Calculate how much cash you need to buy a home — including down payment, closing costs, moving expenses, and cash reserves.
Twenty percent down on a $350,000 home is $70,000, and that is the figure most buyers save toward. Add 3% closing costs, $2,000 for the move and a $5,000 cushion and the cash needed at the table is $87,500, a $17,500 gap that tends to surface at the worst possible moment. This calculator totals the whole stack so the gap shows up months before closing day.
Down payment = price × percent ÷ 100. If you type a dollar amount instead, percent = down payment ÷ price × 100. Loan amount = price − down payment, and loan-to-value (LTV) = loan ÷ price × 100. Closing costs = price × closing-cost percent ÷ 100, and the default of 3% is a ballpark that your lender's loan estimate will replace.
Total cash needed = down payment + closing costs + moving costs + cash reserves. The PMI estimate is one flat assumption: if LTV is strictly above 80%, monthly PMI = loan × 0.7% ÷ 12, and at 80% or below it is zero. Real PMI quotes move with credit score and loan type, so treat that line as a placeholder.
Worked example with the defaults: $350,000 × 20% = $70,000 down, so the loan is $280,000 and LTV is 80.0%. Closing costs are $350,000 × 3% = $10,500. Add $2,000 moving and $5,000 reserves: $70,000 + $10,500 + $2,000 + $5,000 = $87,500, with no PMI. Drop to 10% down and the cash needed falls to $52,500, but LTV rises to 90% and the PMI estimate becomes $315,000 × 0.007 ÷ 12 = $183.75 a month.
The test is whether LTV is strictly greater than 80%. At exactly 20% down the LTV is 80.0% and PMI Required reads No; at 19.9% it flips to Yes. Lenders apply their own cut-offs and loan programs differ, so confirm with yours.
The page includes them because many buyers want money left after closing, but the $5,000 default is a placeholder, not a rule. Set it to 0 to see the strict cash-to-close figure. Some lenders require reserves measured in months of payments, depending on the loan and property type.
No. It is a lookup on the percentage alone. FHA also looks at credit score (580 or higher for the 3.5% minimum), income and the property. VA and USDA loans can need nothing down, and anything under 3.5% simply prints 'May require special programs'.
On a conventional loan, the Homeowners Protection Act lets you request cancellation once the balance reaches 80% of the home's original value, and requires lenders to end it automatically at 78% if you are current on payments. Extra principal payments or a new appraisal can get you there sooner.