three numbers (bank maximum, comfortable, and the Honest Number), a full PITI breakdown including tax, insurance, and PMI, your actual debt-to-income ratios, and a personalised action list telling you exactly what to change to improve your position.
What is 'The Honest Number'?
The Honest Number is the purchase price that keeps your housing costs at or below 28% of your gross income — the industry standard for financial health — minus a buffer for your emergency fund. It's almost always lower than what the bank will approve. Buying at the bank maximum is how people end up house-poor.
Where do the mortgage rates come from?
Rates are pulled live from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) using their public API. FRED publishes the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey rates weekly. If the API is temporarily unavailable, the calculator falls back to the most recent published average.
What is PMI and when does it apply?
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is required on conventional loans when your down payment is less than 20%. It typically costs 0.5–1.5% of the loan amount per year. PMI is automatically cancelled when your loan balance reaches 80% of the original purchase price. FHA loans have their own version called MIP, which behaves differently.
What does the 'How to Improve Your Odds' section show?
It analyses your credit score, debt-to-income ratio, down payment percentage, and cash-to-close position — then generates a ranked list of personalised actions. Each action includes the specific dollar impact on your buying power or monthly payment. Actions are ranked: Action Required (must fix before applying), Recommended (significant impact), and Nice to Have.
Is the calculator really free?
Yes. The First Home Buyer Calculator is completely free to use. You'll be asked for your name and email when you first open it — this unlocks the full tool and adds you to our free first home buyer tips email series.
What loan types does the calculator support?
The calculator supports 30-year fixed (most common), 15-year fixed (lower rate, higher payment, faster equity), and FHA 30-year (3.5% down, more flexible credit requirements, includes MIP). The rate for each is pulled live from FRED.
How accurate are the property tax and insurance estimates?
Property tax rates are sourced from the Tax Foundation's 2024 effective rate data for all 50 states and DC. Insurance estimates are sourced from Insurance.com's 2024 average annual homeowner's premium by state. These are averages — your actual costs may vary based on your specific property and insurer.
How does the joint application mode work?
Toggle on "Joint Application" to add a second applicant. The calculator combines both incomes for qualifying purposes and uses the lower middle FICO score as the representative credit score — which is exactly how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac assess joint applications. If the FICO gap between applicants exceeds 80 points, the calculator flags this and suggests you discuss a solo application with your broker, as the stronger applicant's score alone may qualify for a better rate tier.
What is the Bank-Ready Submission Report?
After calculating, click "Generate Bank Report" to produce a professional, printable document designed to be presented to a lender or mortgage broker. It includes: applicant profiles ordered by overall lending strength (scored against the Freddie Mac 4 Cs framework), a combined application summary with full monthly breakdown, a loan scenario comparison table across three price points and three rate scenarios, personalised next steps based on your specific profile, and a complete Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac documentation checklist. Print it directly from your browser or save as PDF.