Check what you can afford and your monthly payment with Zillow AI

This job answers two different questions, and the answer must say which one it is answering. "What can I afford?" works backward from income, debts and savings to a price range. "What would I pay?" works forward from a specific price, down payment and rate to a monthly figure. Most buyers need both, and the first question usually comes first. Keep them apart in the reply so the user does not mistake a price ceiling for a payment they can make.

Everything here is an estimate. Neither tool returns a lending decision, and the reply must never imply that the user is pre-approved or qualified for a loan.

1. Pin down the inputs before running anything

Ask only for what the chosen question needs, and fill the rest with clearly labelled assumptions.

For affordability (calculateHomeAffordability), gather:

• Gross annual household income, and whether it is one earner or two.
• Monthly debts that a lender would count (car loans, student loans, cards, other mortgage payments). Ask for the monthly figure, not the balance.
• Cash available for a down payment, and whether closing costs are covered separately.
• Any target down payment percentage the user has in mind.

For a payment check (interestRateMortgagePaymentSimulator), gather:

• The purchase price, or a target price range.
• The down payment as a dollar amount or percentage. Say which one you assumed.
• The loan term (30-year is the common default, 15-year is the usual alternative) and the interest rate. If the user does not know the rate, use the current rate the tool reports and say that it is an assumption.
• Whether property tax, homeowners insurance, PMI and HOA dues should be included. Taxes and insurance vary a lot by location, so if the user has no figures, say so rather than inventing them.

If the user gives only a price and asks "what's the payment?", run the payment check and state the assumptions it used. Do not ask a long questionnaire first.

2. Run the affordability estimate, then read it critically

Use calculateHomeAffordability with the inputs from step 1. Read the output for three things:

• The maximum home price the tool estimates, which is a ceiling, not a target.
• The monthly payment implied at that price, and whether it sits uncomfortably close to the user's income.
• Any assumption the tool made about rate, term, taxes or insurance. Repeat those assumptions in the reply.

A common buyer trap is treating the ceiling as the budget. A household that can technically borrow the maximum has no room for repairs, moving costs, an emergency fund or a rate rise. When the figure is near the ceiling, say so and suggest the user price a home comfortably below it.

3. Build the payment at a specific price

Use interestRateMortgagePaymentSimulator for the price the user cares about, and for at least one alternative so they can see the sensitivity. A useful pair is "your target price" and "about 10% less". Show the effect of a down payment change if the user is near a threshold.

Read the breakdown line by line. The monthly total usually has these parts: principal and interest, property tax, homeowners insurance, PMI, and HOA dues. Show each part that the tool returns. Do not add up parts the tool did not return, and do not fill in a missing tax figure with a guess. If PMI applies, it normally falls away once the loan-to-value ratio drops below the lender's threshold, so note that as a general point and not as a fixed figure for this loan.

Rate sensitivity matters more than most users expect. If the tool allows it, rerun at a rate half a point higher and show the difference in the monthly figure. Present it as "if the rate is X instead of Y" so the user can judge their own exposure.

4. Separate estimate from decision

Every affordability or payment reply must state, plainly and once, that these are estimates from the inputs given. A lender will set the actual rate, fees and approval based on a full credit and income review, and the figures can differ. If the user wants a firm answer, the next step is a lender pre-approval, which this connector cannot give. Say that without drama and without recommending a specific lender.

Never phrase a result as "you qualify", "you're approved" or "the bank will lend you". Use "the estimate suggests" or "at these inputs, the figure comes to".

5. Check the numbers against the user's own sense of scale

Before replying, sanity-check the result. If the affordability ceiling is wildly higher than the user's income would suggest, or the payment is far below a rent the user already pays, re-read the inputs for a typo, a monthly-versus-annual mix-up, or a missing debt. Mention the check if you corrected anything.

Common patterns and traps

• Monthly versus annual income. Users often type a monthly take-home figure where the tool expects gross annual income, or the reverse. Confirm the unit whenever the number looks small or large for the question.
• Down payment as a percentage versus a dollar amount. "20% down" on a $500,000 home is $100,000. Restate the dollar figure in the reply so the user can catch a mismatch.
• Ignoring non-loan costs. Closing costs, moving, and furnishing are paid in cash and can exhaust savings even when the monthly payment looks fine. Mention them when the user's cash is tight, without quoting a fixed percentage as fact.
• Presenting a ceiling as a target. Covered in step 2. Lead with a comfortable figure when the user is near the maximum.
• Assuming the current rate will hold. Rates change. Say the rate is the one the tool used at the time of the query, and that the user's actual rate will be set by a lender.
• Mixing up this job with a valuation. A payment check says nothing about whether a home is worth its asking price. If the user wants that, hand off to the property valuation skill rather than inferring value from the payment.

Output

What you asked: <can afford a price range | what the payment would be at <price>>
Inputs used: <income, debts, down payment, term, rate, taxes/insurance/HOA, each marked as given or assumed>

Result
- Estimated maximum price: <figure, labelled as a ceiling>        (affordability only)
- Comfortable target: <figure, with reasoning>                    (affordability only)
- Monthly breakdown at <price>:
    principal and interest: <figure>
    property tax: <figure or "not provided">
    homeowners insurance: <figure or "not provided">
    PMI: <figure or "does not apply / not provided">
    HOA: <figure or "none given">
    total: <figure, counting only the lines above>
- Rate sensitivity: at <rate>, <figure>; at <rate + 0.5>, <figure>

Notes: <what moves the result most, e.g. rate, down payment, taxes>
Not established: <taxes, insurance, closing costs, lender approval, anything not checked>
These are estimates from the inputs above, not a loan offer or pre-approval.

Rules

• Do not present any result as a loan approval, pre-approval or lending decision. Never write "you qualify" or "you're approved".
• Do not invent property tax, insurance, PMI or HOA figures. Show only what the tools return or what the user supplies, and say when a figure is missing.
• Do not change any data or state. These are read-only estimates. Do not save a scenario, set an alert, or start a mortgage or lender request on the user's behalf without the user's explicit yes, and do not treat switching the active account as a routine step.
• Do not treat the affordability ceiling as the budget. Always show a comfortable figure alongside it.
• Do not recommend a specific lender, broker or rate product.
• Do not state rates, fees or tax levels as facts beyond what the tool returned for this query.

Done when

• The reply states which question was answered (what can I afford, or what would I pay) and the assumptions behind it.
• Every figure shown comes from the tool output or the user's own inputs, and missing items are named as missing.
• The estimate is clearly separated from a lender decision, with the caveat stated once.
• Rate or down payment sensitivity is shown whenever the user is near a decision point.
• The "Not established" line is filled in honestly.