Honest home math

TrueCost Studio

See what a home really costs over time — not just the monthly payment.

How to use this (60 seconds)

1. Enter the home you're considering and your down payment below. The defaults are reasonable starting points — change anything.

2. Enter up to three loan quotes you've received (rate, upfront points or credits, mortgage insurance, any rate buydown, extra principal). Lenders quote these differently — this tool puts them on one honest scale.

3. Drag the "How long will you own it?" slider. This matters more than the rate. The tool re-ranks your options and compares them against continuing to rent.

What makes this honest: it subtracts realistic selling costs from your equity, it inflates taxes and insurance over time instead of freezing them, and it credits the renter for investing the cash they didn't put into a down payment. Most lender comparison tools skip all three.

4. Open the optional panels for tax benefits, real-world extras (utilities, rental income, moving), and an affordability check. Not sure appreciation will hold up? Flip on the zero-appreciation stress test and see if the decision still works.

5. Your numbers auto-save in this browser. Use Copy share link to send an exact scenario to a partner or advisor, and Export CSV to open the year-by-year numbers in a spreadsheet.

The home & your money

Home price ($)

Down payment (%)

Closing costs (% of price)

Property tax (%/yr of price)

Home insurance ($/yr)

HOA ($/mo)

Maintenance (%/yr of price)

Home appreciation (%/yr)

Selling costs (% of sale)

Your current rent ($/mo)

Rent increases (%/yr)

If you invested instead (%/yr)

Tax/ins/HOA inflation (%/yr)

Zero-appreciation stress test Assume the home never gains value. Does the decision still hold?

Drop PMI at 80% of current value If the home appreciates, request PMI removal by appraisal instead of waiting for 78% of the original price.

Real-world extras — utilities, rental income, moving costs (optional)

Owner utilities premium ($/mo)

Renter's insurance ($/mo)

Moving costs, one-time ($)

Rental income if you buy ($/mo)

All default to $0 so they change nothing until you use them. The utilities premium and moving costs count against buying; rental income counts for it; renter's insurance counts against renting.

Tax benefits — mortgage interest & property tax deduction (optional)

I'll itemize deductions

Marginal tax rate (%)

Standard deduction ($/yr)

SALT cap ($/yr)

Honest version: you're only credited your marginal rate × (mortgage interest + capped property tax) above the standard deduction you'd get anyway, applied once per year. Many buyers get far less benefit than lenders imply — this shows the real number.

Affordability check — can you comfortably qualify? (optional)

Gross household income ($/yr)

Other debt payments ($/mo)

Enter your income and each option card shows its back-end debt-to-income ratio (full note payment + PMI + taxes + insurance + HOA + other debts, ÷ monthly gross). Lenders like ≤36%; many allow up to 43–50%. Qualifying uses the full note rate, not a temporary buydown.

Your loan quotes — up to three

Your timeline

How long will you own it? 7 years

The verdict

True net cost over time — lower is better

Show in today's dollars

Year-by-year table

True net cost at the end of each year (green row = first year the best loan beats renting). Use Export CSV above to open this in a spreadsheet.

What "true net cost" means: every dollar you put in (down payment, closing costs, points, moving, monthly payments) minus what you'd walk away with if you sold at that point (equity after selling costs), minus rental income and tax benefits, and minus investment gains on cash you didn't spend. It's the honest bottom line, not the sticker payment. Tax benefits are credited once per year; PMI drops per the rule you chose above.

Important disclosures

Compliance summary

Please read this in full. It defines what TrueCost Studio is, what it is not, and the limits of every number it produces.

