For buyers
Find out what you can afford before you fall for a house.
Three numbers in, a price range out. This uses the same 28/36 standard lenders start from, plus taxes, insurance, and PMI when the down payment is under twenty percent. It is the conversation Nick has with first-time buyers before the first showing, as a tool you can use at 10pm.
Your numbers
What you can afford
$219,114
A comfortable price on the 28/36 rule, around $1,983 a month all in. Stretching to the upper end of what underwriting commonly allows: $256,253.
- Principal and interest
- $1,351/mo
- Property taxes
- $456/mo
- Insurance
- $82/mo
- PMI
- $94/mo
Payment breakdown
Explore what a specific house would cost each month by adjusting the details.
Estimated monthly payment
$3,016/mo
- Principal & interest$2,060/mo
- Property taxes$810/mo
- Home insurance$146/mo
No mortgage insurance: the down payment covers twenty percent. Estimates only. A blank insurance box assumes 0.45% of the price per year, and corridor tax rates vary by town; a lender quote and the county bill are the real numbers.
Estimates only. Assumes a 30-year fixed loan, a 2.5% property tax rate, 0.45% annual insurance, and 0.55% PMI on down payments under 20%. Tax rates on the corridor vary by town and by which side of the Will and Kankakee county line you land on. A lender's real answer also weighs your credit and the loan program. Nick and a local lender replace these assumptions with your actual numbers, free.
You may need less down than you think
Conventional loans start around three percent down, FHA at three and a half, and much of the corridor south of Peotone is USDA-eligible territory where zero down is possible for buyers who qualify.
The county line changes the math
The Will and Kankakee line runs between Peotone and Manteno, and the tax bill changes when you cross it. On the same house that can move the monthly payment by hundreds of dollars, which moves what you can afford.
A pre-approval beats an estimate
This page tells you the neighborhood of your budget. A pre-approval from a local lender makes it official and makes your offer the one a seller takes. See how Nick works with buyers.
Know your number