Guides
Mortgage guides, in plain English.
In-depth, plain-English guides to mortgages — affordability, amortization, refinancing, PMI and loan types, each paired with a calculator.
- 01 How Much House Can You Afford? Lenders answer 'how much can I borrow?' with two ratios. Here's how they work, what they leave out, and how to find a number you can actually live with.
- 02 How Mortgage Amortization Works Every fixed mortgage payment is the same dollar amount, but the split between interest and principal changes every month. Here's the mechanism — and how to use it.
- 03 What Is PMI? Private Mortgage Insurance Explained PMI protects your lender, not you, and you pay it on a conventional loan with less than 20% down. Here's what it costs at this week's rates, exactly when it comes off, and how to get rid of it sooner.
- 04 FHA vs. Conventional Loan FHA is easier to qualify for and often has the lower payment with a small down payment; conventional pulls ahead as your down payment grows, and its mortgage insurance ends on its own. The tables below price both on this week's rates.
- 05 When Does Refinancing Actually Make Sense? A lower rate is only half the story. The real test is your break-even point — how long it takes monthly savings to repay closing costs — and whether you'll stay long enough to clear it.
- 06 Steps to Buying a House: The First-Time Buyer's Checklist Buying a house is a sequence, not a leap. Here are the eight steps in order — what each costs at this week's rates, how long it takes, and what to have ready before you move to the next.
- 07 VA vs. Conventional Loan For an eligible veteran a VA loan usually wins outright — no down payment, no PMI, lower rates. A conventional loan is the move when you aren't eligible or want a second home.
- 08 Closing Costs: What You Actually Pay Beyond the down payment, closing costs are the other check you write at the table. Here is what each fee is, who pays it, and how to shrink it.
- 09 How to Qualify for a Mortgage (and Why Applications Get Denied) Mortgage approval comes down to five checks on your finances and the home. Federal records of millions of applications show how often each one is the reason a loan is denied — and what to fix first.
- 10 How Much Does It Cost to Refinance a Mortgage? Most guides say refinancing costs 2% to 5% of the loan. Federal records of real refinances show what borrowers actually paid — by loan type, state and lender — and what a no-closing-cost offer really costs.