TTARCH BUYER PLANNING TOOL
True Monthly Cost Planner
Compare the mortgage payment with a more complete estimate of what a home may cost to own, maintain, and live in each month.
Estimate principal and interest, taxes, insurance, HOA dues, utilities, maintenance reserves, recurring ownership costs, and cash needed—without creating an account or sharing your financial information.
WHY THIS TOOL IS DIFFERENT
A Mortgage Payment Is Only Part of the Monthly Cost
Many online calculators stop at principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. This planner adds the recurring costs that often determine whether a home feels comfortable to own after closing.
Lender Payment
Principal and interest based on the purchase price, down payment, interest rate, and loan term.
Fixed Housing Cost
Mortgage payment plus taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance, HOA dues, and recurring assessments.
Full Ownership Cost
Fixed housing cost plus utilities, maintenance reserves, and other monthly ownership expenses.
HOW TO USE IT
Use a Specific Property or Test a Buying Scenario
Enter the figures you know and use reasonable planning estimates for the rest. The calculator updates instantly and shows how your assumptions affect the estimated monthly ownership cost.
1. Enter the Home
Select a property type, add the approximate year built, and enter the purchase price.
2. Add Financing
Enter the down payment, interest rate, loan term, and mortgage insurance.
3. Add Ownership Costs
Include taxes, insurance, HOA dues, utilities, maintenance, and other recurring expenses.
4. Compare Comfort
Compare the full estimate with the payment you consider comfortable and the amount entered as lender-approved.
5. Review the Range
Use the lower, planning, and higher-cost estimates to account for uncertainty in variable ownership costs.
6. Save the Summary
Print the results or save them as a PDF through your browser. Your entries are not stored by the calculator.
ttArch Buyer Planning Tool
True Monthly Cost Planner
Compare the mortgage payment with a more complete estimate of what the home may cost to own, maintain, and live in each month.
Plan a Purchase Scenario
Enter the best information currently available. You can revise any assumption at any time.
1. Property profile
The property type creates planning reminders only. It does not silently change your estimate.
2. Financing
3. Fixed property costs
Examples: metro or special district assessment, parking, storage, or another recurring property charge.
4. Realistic ownership costs
Examples: landscaping, snow removal, private trash, security, or costs not included in the HOA.
5. Comfort and approval
6. Upfront planning estimate
Examples: inspections, appraisal, moving, prepaid HOA items, immediate repairs, or initial improvements.
Questions worth investigating for this property
Continue your planning
Use the complete fillable workbook for deeper scenario planning, maintenance reserves, and property-specific notes.
Planning tool only. This is not a loan approval, appraisal, insurance quote, tax calculation, inspection, or financial advice. Verify property taxes, insurance, HOA obligations, special districts, utilities, lender figures, and property-specific conditions with the appropriate professionals and source documents.
INTERPRETING THE RESULTS
Treat the Output as a Planning Estimate
The calculator is designed to improve your questions and assumptions—not replace a lender, insurance professional, tax authority, HOA review, inspection, or property-specific analysis.
Verify Before You Rely
- Request a current Loan Estimate from your lender.
- Confirm property taxes using the assessor’s information.
- Obtain a property-specific insurance quote.
- Review HOA dues, inclusions, reserves, and assessments.
- Use inspection findings to refine maintenance assumptions.
Costs That May Need Separate Review
- Metro district or special-district obligations
- Parking and storage fees
- Older sewer lines or major building systems
- Radon mitigation or environmental work
- New-construction upgrades and landscaping
- Near-term repairs, moving, and furnishings
GO DEEPER
Download the Full Monthly Cost & Buying-Power Workbook
The fillable workbook provides more room to compare purchase scenarios, estimate utilities and reserves, identify property-specific costs, and record figures from your lender, insurer, HOA, and public sources.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
About the True Monthly Cost Planner
No. It compares the assumptions you enter with your stated comfort and lender-approved payments. It is not an underwriting or affordability determination.
No. Version 1 calculates in the browser and does not require an account. Entries are not stored or transmitted unless you separately choose to contact ttArch.
Utilities, maintenance, and other variable ownership costs are uncertain. The range helps avoid presenting one planning estimate as if it were an exact prediction.
Confirm lender figures, taxes, insurance, HOA obligations, special assessments, utility information, property condition, and any immediate repair or improvement costs.
Version 1 evaluates one scenario at a time. You can print or save each result and compare them manually. A dedicated property-comparison tool is planned as a future ttArch resource.
NEXT STEP
Review the Numbers in the Context of the Home
A useful cost estimate should lead to better questions. A buyer consultation can help connect your budget, financing, neighborhood preferences, property condition, and long-term plans before you begin making offers.