Setting up the payment
Enter the price and choose a program. The down payment fills in at the program minimum (3.5% for FHA, $0 for VA and USDA, 3% for Conventional on a single-family home) and you can raise it. The rate opens at 5.75% on a 30-year fixed. Switch the term to 15 years to see the trade between a higher payment and faster payoff.
Taxes default to about 0.95% of the price a year, QualRate's Broward estimate for a homestead property. Insurance defaults to $283 a month. Replace both with real quotes when you have them, and add HOA dues if the home has them.
What's inside the payment
The payment has two layers: the loan itself and everything that rides along with it.
The loan amount
Each government program adds an upfront fee to the loan:
| Program | Upfront fee (financed) | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| FHA | 1.75% UFMIP | 0.55% MIP under 5% down, 0.50% at 5% or more (30-year) |
| VA | 2.15% funding fee, first use, under 5% down | none |
| USDA | 1% guarantee fee | 0.35% |
| Conventional | none | PMI above 80% loan-to-value |
On Conventional, QualRate models private mortgage insurance (PMI) from about 1.50% a year near a 620 score down to about 0.46% at 760 and up, and it falls as the down payment grows.
The monthly payment
Principal and interest come from the standard amortization formula on the full loan amount, upfront fee included. The calculator adds monthly mortgage insurance or the annual fee divided by 12, then taxes, insurance and HOA.
Principal paid in five years
The calculator runs the amortization schedule for 60 payments and subtracts the ending balance from the starting loan. That's the equity you build from payments alone.
A $325,000 home three ways
It's the same house in Broward at 5.75% for 30 years, with FHA at 3.5% down and VA and USDA at $0 down.
| FHA | VA | USDA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down payment | $11,375 | $0 | $0 |
| Upfront fee financed | $5,488.44 | $6,987.50 | $3,250.00 |
| Loan amount | $319,113.44 | $331,987.50 | $328,250.00 |
| Principal and interest | $1,862.26 | $1,937.39 | $1,915.58 |
| Mortgage insurance or annual fee | $143.74 | $0 | $95.74 |
| Taxes | $257.29 | $257.29 | $257.29 |
| Insurance | $283.00 | $283.00 | $283.00 |
| Full payment | $2,546.30 | $2,477.68 | $2,551.61 |
VA comes in lowest even with $0 down because it has no monthly mortgage insurance. In five years the FHA loan pays down $23,096.83 of principal and the VA loan $24,028.63.
The FHA buyer doesn't need the $11,375 either. With FHA 100% financing, a down payment assistance second covers the 3.5%.
Switch the FHA loan to 15 years and the annual premium drops to 0.40%. The payment rises to $3,294.78, and five-year paydown jumps to $77,702.40.
What to do with the payment
Take the full payment to the DTI calculator to see whether your income supports it, or start from your income on the main calculator and let it find the price. If the upfront cash is the question, the cash to close calculator adds closing costs, seller credits and gifts.
Once the payment looks right, AAA Capital Funding can price it with real lender quotes. Call 888-601-8344 and we'll compare the programs side by side with you.