Frequently asked questions
What is included in a PITI payment?
PITI stands for principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. Your lender collects taxes and insurance monthly into an escrow account and pays those bills when they come due. HOA dues and mortgage insurance are not technically part of PITI but are part of what leaves your bank account each month, so this calculator includes them.
When does PMI fall off?
On conventional loans, you can request cancellation once the balance reaches 80% of the original value, and the servicer must terminate it automatically at 78%. FHA loans originated after June 2013 with less than 10% down carry mortgage insurance for the life of the loan, which usually means refinancing to remove it.
Do extra payments really save that much?
On a 30-year loan at typical rates, an extra $200 per month often removes five to seven years and six figures of interest. The saving is largest early in the loan, when almost every dollar of the scheduled payment is going to interest.
How to use this calculator well
Every model is a set of assumptions wearing a number. The value of a calculator is not the figure it produces but the sensitivity it reveals — change one input at a time and watch which variable actually moves your outcome. That tells you where to spend your diligence.
Defaults here are illustrative starting points, not market data. Replace every one of them with figures specific to your property, your county, and your quotes. When a result depends heavily on an assumption you cannot verify, that is a signal about the deal, not about the calculator.