Buyer tools
Mortgage calculator, with the Acadiana costs left in.
Price, down payment, rate and term, plus the costs that decide a payment in Acadiana: property taxes, homeowners insurance, flood insurance, PMI and dues. It recalculates as you type, and nothing you enter leaves this page.
An estimate for planning, not a loan offer.
Estimate a payment
Your numbers, line by line
Change any figure and everything below it updates. Every starting value is an assumption for the arithmetic, so replace each one with your own.
The starting figures are a $250,000 house with 10% down, taxes at 0.6% of the price, $3,000 a year for homeowners insurance and PMI at 0.5% of the loan. They are examples, not quotes.
Estimated monthly payment
$1,890.90
- Principal and interest
- $1,422.15
- Property taxes
- $125.00
- Homeowners insurance
- $250.00
- Flood insurance
- $0.00
- PMI
- $93.75
- HOA dues
- $0.00
What the lender sees
- Housing to income (front end)
- 26.7% Within the common 28% guideline for housing.
- All debts to income (back end)
- 32.3% Within the common 36% guideline.
- Loan amount
- $225,000
- Maximum qualifying loan, at 28% and 36%
- $239,623
- Total interest over the loan
- $286,975
The thresholds are approximate. Every lender and loan program sets its own, and credit, savings and the loan type all move them.
| Year | Payments | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $17,066 | $2,515 | $14,551 | $222,485 |
| 2 | $17,066 | $2,683 | $14,383 | $219,802 |
| 3 | $17,066 | $2,863 | $14,203 | $216,939 |
| 4 | $17,066 | $3,055 | $14,011 | $213,884 |
| 5 | $17,066 | $3,259 | $13,806 | $210,625 |
| 6 | $17,066 | $3,478 | $13,588 | $207,147 |
| 7 | $17,066 | $3,711 | $13,355 | $203,437 |
| 8 | $17,066 | $3,959 | $13,107 | $199,478 |
| 9 | $17,066 | $4,224 | $12,842 | $195,253 |
| 10 | $17,066 | $4,507 | $12,559 | $190,746 |
| 11 | $17,066 | $4,809 | $12,257 | $185,937 |
| 12 | $17,066 | $5,131 | $11,935 | $180,806 |
| 13 | $17,066 | $5,475 | $11,591 | $175,332 |
| 14 | $17,066 | $5,841 | $11,225 | $169,491 |
| 15 | $17,066 | $6,232 | $10,833 | $163,258 |
| 16 | $17,066 | $6,650 | $10,416 | $156,608 |
| 17 | $17,066 | $7,095 | $9,971 | $149,513 |
| 18 | $17,066 | $7,570 | $9,495 | $141,943 |
| 19 | $17,066 | $8,077 | $8,988 | $133,865 |
| 20 | $17,066 | $8,618 | $8,447 | $125,247 |
| 21 | $17,066 | $9,196 | $7,870 | $116,051 |
| 22 | $17,066 | $9,811 | $7,254 | $106,240 |
| 23 | $17,066 | $10,468 | $6,597 | $95,772 |
| 24 | $17,066 | $11,170 | $5,896 | $84,602 |
| 25 | $17,066 | $11,918 | $5,148 | $72,684 |
| 26 | $17,066 | $12,716 | $4,350 | $59,969 |
| 27 | $17,066 | $13,567 | $3,498 | $46,401 |
| 28 | $17,066 | $14,476 | $2,590 | $31,925 |
| 29 | $17,066 | $15,445 | $1,620 | $16,480 |
| 30 | $17,066 | $16,480 | $586 | $0 |
An estimate for planning only. It is not a loan offer, a pre-approval or a commitment to lend, and actual rates, payments and approval depend on the lender, your credit and the property.
Reading the result
What each line tells you
- The monthly payment.
- Principal and interest is the loan itself. Taxes and insurance are usually collected with it in escrow, and flood insurance, PMI and dues sit on top. The total is what leaves your account each month.
- Housing to income.
