Real numbers, real scenarios

Common home-buying scenarios

Exact monthly payment breakdowns for common home price and down payment combinations — each with a live calculator pre-filled to match.

Monthly Payment on a $450,000 House with 10% Down

The real monthly payment on a $450k home with 10% down, including PMI — plus the income you'd realistically need to qualify.

Monthly Payment on a $300,000 House with 5% Down

The real monthly payment on a $300k home with 5% down, including PMI, plus the income you'd need to qualify.

Monthly Payment on a $350,000 House with FHA 3.5% Down

The real monthly payment on a $350k home with an FHA-minimum 3.5% down payment, including mortgage insurance.

Monthly Payment on a $400,000 House with 20% Down

The real monthly payment on a $400k home with 20% down — no PMI required — plus the income you'd need to qualify.

Monthly Payment on a $500,000 House with 20% Down

The real monthly payment on a $500k home with 20% down, no PMI, plus the income you'd need to qualify.

Monthly Payment on a $600,000 House with 10% Down

The real monthly payment on a $600k home with 10% down, including PMI, plus the income you'd need to qualify.

Monthly Payment on a $700,000 House with 20% Down

The real monthly payment on a $700k home with 20% down, no PMI, plus the income you'd need to qualify.

Monthly Payment on a $250,000 House with 10% Down

The real monthly payment on a $250k home with 10% down, including PMI, plus the income you'd need to qualify.

VA Loan on a $400,000 House with $0 Down

The real monthly payment on a $400k VA loan with zero down — funding fee, no PMI, and how it actually compares to a 5% down conventional loan.

Jumbo Loan on a $1.1 Million House with 20% Down

The real monthly payment on a $1.1M home financed with a jumbo loan — why it's jumbo, the real rate premium, and what income actually supports it.

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How to use these

Each scenario runs one specific combination of price, down payment, and loan program all the way through — the full payment breakdown, the income it implies under standard ratio guidelines, what a one-point rate change does to that exact loan, and the tradeoffs particular to that structure.

They exist because a general calculator answers "what is the payment" while most people are actually asking "is this combination sensible for someone in my position." A $250,000 purchase with 10% down and a $700,000 purchase with 20% down raise almost entirely different questions, even though the arithmetic is identical.

Pick the one closest to your situation

Exact match isn't necessary. The reasoning transfers, and every scenario links to the payment calculator pre-filled with its numbers, so you can adjust from a working starting point rather than an empty form.

If you're not sure which structure fits, start with the affordability calculator to find your range, then come back to whichever scenario lands nearest.