About HomeBuyersPath
Understand the numbers. Choose your next step.
HomeBuyersPath is a free educational project for people preparing to buy a home. Our purpose is to make a complicated process easier to understand, one decision at a time.
Published by HomeBuyersPath · Content and calculation assumptions updated September 7, 2026.
What you can expect
Plain-language explanations, visible assumptions, and calculators you can use without an account. These estimates are educational tools, not personalized advice, lender quotes, or approvals. A lender or qualified housing counselor can help you understand your own options.
We link to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Fannie Mae so you can check the guidance yourself. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by those organizations.
How the estimates work
1. Your budget
We divide annual before-tax income by 12, multiply by your target debt-to-income ratio, and subtract monthly debts. We estimate the home price whose housing payment fits that amount. If you enter a comfortable monthly budget, we use the lower of the two limits. Everyday spending and savings are not automatically deducted.
2. Your payment
We calculate principal and interest for a fixed-rate loan with monthly payments, then add property taxes, insurance, association dues, and estimated private mortgage insurance. Principal is the money you borrow; interest is the cost of borrowing it. This shows the initial payment, not an amortization schedule or future tax and insurance changes.
3. Your savings
Use one all-in closing-cost percentage or itemized costs, never both. We subtract allowed seller credits from closing costs, then subtract your already-paid deposit from what is still due. Your total savings target also includes the moving budget and emergency cushion you enter.
Your household budget check
We subtract the shared housing estimate, debt payments, everyday spending, utilities, maintenance allowance, and monthly savings goal from take-home pay. Rent is replaced by the housing estimate. Payroll savings already deducted from take-home pay should not be entered again. A positive balance is unallocated money, not a determination of financial readiness. Choosing and applying a housing limit sends it to the affordability calculator, which also checks your before-tax income and debt target. The check does not model income changes, unexpected bills, or the cash needed at closing.
Seller-credit assumptions
We model a conventional primary-home purchase with no second mortgage and an appraisal equal to the price. The credit limit is 3%, 6%, or 9% of the price, depending on the loan-to-value ratio, and cannot exceed estimated eligible closing costs. Credits never pay your down payment. Excess requested credits are excluded and flagged for discussion with your lender. A different appraisal, program, or contract can change these rules. If the down payment covers the full price, no mortgage-program cap is applied; the estimate still limits credits to closing costs. Confirm the contract and eligible costs with your closing agent.
Samples, not market quotes
The sample rate is 6.5%, property tax is 1.1% yearly, insurance is $150 monthly, and PMI is 0.5% of the loan yearly below 20% down. The closing-cost sample is 3% of the price. The 36% debt target and $5,000 savings cushion are starting examples, not personalized recommendations. You can change them.
What these tools do not model
FHA, VA, and USDA program fees or insurance; adjustable rates; points changing an interest rate; credit eligibility; second loans; or future changes in costs. The tools support planning prices up to $10 million; displayed amounts are rounded to dollars. This is not a determination of loan eligibility.
Check the sources
Contact HomeBuyersPath
Found an error or have feedback about a guide or calculator? Email homebuyerspath@gmail.com. If you are reporting a problem, include the page or tool you were using and what happened.
Please do not email sensitive personal or financial information. HomeBuyersPath is an educational planning resource and cannot provide personalized financial advice, loan offers, or approvals.
Your numbers and privacy
Calculator inputs are processed in your browser. The calculators do not submit your income, debts, or other inputs to a server or put them in page URLs.
Working numbers remain available while you navigate in the same tab. Reloading or closing the tab resets unsaved work. “Save on this device” stores one plan in this browser until you replace it or choose “Delete saved plan.” Nothing is saved automatically. Anyone with access to the same browser profile may be able to load a saved plan, so avoid saving on a shared device.
“Reset to samples” changes your working numbers only. It does not delete your saved plan. Browser settings or clearing site data can remove a saved plan. Printed or downloaded PDFs are yours to keep and manage.
The site does not include advertising or analytics scripts. The hosting provider may process normal page-request information to deliver and protect the website. Following a source link takes you to that organization’s website and privacy practices.