- The whole housing payment as a share of gross monthly income. Lenders call it the front-end ratio.
- All debts to income.
- The housing payment plus car, student loan, card minimums and any other monthly debt, as a share of the same income. The back-end ratio, and usually the one that decides an approval.
- Maximum qualifying loan.
- The largest loan the 28% and 36% guideline allows at this rate and term, holding taxes, insurance, PMI and dues at the figures above.
- Total interest.
- What the loan costs over its full term if every payment is made on schedule. Paying extra toward principal shortens it.
Louisiana notes
Three things specific to buying here
The homestead exemption
Louisiana's homestead exemption takes the first $75,000 of an owner-occupied home's market value off most parish property taxes. You apply once, in person, at the Lafayette Parish Assessor's office after the act of sale, and the calculator does not assume it.
Insurance is a real share of the payment
Homeowners insurance in Louisiana has risen sharply, and the roof's age can decide whether a policy is affordable at all. Get a quote on the actual house before you are under contract, and put that figure in place of the starting one.
Flood zones vary lot by lot
Two houses on the same street can sit in different zones. A lender requires flood coverage in a mapped high-risk zone, and many owners outside one buy it anyway.
Turn the estimate into a number
A lender replaces every assumption above
A pre-approval swaps the starting figures for your real rate, your real maximum and a letter a seller will take seriously. It is free and it is not a commitment.
Payment questions
What buyers ask about the numbers
How much house can I afford in Lafayette?
Start from the monthly payment, not the price. A common lender guideline keeps the whole housing payment, taxes and insurance included, near 28% of gross monthly income, and all monthly debts including the house near 36%. In Acadiana the insurance lines are the ones that surprise people: homeowners insurance runs well above the national average and a house in a mapped flood zone adds a flood premium on top. Put your own quotes into the calculator and the maximum qualifying loan line shows what those guidelines allow.
What debt-to-income ratio do lenders look for?
Roughly 28% for housing alone and 36% for all debts is the traditional conventional guideline. Many lenders approve a back-end ratio up to about 43%, and some programs go higher with strong credit or savings. FHA uses about 31% and 43% as its starting points. These are approximate: each lender and loan program sets its own limits, which is why a pre-approval is the only number that settles it.
What is PMI, and when does it come off?
Private mortgage insurance protects the lender, not you, on a conventional loan with less than 20% down. You can ask the servicer to cancel it once the balance reaches 80% of the original value, and federal law ends it automatically at 78% if the payments are current. FHA loans carry their own mortgage insurance with different rules, which in many cases lasts for the life of the loan.
Why is flood insurance on its own line?
Because in much of Acadiana it is required, and it is priced separately from homeowners insurance. A lender requires flood coverage on a house in a mapped high-risk zone, and the premium depends on the zone, the elevation and the house itself, so two houses on the same street can differ by a thousand dollars a year. Look the address up on the FEMA flood map and get a quote before you make an offer.
Does the homestead exemption lower the property taxes here?
Yes, on the house you live in. Louisiana's homestead exemption takes the first $75,000 of an owner-occupied home's market value off most parish property taxes, though city taxes still apply in most places. It is not automatic: you apply once at the parish assessor's office after you close. The calculator starts from a flat percentage of the price, so enter your own tax figure if you have one.
Check it yourself
Sources you can use directly
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FEMA flood map
Type an address and see its current flood zone. Zones are revised, so check the one you are buying.
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Lafayette Parish Assessor
Assessed values, millage and the homestead exemption application for Lafayette Parish.
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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Plain explanations of loan estimates, closing disclosures and mortgage insurance, from the federal regulator.
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Verify a license
Louisiana licenses are public record. Search a license number before you sign anything with any agent, including this one.
Related
Where to go next
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Get pre-approved
Why it comes before the house hunt, and what to have ready for the application.
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First-time buyers
Down payment help, USDA eligibility and what closing actually costs.
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Buying in Acadiana
Representation from the first showing through the closing.
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New construction
The agent in the model home works for the builder. Bring your own.