How to use the Mortgage Calculator
Estimate your full monthly housing payment — principal & interest plus taxes, insurance, HOA, and PMI/MI. Use it to test purchase price scenarios, downpayment options, and rate-sensitivity before talking to a lender.
Adjust the down-payment slider or rate slider to see live changes. The DSCR tab below mirrors the P&I, taxes, and insurance you enter here, so you can move straight from a homeowner scenario into an investor cash-flow check.
Principal & Interest
P&I is calculated from loan amount, rate, and term. Most of the early-year payments go to interest — the amortization tilts toward principal over time.
Taxes & Insurance
Property taxes and homeowners insurance are entered annually and divided into a monthly impound. Lenders typically collect them in escrow.
HOA
Monthly HOA isn't escrowed but counts toward DTI underwriting. Condo and PUD borrowers should always include it.
PMI / MI
Required when LTV exceeds 80% on conventional, or for the life of the loan on most FHA. Conventional MI drops automatically at 78% LTV.
How to use the Affordability Calculator
Convert your gross income, monthly debts, and DTI thresholds into a maximum purchase price. The result is the tighter of two ratios — front-end (housing-only) and back-end (housing plus all debts).
The calculator iterates because property tax depends on the price you can afford, and price depends on the loan size left over after tax, insurance, HOA, and PMI come out of your housing budget. Adjust DTI limits to model lender overlays.
Front-End DTI
Housing payment divided by gross monthly income. Conventional caps near 28–36%; we surface 36% by default. FHA flexes higher.
Back-End DTI
Housing + car loans + student loans + credit-card minimums divided by gross income. 43% is the QM ceiling; non-QM goes to 50%+.
Why two limits
You can max your housing payment but still flunk back-end if non-housing debt is high. The tighter of the two is your actual ceiling.
Reserves
Most agency programs want 2–6 months PITIA in the bank after closing. Non-QM jumbo can require 12–24.
How to use the DSCR Calculator
The Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) measures whether a rental property generates enough income to cover its debt obligations. Lenders use it to qualify investment property loans without requiring W-2s or tax returns.
To calculate your DSCR: divide the property's gross monthly rental income by its total monthly debt obligations (mortgage P&I + taxes + insurance + HOA). A DSCR of 1.0 means the property exactly covers its debt. Above 1.0 means positive cash flow. United Trust Mortgage approves loans down to a 0.75 DSCR.
DSCR Above 1.25
Excellent cash flow. The property generates significantly more income than its debt obligations. Qualifies with virtually any DSCR lender at the best available rates.
DSCR 1.0 – 1.25
Good cash flow. The property covers all its obligations and produces positive returns. Qualifies with most DSCR lenders including United Trust Mortgage.
DSCR 0.75 – 1.0
Below break-even but still financeable. United Trust Mortgage accepts DSCRs as low as 0.75 — something most conventional lenders won't touch.
Short-Term Rentals
For Airbnb and VRBO properties, use AirDNA's Rentalizer to get a data-driven income estimate before calculating your DSCR. STR income is harder to verify and varies by market.
How to use the Cash Flow Calculator
DSCR tells you whether the rent covers the loan; cash flow tells you what's actually left after the realities of owning a rental — vacancy, management, and maintenance. A 1.25 DSCR can still cash-flow negative once those line items hit.
Use this tab to stress-test a deal beyond the lender's qualifying ratio. Plug in PITIA from the Mortgage tab, layer in the operating costs, and watch the monthly net swing positive or negative.
Vacancy Factor
5% = roughly 18 days/year unrented. Use 5–10% for stable LTRs; 15–25% for STRs in seasonal markets.
Repairs / CapEx
The big-ticket items — roofs, HVAC, water heaters. A common rule is $200–$300/mo for SFRs; more for older homes or multi-units.
Property Management
Typically 8–12% of gross rent for LTRs and 20–30% for STRs. If you self-manage, leave it at 0 — but include the value of your time.
Reading the Output
Positive monthly cash flow is the goal. Annualize it and compare against your equity in the deal to estimate cash-on-cash return.
How to use the BRRRR Calculator
BRRRR — Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat — is the playbook for recycling capital across rental deals. The calculator shows whether the cash-out refi will pull all of your purchase + rehab back out, leaving none of your equity stuck in the property.
The key inputs are the After-Repair Value (ARV) and the refi LTV your DSCR lender will allow. United Trust Mortgage caps DSCR cash-out at 75% LTV on most programs; plug that in and see what the deal returns.
Total Project Cost
Purchase + rehab + closing + holding. The all-in basis the refi has to cover for you to "BRRRR all the way."
Cash Left In Deal
How much of your money stays parked after the refi closes. Zero or negative is the BRRRR ideal.
Cash Out
If the refi exceeds your basis you walk with cash to redeploy. This requires a strong ARV and tight rehab budget.
Spread (ARV − All-In)
The "forced equity" you created. Even if you don't pull all your cash out, this is the wealth built by the project.
How to use the Refi Break-Even Calculator
A refi makes sense when the monthly savings outrun the closing costs within your hold period. This tab divides the refi costs by the monthly payment drop to give you the break-even in months — and shows what you net after the first 12 months of payments.
If you're planning to sell or refi again before the break-even point, the math doesn't justify it. If you'll hold past it, every additional month is profit.
Closing Costs
Typical refi costs run 2–5% of the loan. Lender credits, "no-cost" programs, and rolling costs into the balance change the calculus — model both versions.
Hold Period
Compare your break-even months to how long you actually plan to keep the loan. If break-even is 36 months and you're selling in 24, skip it.
Cash-Out Refi
If you're pulling equity, the break-even concept changes — the cash you take out at close is its own benefit beyond payment savings.
Rate vs Term
Lower payment can come from a lower rate or a longer term. The latter saves cash today but adds total interest. The calculator agnostically uses your inputs.
How to use the Buydown Calculator
A temporary rate buydown lowers the borrower's payment for the first 1–2 years before reverting to the full note rate. The cost is paid up front — usually as a seller concession on a purchase — and held in an escrow that subsidizes the payment.
This tab estimates the year-1 and year-2 payments and the approximate total subsidy. Use it to size a seller concession ask, or to evaluate whether a buyer credit is best deployed as a buydown vs. a permanent rate buy-down (points).
2-1 Buydown
Year 1 payment at note − 2%. Year 2 at note − 1%. Year 3+ at note. Most common; biggest subsidy.
1-0 Buydown
Year 1 payment at note − 1%. Year 2+ at note. Smaller subsidy, easier to negotiate as a concession.
Who Pays
Most often the seller as a closing-cost concession. Sometimes the lender via a credit. Borrower-paid buydowns exist but rarely make sense vs. discount points.
If the Borrower Refis
Unused subsidy is typically refunded toward principal. Keep the original good-faith buydown agreement on file.