About RateCraft

RateCraft is a suite of mortgage, real estate, and tax calculators for people making actual borrowing decisions — the kind of decisions where being off by half a percentage point compounds into tens of thousands of dollars over thirty years. Most online mortgage calculators get the basic monthly payment right and then stop. RateCraft tries to do the harder part well too: break-even analysis after taxes, PMI removal milestones with appreciation, the §469 passive-loss limit on rental properties, the Section 121 exemption window when converting a primary to a rental.

Why we built this

The default consumer-facing mortgage tool is a 30-second monthly-payment calculator sponsored by a lead-gen firm. The math is fine but the framing is shallow and the goal is to capture your contact info, not to help you make a good decision. Anyone who’s actually closed a few mortgages knows the questions that matter look more like “does the rate trap bite if I cash-out refi?” or “can I drop PMI by reappraising?” or “does the Section 121 exclusion still apply if I convert my house to a rental for two years?” — and almost no public tool answers them honestly.

How we work

Every calculator is reviewed against published lender guidelines (Fannie Mae Selling Guide, FHA 4000.1, IRS Publications) and against domain experts. When the math is a judgment call (cap-gains rate proxy, depreciation recapture treatment, discount-rate selection), we say so out loud rather than hide it behind a single confident number.

What’s next

More tools in the pipeline: a Rate Lock Timing Simulator, Insurance Bundle Optimizer, Loan Estimate ↔ Closing Disclosure comparator, and eventually a real loan-bidding marketplace where licensed mortgage originators compete for your business.

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