Mortgage Payment on a $300,000 House

Monthly payment by down payment (6.5% rate, 30-year)

• 0% down (VA): $1,896 P&I + $400 tax/ins = ~$2,296/month
• 3% down: $1,839 P&I + $190 PMI + $400 tax/ins = ~$2,429/month
• 5% down: $1,801 P&I + $185 PMI + $400 tax/ins = ~$2,386/month
• 10% down: $1,706 P&I + $175 PMI + $400 tax/ins = ~$2,281/month
• 20% down: $1,517 P&I + $0 PMI + $400 tax/ins = ~$1,917/month

How interest rate changes the payment

Same $300K home, 20% down ($60K loan amount $240,000), 30-year term:

• 5.0% rate: $1,288 P&I
• 6.0% rate: $1,439 P&I
• 6.5% rate: $1,517 P&I
• 7.0% rate: $1,596 P&I
• 7.5% rate: $1,678 P&I
• 8.0% rate: $1,761 P&I

A 1-point rate increase adds roughly $150–$160/month to a $240K loan. Over 30 years that's about $55,000 in extra interest.

Income needed to afford a $300K house

Using the 28% rule, you need monthly gross income about 3.5× your total housing payment. At $2,300/month total payment:

• Comfortable: $75,000–$85,000 salary
• Stretched but doable: $65,000–$74,000 salary
• Tight (avoid): under $60,000 salary

Total interest paid on a $300K house

At 6.5% over 30 years with 20% down ($240K loan):

• Total interest paid: about $306,000
• Total paid back over loan: about $546,000
• Monthly P&I: $1,517

Yes — you'll pay back more than double the loan amount over 30 years. The fastest ways to cut this: bigger down payment, shorter term (15-year cuts total interest by ~60%), or biweekly payments.

15-year vs 30-year on a $300K house

• 30-year at 6.5% (20% down): $1,517/month, $306K total interest
• 15-year at 5.75% (20% down): $1,994/month, $119K total interest

Paying $477 more per month saves you $187,000 in interest. Run the comparison against investing that $477/month at 7% — both choices can be defensible.

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