True Home Affordability Calculator
See what you can really afford including all the hidden costs: maintenance, utilities, emergency funds, and more. Get the complete picture before you buy.
Your Financial Details
Income & Debts
Down Payment
Loan Details
Property Details
You Can Afford
Traditional Monthly Payment
True Monthly Cost
Emergency fund target: $3,419
Income Analysis
Based on the 28% rule, your maximum housing payment should be $2,800/month.
Limiting Factors
Your income limits you to a $341,950 home. Your savings could support a more expensive property.
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Now that you know your true budget, make sure you're prepared for homeownership with our comprehensive guides and tools.
How Much House Can You Really Afford?
Most affordability calculators answer the wrong question. They tell you the largest loan a lender will approve — not what you can comfortably carry once the keys are in your hand. This calculator starts with the standard 28/36 rule (housing under 28% of gross monthly income, total debt under 36%), then layers in the costs lenders ignore: maintenance, utilities, PMI, HOA fees, and the emergency fund every homeowner eventually needs.
The gap between the two numbers is not small. On a typical purchase, hidden ownership costs add 25-40% on top of the mortgage payment. A buyer approved at $2,800 per month who budgets exactly $2,800 has no room for a $600 water heater failure in year one.
What the Numbers Mean
- You Can Afford — the lower of two ceilings: what your income supports under the 28/36 rule, and what your savings support after covering the down payment plus roughly 3% in closing costs. Whichever is smaller is your real constraint.
- Traditional Monthly Payment — principal, interest, property tax, homeowners insurance (estimated at about 0.35% of home value per year), PMI if you put down less than 20%, and HOA fees. This is the number most calculators stop at.
- True Monthly Cost — the traditional payment plus maintenance (1% of home value annually for newer homes, 2% for homes over 20 years old), average utilities, and a monthly contribution that builds your emergency fund over two years.
- True Cost Ratio — all housing costs plus existing debts as a share of gross income. Above 50%, homeownership starts crowding out everything else.
A Worked Example
Take a household earning $120,000 with $500 in monthly debt payments, $100,000 saved, and a 20% down payment at a 7% rate on a 30-year loan. The 28% rule caps housing at $2,800 per month. Reserving room for taxes and insurance leaves about $1,820 for principal and interest, which supports a loan near $274,000 — a purchase price around $342,000. The traditional payment comes to roughly $2,260 per month. Add $285 in maintenance on a 10-year-old home, $200 in utilities, and about $140 in emergency-fund savings, and the true monthly cost is closer to $2,890 — about 28% more than the sticker payment.
That difference is exactly why homes that look affordable on paper end up feeling tight in practice. Run your own numbers above, and pay more attention to the true cost ratio than to the maximum price.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much house can I afford on my salary?
The traditional guideline is the 28/36 rule: spend no more than 28% of gross monthly income on housing and no more than 36% on all debt combined. On a $120,000 salary, that caps your housing payment at $2,800 per month, which supports roughly a $340,000 home at a 7% interest rate with 20% down. But that ceiling ignores maintenance, utilities, and emergency reserves — once those are included, the true monthly cost of that same home is closer to $2,900, which is why buying at the top of your approval range is risky.
What hidden costs do mortgage calculators leave out?
Most calculators show only principal, interest, taxes, and insurance (PITI). They leave out maintenance (typically 1-2% of home value per year, or $285-570 per month on a $342,000 home), utilities (around $200 per month on average), HOA fees, PMI if you put down less than 20%, and the emergency fund you should build for major repairs. Together these routinely add 25-40% on top of the mortgage payment itself.
Is it better to be limited by income or by savings?
They constrain you differently. If savings are the limit, you can often close the gap in one to two years of dedicated saving, or by choosing a lower down payment (accepting PMI as the tradeoff). If income is the limit, stretching further means a higher debt-to-income ratio and less room for repairs and rate shocks — the only real fixes are increasing income, paying down existing debts, or lowering the target price.
How much should I keep in reserve after closing?
Plan to have 1-3% of the purchase price in accessible savings after closing, on top of your down payment and closing costs. A 10-year-old $342,000 home warrants roughly $3,400 as a starting emergency cushion, while a 30-plus-year-old home warrants closer to $10,000 because big-ticket systems like the roof, HVAC, and water heater are nearer the end of their lifespans. Buyers who drain every dollar into the down payment often end up financing their first repair on a credit card.