Your total monthly payment is made of up to five pieces. Lenders call the first four PITI.

‍Principal is the part that pays down what you borrowed. Early in the loan, it's the smallest piece. By the end, it's most of the payment.
‍Interest is the cost of borrowing. On a 30-year loan, the first several years of payments are mostly interest, which is why extra principal payments early on save so much.
‍Taxes are your property taxes, collected monthly by the lender and paid on your behalf. This varies enormously by location, so replace the estimate with the actual assessment for any home you're serious about.
‍Insurance is your homeowners policy, also collected monthly. Coastal and high-risk areas can run two to three times the national average, so get a real quote before you fall in love with a house. (Your Yellow assistant pulls insurance quotes for you once you're under contract.)
‍Mortgage insurance appears only when you put down less than 20% on a conventional loan, or on any FHA loan.
‍HOA dues are paid to the association, not the lender, but they're part of your real monthly cost and lenders count them in your DTI.

The 15-year option shows a higher monthly payment and a dramatically lower total interest number. That's the whole trade. A 15-year loan builds equity faster and costs far less over time. A 30-year loan keeps the monthly payment manageable and leaves you flexibility to pay extra when you can. Neither is wrong. Toggle between them and notice how the "total interest over term" line moves.

Home price: $350,000. Down payment: 10% ($35,000). Loan amount: $315,000, 30-year fixed.

• Principal and interest: depends on your rate. At the calculator's default rate, expect roughly $2,000 to $2,100.

• Property tax: about $290 per month at a 1% annual rate.

• Homeowners insurance: about $150 per month, higher in coastal states.

• PMI: about $160 per month at 0.6% per year.

• HOA: $0 if there isn't one.

• Total: somewhere around $2,600 to $2,700 per month. The principal and interest alone would have told you $2,000. That gap is the reason this calculator exists.

• If the payment feels high, see how a bigger down payment changes it with the Down Payment Calculator.

• Not sure what price fits your income? Start with the Home Affordability Calculator.

• For a payment estimate based on your actual credit range instead of a default rate, try the Pre-Approval Estimator.