First-Time Home Buyer Checklist
A step-by-step planning sequence to set payment limits, compare rent vs buy, and protect post-closing cash.
- Monthly payment guardrail setup
- Affordability and timeline checkpoints
- Reserve and stress-test checklist
Housing Planning Guides and Checklists
Read practical decision frameworks and step-by-step checklists before you run numbers in the calculators.
How Much House Can I Afford?
Use income, debt, fixed ownership costs, and stress-test scenarios to set a safe budget range.
- Front-end and back-end DTI interpretation
- Cash reserve targets beyond the down payment
- Rate-stress checks before offer decisions
Refinance Break-Even Guide
Learn the break-even formula and when monthly payment savings can be misleading.
- Closing-cost recovery math
- Term reset versus interest-rate improvement
- Hold-period decision checklist
Rent vs Buy 7-Year Rule Guide
Understand when the 7-year rule helps and when it fails under local cost and risk assumptions.
- Why transaction costs drive break-even
- How maintenance and tax assumptions change outcomes
- A scenario matrix for uncertain move timelines
Use Guides with Calculators
After reading, run your numbers in the Mortgage, Amortization, Affordability, Refinance, and Rent vs Buy calculators.