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Lenders tell you the ceiling. This shows the ceiling and the comfortable floor.
Every affordability answer online stops at "multiply your income by three." This calculator works backward properly: it applies the 28/36 debt-to-income rule lenders actually use, then solves for the home price with property tax, insurance, HOA, and PMI already inside the payment — so the price you get is a true ceiling, not a loan amount that forgets the escrow.
First-time buyers use it before talking to a lender, so the pre-approval number lands on a desk that already knows its own ceiling. It is the only affordability answer that solves for price with taxes, insurance, and PMI already inside the payment.
The guideline most lenders underwrite to: housing costs (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, HOA, PMI) should stay under 28% of gross monthly income, and housing plus all other debt payments under 36%. This calculator applies the stricter of the two — so if you carry a car loan or student debt, the back-end ratio is usually what actually caps you.
Lenders routinely approve up to 43–50% back-end DTI on conventional and FHA loans — their ceiling is set by default statistics, not by your savings goals. The 28/36 number here is the classic conservative answer, and the 25/33 "comfortable" price is what leaves room for retirement contributions, maintenance surprises, and a life. Being approved for more is not a reason to spend more.
With less than 20% down, private mortgage insurance typically runs 0.3–1.5% of the loan per year (0.5% is a fair planning default) — on a $265,000 loan that is roughly $110 a month, and it buys you nothing but the lender's protection. This calculator includes PMI in the price solution when your down payment is under 20%, which is why maxing the down payment can move the affordable price more than expected.
No — the down payment field should be only what you can put down AFTER setting aside 2–5% of the price for closing costs and your moving budget. Run the Closing Costs and Moving Cost calculators next, and keep a post-move emergency fund out of the down payment pile entirely.