1. No offer, commitment, or extension of credit: TrueCost Studio is a self-directed educational calculator. It is not a loan offer, application, pre-qualification, pre-approval, commitment to lend, rate lock, or Loan Estimate, and no output constitutes an offer or solicitation to extend credit. Nothing you enter here is transmitted to, reviewed by, or acted upon by any lender.
2. Not a lender, broker, or licensed professional: The operator of this tool does not originate, broker, service, or arrange residential mortgage loans and is not acting as a mortgage loan originator, real estate broker, appraiser, insurance producer, certified public accountant, attorney, or registered investment adviser. No fiduciary, agency, advisory, or client relationship is created by your use of this tool.
3. Not financial, tax, legal, or investment advice: All content is general information for educational purposes only. It is not personalized advice and does not account for your full financial position, credit profile, employment stability, insurance needs, estate plan, filing status, state and local tax treatment, or risk tolerance. Consult a licensed mortgage professional, tax professional, and financial adviser before acting on anything shown here.
4. Estimates only — accuracy is not warranted: Every figure is a projection generated from assumptions you supply. Interest rates, points and credits, fees, mortgage insurance premiums and cancellation timing, property taxes and reassessments, insurance premiums, HOA dues, maintenance, closing and selling costs, rents, home values, and investment returns will differ from these assumptions — often materially. Results are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including any warranty of accuracy, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose.
5. Methodology and its known limits: Amortization follows the full note rate; a temporary buydown is modeled as a subsidy covering the payment gap, and qualification figures use the full note rate rather than the reduced one. Property taxes, insurance, HOA dues, maintenance, and utilities are inflated annually at the rate you set. Property tax is estimated from purchase price and does not model assessment caps, reassessment on transfer, exemptions, millage changes, or special assessments. Home value is grown at a single constant rate rather than modeled as a volatile asset. Investment returns are applied as a constant after-tax monthly rate with no sequence-of-returns risk, fees, or dispersion. Itemized tax benefits are credited annually, only to the extent deductible mortgage interest plus SALT-capped property tax exceeds the standard deduction you enter, and do not model the acquisition-indebtedness interest limit, AMT, phase-outs, state tax treatment, or filing-status differences. Mortgage insurance is dropped by the rule you select and does not model lender-specific cancellation requirements, seasoning periods, appraisal costs, FHA lifetime MIP, or VA funding fees. The tool does not model refinancing, recasting, ARMs, interest-only or balloon terms, second liens, capital gains tax or the Section 121 exclusion, depreciation or reporting obligations on rental income, transfer taxes, prepayment penalties, escrow shortages, or vacancy.
6. No prediction of future performance: Real estate values and investment returns can and do decline. Past performance does not indicate future results. Projections beyond the near term are illustrative and should not be relied upon as forecasts. The zero-appreciation stress test is a sensitivity check, not a worst case.
7. Affordability and debt-to-income output: The debt-to-income figure is a simplified back-end estimate using the inputs you provide. It is not an underwriting decision, does not reflect any lender's or agency's guidelines, credit standards, residual-income or reserve requirements, income documentation rules, or automated underwriting findings, and does not indicate whether you will be approved or on what terms.
8. Fair housing and equal credit opportunity: Equal Housing Opportunity. This tool applies the same arithmetic to every user, collects no demographic information, and makes no lending decision. Nothing here should be read to encourage or discourage any housing choice on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status, national origin, disability, marital status, age, receipt of public assistance, or the exercise of any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.
9. Privacy and data handling: This page is fully self-contained and makes no network requests; a Content-Security-Policy header blocks outbound connections. Your inputs are stored only in this browser's local storage on this device and are never transmitted to the operator or any third party. A share link encodes your inputs into a URL — anyone holding that link can read those figures, so treat it as you would any document containing your financial details. Exported CSV and printed PDF files are created locally by your browser. Clearing site data or using Reset removes the stored inputs and the acknowledgment recorded at entry.
10. Limitation of liability: To the fullest extent permitted by law, the operator disclaims all liability for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive loss arising from use of, or reliance on, this tool or its output — including any purchase, sale, refinance, loan selection, or investment decision. You are solely responsible for verifying every figure against your lender's official Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure and against advice from your own licensed professionals.
11. Scope, eligibility, and currency of information: The tool assumes a United States, owner-occupied, fixed-rate residential mortgage and U.S. federal tax concepts. Defaults such as the standard deduction and SALT cap are editable starting points that may not reflect current law, your filing status, or your jurisdiction, and are not maintained on any schedule. It is not designed for commercial property, non-U.S. transactions, or any use by a person under 18. Availability of loan products and terms varies by lender, program, property, and state.
12. Acknowledgment of terms: By checking the acknowledgment box at entry and continuing to use this tool, you confirm that you have read and understood these disclosures, that you are using the tool for your own informational purposes, and that you will not rely on it as a substitute for professional advice or for a lender's official disclosures.

Nothing in this summary constitutes legal advice, and it is not a substitute for review by your own counsel and compliance team before public or commercial distribution of this tool.