Methodology · nothing up the sleeve

How every number on this site is computed.

“Real math, not listing-site estimates” is a claim you should be able to check. This page is the check. Every figure the tool shows comes from the components below — there are no adjusted, blended, or marketing numbers anywhere on the site.

Property tax: Buyer-Basis Math™ (buyer basis), certified rates

Monthly tax = full appraised value × the parcel’s certified mill rate ÷ 1,000 ÷ 12. We use the buyer basis: full appraised value with no exemptions, because the current owner’s exemptions (senior, disabled-veteran, homestead) don’t transfer at sale. The tax history shown on listing portals is the seller’s bill — often materially lower than what the buyer will actually be billed in year one.

Mill rates come from Matanuska-Susitna Borough and Municipality of Anchorage records. When you add a specific address, we retrieve that parcel’s record on demand and use its zone’s certified rate; the card labels the rate “certified” with its tax year, or “est.” when we’re falling back to an area default. The representative areas tracked on the scorecards page today:

Florida: the Save Our Homes reset

Florida caps a homesteaded owner’s assessed-value growth at 3% per year. That cap dies at closing: the buyer’s assessment resets to just value. Where our Florida county data is live, we compute the seller’s capped bill and the buyer’s reset bill from the actual millage stack for that taxing district, apply the new-owner homestead exemption, and flag the delta on the card. Florida insurance is entered, not guessed — premiums there vary too much for a default to be honest.

Principal & interest, and program modeling

P&I uses the standard amortization formula on a 30-year fixed at the sample rate below. Program specifics are modeled, not hand-waved: the VA funding fee (tiered by down payment and first use, financed into the loan, waived with qualifying VA disability), FHA upfront MIP at 1.75% financed plus annual MIP, and conventional PMI by credit tier, terminating at a scheduled 78% LTV. Conventional rates carry credit-tier adjustments; VA and FHA pricing is modeled flat across tiers. 2026 conforming and FHA loan limits — including the 2–4 unit schedules — are checked on every scenario and warned when exceeded.

Sample rates

Rates shown are sample rates, currently as of 2026-07-15 (updated 18 days ago — the tool tells you this too): VA 6.250%, FHA 6.250%, conventional 6.625% at 740+ credit before tier adjustments. They exist to make the comparisons honest relative to each other, not to quote you. Your actual rate depends on credit, property, and program eligibility.

APR

APR is computed actuarially per scenario, not looked up: the internal rate of return over the modeled cash flows, where the amount financed is the loan principal minus $3,500 in representative prepaid finance charges plus financed VA funding fee / FHA UFMIP, and the payment stream is P&I plus the mortgage-insurance schedule (FHA MIP life-of-loan under 10% down, conventional PMI ending at scheduled 78% LTV, VA none).

Budget ceilings (“start from my payment”)

The payment-first tool inverts the PITI equation with a bisection solve: given your target monthly payment, it finds the highest purchase price whose full PITI in each tax area stays at or under it. Ceilings are what a payment buys, not what you qualify for — qualification depends on income, debts, and program rules.

What we don’t model

Found a number that looks wrong? That’s a bug report we want: derekhuit@gmail.com.

See the scorecardsEvery tracked rate, in dollars per month.Run the toolReal addresses, real certified rates, no email required.