Where you live, costed. The Calculator models a purchase, a payoff, or a refinance; My As-Is records what you actually pay today; Compare renders the verdict.
Scenario
◆Renting builds no equity — but no property tax, insurance, PMI, or repair bills either.
Your mortgages
0%Down 50%
Calculator · monthly housing
$0/mo
—
Principal & interest$0
Property tax$0
Insurance$0
PMI under 20% down$0
HOA$0
Total / mo$0
Loan
$0
Total interest
$0
Equity yr 1
$0
Amortization schedule (yearly)
◆Under 20% down adds PMI. Put 20% down to clear it from day one.
Total / mo$0
Total owed
$0
Equity / mo
$0
Blended rate
0%
Amortization schedule (yearly)
◆
Per year$0
5-year total (no increases)$0
Equity built$0
◆Rent typically rises ~3% a year. The trade for $0 equity is flexibility and zero maintenance.
The left column is example data. Set up My As-Is → to compare your real numbers.
My As-Is Today
—
$0
Builds equity / mo$0
True cost / mo$0
Mortgage-free in—
Lifetime interest$0
Calculator Planned
—
$0
Builds equity / mo$0
True cost / mo$0
Mortgage-free in—
Lifetime interest$0
Calculator vs My As-Is · monthly cash
$0
—
Advertisement
How it works
Understanding the true cost of your mortgage
A mortgage payment is rarely just principal and interest. This mortgage calculator builds the whole picture — what lenders call PITI: principal, interest, property taxes, and homeowners insurance — plus HOA dues, PMI when your down payment is small, and the maintenance no statement ever lists. Record what you pay today under My As-Is, or model a purchase under Calculator and let Compare run the rent-versus-buy math on your own numbers.
Escrow, counted once
Most homeowners pay property tax and insurance through an escrow account folded into one monthly figure. So the calculator simply asks whether those costs are already inside your payment or paid separately, and counts them exactly once either way — no silent double-charging, whichever box you tick.
Payment vs. true cost
The headline most tools stop at is the payment. The number that actually matters is your true monthly cost: the payment, plus roughly 1% of the home’s value per year for upkeep, minus the equity each payment builds as it chips away at the balance. Equity isn’t spending — it’s forced saving — so separating it shows what housing really costs you each month versus what you’re just moving from cash into your home.
It feeds the rest of your picture
Because housing touches everything, this tool hands its numbers to the others: your property tax flows to the Taxes calculator, your homeowners premium to Insurance, and your full housing payment into your Budget. Set it once here and the rest of CuraMoneta updates itself.
Payoff and the refinance test
The payoff line shows when you would actually be mortgage-free and what the loan costs in lifetime interest — computed on the principal-and-interest portion only, with escrowed taxes and insurance stripped out first. It is also the honest way to judge a refinance: set the Calculator tab to “Owning” with the new balance, rate, and payment, then open Compare. A lower monthly payment that restarts a 30-year clock can still cost tens of thousands more over the life of the loan — the comparison does that math for you. Enter the refinance closing costs and Compare also shows your break-even: the month the payment savings have repaid them. Add an extra monthly payment to see how much sooner you finish and the interest it saves — with a yearly amortization schedule one tap below.
Moving up while you own
If you own today (per My As-Is) and set the Calculator tab to buying, the calculator asks the move-up question: sell or keep? Selling turns your home value minus payoff and selling costs (8–10% is typical) into the down payment on the next place. Keeping it means carrying both payments — shown in full, with expected rent noted at the 75% lenders credit but never silently counted. Either way, the Calculator column tells the whole-household story: one mortgage-free date, one lifetime-interest number.
Frequently asked questions
What is PITI?
PITI stands for principal, interest, taxes, and insurance — the four parts of a typical mortgage payment. Principal and interest repay the loan itself; property taxes and homeowners insurance are usually collected alongside them in an escrow account and paid on your behalf. Add HOA dues or PMI and you have your real monthly housing cost.
Should property taxes and insurance be part of my mortgage payment?
Often they already are. Many lenders require an escrow account that bundles taxes and insurance into your monthly payment, then pays those bills when they come due; others let you pay them yourself. This calculator handles both — tell it which applies and it counts each cost once.
What is PMI, and when does it go away?
Private mortgage insurance protects the lender when your down payment is under 20% of the price. It is an added monthly cost that builds you no equity. On most conventional loans it can be removed once you reach about 20% equity and typically drops automatically near 22%. The calculator adds PMI whenever your down payment falls below 20%.
Is it better to rent or buy?
There is no universal answer — it depends on how long you will stay, local prices, and what else you would do with the money. Renting builds no equity but carries no property tax, insurance, PMI, or repair bills. Buying builds equity but ties up cash and adds upkeep. The Calculator and Compare views put the two side by side using your actual numbers.
Why is my ‘true monthly cost’ different from my payment?
Because a payment and a cost are not the same thing. True cost adds the maintenance a statement ignores (about 1% of the home’s value per year) and subtracts the equity each payment builds, since that share is savings rather than spending. The result is much closer to what housing actually takes out of your pocket each month.
Can this calculator model a refinance?
Yes. Enter your current mortgages under My As-Is, set the Calculator tab to “Owning” with the refinanced balance, rate, and payment, then open Compare. You see the payment change plus the two numbers that decide it: payoff date and lifetime interest. A refinance that lowers the payment but restarts the term often costs more overall — the comparison calls that out, and with closing costs entered it shows your break-even month too.
The CuraMoneta system
Useful on its own. Powerful together.
This calculator works on its own — but it shares your numbers with eight more. Together, they become a command center for your whole financial picture.