Editorial policy

Rule one: no unsourced numbers

We do not publish a figure we can't attribute. Every default rate on this site names its publisher and series — Freddie Mac's PMMS via FRED, the Bank of Canada's Valet API, the Reserve Bank of Australia's Table F6 — and carries the date it was last refreshed. Property tax rates come from a single cited dataset on a stated effective-rate basis.

Where we don't have a trustworthy source, we say so plainly rather than filling the gap. Our UK rate is currently labelled unverified on the methodology page for exactly this reason. Admitting a gap is cheaper than inventing a number to cover it.

Rule two: don't estimate what can't be estimated

Some costs genuinely have no defensible average — home insurance, HOA and strata fees, Australian LMI premiums. A calculator could easily produce a confident default for each. We leave them to you instead, and explain why. The same logic governs how granular our location pages get: we generate pages down to the level where the underlying numbers actually differ, and stop there. A page that only swaps a place name into the same text isn't information.

Rule three: the maths is the maths

Our calculators use standard, publicly documented formulas — the ordinary fixed-rate amortization equation, the long-established 28/36 debt-to-income ratios — with no proprietary adjustments. Country-specific rules are modelled on how each market genuinely works rather than by relabelling US assumptions. All of it is written out on the methodology page so you can check it against your own numbers.

How our guides are written

Guides explain mechanics — how amortization actually works, what PMI is and when it drops off, what closing costs consist of — rather than chasing search terms. We aim to explain the concept well enough that you can apply it to your own situation, and we link to primary sources for anything regulatory or numeric.

We don't publish "best lender" rankings, lender reviews, or rate comparison tables. We have no lender relationships and no way to verify such claims independently, so we stay out of that territory entirely.

Advertising is separate from content

The site is free and supported by display advertising. Advertisers have no input into our calculators, our guides, or the data behind them, and we don't accept payment to alter, feature, or soften anything. We publish no sponsored posts and no paid links. An ad for a lender is not a recommendation — see the disclaimer.

Updates and dating

Rate data carries a visible "last updated" date on the methodology page. US and Canadian figures refresh from automated public data feeds; UK and Australian figures are updated manually and can lag, which we disclose rather than hide behind a generic freshness claim. Property-tax data is reviewed against its source periodically and re-dated when it changes.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, we want to know and we will fix it. Send the page, the figure you think is incorrect, and — if you have one — the source you're comparing against, via our contact page. Reader corrections about local property-tax rates are especially welcome; state averages are a starting point and local knowledge beats them.

Substantive corrections to a published figure are reflected in that figure's update date. We'd rather visibly change a number than quietly leave a wrong one in place.

Who's accountable

Editorial responsibility for this site sits with its operator, who can be reached through the contact page. Questions about sourcing or methodology are answered directly.