AmortMapWhat a given loan amount actually costs per month, and over its life.

What is 15% down on a $400k house?

15% down on a $400k house
$60,000down payment
but $68,000–$80,000 has to be in the account at closing, once closing costs are counted
What has to be in the account$60,00015% down$68,000cash at closinglow estimate$80,000cash at closinghigh estimateClosing costs add $8,000–$20,000 on top of the down payment
Down payment$60,000
Amount financed$340,000
Closing costs, 2–5%lender fees, title, escrow prepaids — separate from the down payment$8,000–$20,000
Cash needed at closing$68,000–$80,000
Principal & interest at 6.5%30-year fixed$2,149
PMIabout 4.7 years until 80% equity, roughly $9,520 in total$170 a month
Versus 20% downand $20,000 less cash up front$296 more a month

Notes

  • The down payment is not the cash you need. Closing costs run 2–5% of the price and are due on the same day, so this purchase asks for $68,000 to $80,000 rather than $60,000. Buyers who budget only the down payment are the ones who discover the gap a week before closing.
  • PMI is temporary, and it has a defined end. At 15% down it costs about $170 a month here. Under the Homeowners Protection Act a borrower may request cancellation at 80% of the original value — about 4.7 years in at this rate — and the servicer must cancel automatically at 78%. Total cost if you wait for that: roughly $9,520.
  • Twenty percent is not a requirement. Conventional loans go to 3% down, FHA to 3.5%, and VA and USDA to zero for those who qualify. The trade is PMI and a larger balance, not rejection.
  • Waiting to save more is not free. Prices and rates move while you save. At 3% annual appreciation, a $400k house costs $12,000 more a year — which on this purchase is close to a full year of the extra saving needed to move from 15% to 20% down.

The short answer

15% down on a $400k house is $60,000.

That is the easy part. The number that decides whether the purchase happens is $68,000–$80,000 — the cash that has to be in the account on closing day.

Where the rest comes from

Line On this purchase
Down payment $60,000
Closing costs, 2–5% $8,000–$20,000
Cash to close $68,000–$80,000
Amount financed $340,000

Closing costs are lender fees, title insurance, appraisal, recording, and prepaid escrow for tax and insurance. They are due at the same table as the down payment and they are not financed on a purchase.

Budgeting only the down payment is the single most common way a file falls apart in the last week.

Twenty percent is a PMI threshold, not a requirement

Conventional loans go to 3% down and FHA to 3.5%; VA and USDA go to zero for those who qualify. Nobody is turned away for having less than 20%.

What happens below 20% is that the lender buys insurance against your default and bills you for it. That is the whole meaning of the number.

What waiting costs

Saving from 15% to 20% on this house means finding $60,000 more, roughly, while prices and rates move underneath you.

At 3% annual appreciation the same house costs about 3% more a year. On a $400k purchase that is close to a full year of extra saving, spent standing still.

The honest version of the trade is: PMI is a known monthly cost with a defined end, and waiting is an unknown cost with no end date. Neither is free.

The monthly payment has its own page

At a 6.5% thirty-year fixed, $340,000 financed is about $2,149 a month in principal and interest, before tax, insurance and PMI.

The full breakdown of that payment — including how much of it is not principal and interest — belongs on the mortgage payment table, not here.

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