Every calculator lies to you. Here's the real number.
Zillow shows you $6,227. You will actually pay $8,643. The difference isn't hidden — it's just never shown. Watch it stack up in 3D.
Your mortgage payment is not principal and interest. That is the only number most calculators show, and it is roughly 39% short of what leaves your account. The real figure is PITI — principal, interest, taxes and insurance — plus PMI if you put down less than 20%, plus HOA, plus the maintenance every homeowner pays and no calculator quotes. On a $1.2M California home that omission is about $2,417 a month.
Your actual monthly payment.
Every line item. Including the two that other calculators pretend don't exist.
At 20% or more there is no PMI. Drop below and it appears instantly.
Condos and planned developments. Lenders count every dollar of it against you.
Everything. Including what nobody quotes.
Loan amount $960,000 · cash to close roughly $276,000. The number a lender will actually quote you may differ by hundreds of dollars.
The payment stack, in full.
Every mortgage calculator on the internet stops at the first slab. Here is everything sitting on top of it. Tap any layer.
Want this stack built for a specific address, with the real tax rate and a real insurance quote?
Illustrative only. Property tax varies by county and by parcel; California's Proposition 13 base rate is 1% plus local assessments and bonds, commonly landing between 1.1% and 1.35%. Insurance, PMI and HOA vary widely. Maintenance is estimated at 1% of value per year — a widely used rule of thumb, not a guarantee. Not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Can you actually carry this?
Being able to pay a number and being able to live with it are different things. This tool will tell you to buy less house.
Buy less house.
This payment is 42% of your gross income. Lenders may still approve you — they underwrite to 43% including your other debts, and they are not the ones living there. We are telling you plainly: this is too much. Come down to about $5,580 and you will keep your life.
From here to the keys — five steps.
No mystery, no call centre, no "we'll get back to you." Every step is exactly what happens inside it.
Four questions. No credit pull, no sign-up, no obligation.
~60 secondsWhat happensNot principal and interest. The tax, the insurance, the PMI, the HOA — everything that leaves your account.
Same dayWhat happensUnderwritten against real documents — not a soft letter any lender prints.
~24 hoursWhat happensListing agents call Adriana. She picks up. That is worth more than a bid.
Your timelineWhat happensConditions cleared, docs signed, funded. And she tells you when PMI ends.
To the dateWhat happensThree buyers. Two were quoted the wrong number.
Real numbers, real verdicts.
Pre-approved on a P&I figure from a national site. The escrow statement was a very bad day.
The listing said 'HOA applies.' Nobody ran it through DTI until underwriting. The loan died.
We showed her the 1% rule before she made an offer. She bought $150k less house and sleeps fine.
ADReal Estate & Mortgage Broker · GRI
Milpitas, California · Serving all 58 counties
English & Español
Don't take our word for it — click through and verify her licence yourself. We'd encourage it. Anyone who discourages you from checking is telling you something.
A licensed broker who answers her own phone.
"A broker who will tell you no is the only kind whose yes means anything."
Everything people actually ask.
What is PITI?
Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance — the four components of a normal mortgage payment. Most online calculators show only the first two, which is why the number they give you is roughly 20–25% lower than what you will actually pay.
Why do calculators leave out taxes and insurance?
Because they don't know your property. Tax rates vary by county and by parcel; insurance depends on the structure, the roof, and increasingly on fire risk. Rather than guess, most tools omit them entirely — which quietly understates your payment by well over a thousand dollars a month in California.
What is PMI and when does it apply?
Private mortgage insurance is charged when you put down less than 20% on a conventional loan. It protects the lender, not you. It typically runs 0.3% to 1.5% of the loan per year and can be removed once you reach 20% equity — automatically at 78% loan-to-value, or on request at 80%.
Should I really budget 1% for maintenance?
It's a rule of thumb, not a law, and it is the closest thing to an honest average. Some years you spend nothing. Then the roof goes, or the water heater, or the sewer lateral, and you spend $30,000. Budgeting 1% a year means those years don't destroy you.
How much property tax will I pay in California?
Proposition 13 sets the base rate at 1% of assessed value, but local assessments, school bonds and special districts push the effective rate to roughly 1.1%–1.35% in most Bay Area cities. Your assessed value resets to your purchase price when you buy.
Does the HOA affect my loan approval?
Yes, significantly. Lenders count HOA dues in your debt-to-income ratio exactly like a car payment. A $700 monthly HOA can reduce your borrowing power by well over $100,000 — and it is one of the most common reasons a pre-approval falls apart at underwriting.
Is 15 years better than 30?
A 15-year loan carries a much higher payment and dramatically less lifetime interest. It is better if you can comfortably afford it and worse if it leaves you with no margin. We would rather see you take 30 years and pay extra voluntarily than take 15 and be trapped.
Will my payment change over time?
Principal and interest are fixed on a fixed-rate loan. Taxes and insurance are not — both tend to rise, and California insurance has risen sharply. Your escrow payment will be adjusted, usually annually. Budget for that.
Stop estimating. Get the real number.
Four questions, no credit pull. You'll get your payment, your options, and an honest read on the best fit.
The other eight calculators.
Each one shows you a number the rest leave out.
Get the number a lender will actually quote you.
Four questions, no credit pull. Adriana will build the full payment stack for a real property — tax rate, insurance quote, HOA, everything — so there are no surprises at escrow.