What Is the Home Buying & Mortgage Workbook?
The Home Buying & Mortgage Workbook is a home buying spreadsheet with 15 pre-built tabs that cover every financial decision in the home buying process — from affordability analysis to closing day and beyond. Available for both Excel and Google Sheets. You enter your core financial data once in the Control Panel, and most tabs calculate automatically. A few tabs have additional inputs for scenario-specific analysis.
The workbook includes an Affordability Dashboard with debt-to-income analysis, a Rent vs Buy break-even calculator over 5, 10, and 20-year horizons, a Down Payment savings tracker, a side-by-side Mortgage Comparison for three loan scenarios, a full month-by-month Amortization Schedule with auto PMI drop, an Extra Payments impact calculator, a 23-line-item Closing Costs estimator with estimate vs actual columns, a weighted Home Search Scorer for comparing up to five properties, a First-Year Homeowner Budget for expenses most buyers forget, a Maintenance Reserve tracker for big-ticket repair planning, and a Net Worth Projector comparing buying vs renting and investing. It also includes a Beginner Guide for first-time buyers and a Pro Strategy Guide covering DTI optimization, ARM vs fixed analysis, and points strategy.
Get the Workbook
The complete 15-tab workbook in both Excel and Google Sheets. Same formulas, same Control Panel, both files included in one purchase.
Who It's For
The Home Buying & Mortgage Workbook is built for:
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The First-Time Homebuyer
You're staring at 15 browser tabs trying to figure out if you can actually afford this — mortgage calculators, closing cost guides, rent-vs-buy articles. This puts all of that in one file with your actual numbers.
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The Rent-vs-Buy Decision-Maker
You've been told to "run the numbers" and you're not sure what that means. The rent vs buy tab does the math with your rent, your target price, your timeline — and tells you what makes sense.
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The Pre-Approval Comparison Shopper
You're shopping between two or three lenders. The mortgage comparison tab lays out three scenarios side-by-side with total interest and lifetime cost so you can see which offer actually wins.
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The Buyer Planning the First Year
The mortgage is the payment; the first year is everything else. This workbook tracks closing costs, maintenance reserves, and year-one homeowner budget so you're not blindsided after closing day.
What's Inside
Fifteen tabs covering every stage of the home buying process. Here's what you get:
Control Panel + Guides
One Setup, Everything CalculatesEnter your income, debts, savings, target home price, interest rate, and loan term on the Control Panel. Most tabs calculate from these inputs automatically. The Beginner Guide walks first-time buyers through the workbook step by step. The Pro Guide covers advanced strategies like DTI optimization, points analysis, and ARM vs fixed decision frameworks.
Affordability Dashboard
Know Before You ShopVisual analysis of your debt-to-income ratios — housing-to-income, total DTI, and FHA maximum. Each metric shows your value, the guideline, the max allowed, and a pass/fail status. See your monthly housing cost and whether your budget can handle it before you start looking at listings.
Rent vs Buy & Down Payment
The Real ComparisonThe Rent vs Buy calculator compares total cost of buying versus renting and investing the difference over 5, 10, and 20 years — factoring in appreciation, rent increases, investment returns, and selling costs. The Down Payment tracker shows your savings goal, current balance, monthly contribution, and projected timeline to reach your target.
Mortgage Comparison & Amortization
Three Loans, Full VisibilityCompare three mortgage scenarios side by side — different rates, terms, down payments, or loan types. See monthly payment, total interest, total cost, and break-even point for each. The Amortization tab shows a full month-by-month schedule with principal, interest, balance, and automatic PMI drop when you hit 80% loan-to-value.
Extra Payments & Closing Costs
See the Impact of Every DollarThe Extra Payments calculator shows how additional monthly or annual lump-sum payments reduce total interest and shorten your loan term. The Closing Costs estimator itemizes 23 line items across lender fees, title charges, prepaid items, and government fees — with estimate and actual columns so you can compare against your Loan Estimate document.
Home Scorer, First-Year Budget & Maintenance
Compare, Budget, and Plan AheadThe Home Search Scorer lets you rate and compare up to five properties on weighted criteria you define — location, price, size, condition, and more. The First-Year Budget covers expenses most buyers forget: utilities, setup costs, HOA, lawn care, and maintenance. The Maintenance Reserve tracker projects replacement timelines and costs for every major home system — roof, HVAC, water heater, appliances — based on age and expected lifespan.
How to Start Using It
Download the Workbook
Purchase on Etsy and download the Excel file or copy the Google Sheets version. Start on the Read Me tab for a guide to every tab and what it does.
Fill In the Control Panel
Enter your income, debts, savings, target home price, down payment, interest rate, and loan term. This takes five minutes and drives most of the workbook automatically.
Check Your Affordability
Open the Affordability Dashboard to see your DTI ratios and whether your target home fits your budget. Adjust the Control Panel inputs until the numbers work.
Compare Scenarios
Use the Mortgage Comparison tab to evaluate different loan options. Run the Rent vs Buy calculator to see if buying makes financial sense for your timeline. Check the Extra Payments tab to see how additional payments affect your total cost.
Score Properties and Plan for Move-In
As you tour homes, use the Home Scorer to compare them objectively. Once you're under contract, fill in the Closing Costs estimator with your Loan Estimate figures. Use the First-Year Budget and Maintenance Reserve tabs to plan your homeowner finances.
Why This Instead of Online Calculators
Online mortgage calculators give you one number — a monthly payment. They don't show you the amortization schedule, the total interest over the life of the loan, or what happens if you pay an extra $200 per month. They don't compare three loan scenarios side by side. They don't factor in closing costs, first-year homeowner expenses, or maintenance reserves. This workbook does all of it in one file.
Free spreadsheet templates usually cover one piece of the puzzle — a mortgage calculator or a budget sheet. This workbook covers the entire buying process from affordability analysis through your first year of ownership. Fifteen tabs, all connected to one Control Panel, all calculating from your actual numbers.
This is the workbook you'll wish you had when you realize the lender's estimate didn't include half the costs you're about to pay. One file. Every number. No surprises.
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Related Reading
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