You open your mortgage documents and you see this big amount of money owed under “PITI”. But you have no clue as to what is the right PITI definition. Don’t worry; we got you!
PITI is not someone with an accent trying to say “pitty”. The correct PITI definition is of an acronym to the primary elements of many monthly mortgage payments:
- P for Principal
- I for Interest
- T for Taxes
- I for Insurance
So, Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance - or PITI – are actually the main components of what you will pay back to the lender monthly once you get a mortgage. However, not all mortgages include taxes and insurance in the payments. That doesn’t mean they will charge you a “PI”; they’ll probably just single out principal and interest.
But saying that PITI is just an aggregation to make the understanding of borrower’s expenses is not the most thorough PITI definition. The PITI assembling is as important for the lender itself, so it can determine the affordability of an individual mortgage and approve it or decline it. The lender calculates one’s PITI to determine the borrower’s risk, just like the borrower does to determine if his pockets are big enough to purchase that home.
Check our Real Estate Questions page; maybe someone else had the same doubts you have and we answered it already!
Popular Real Estate Terms
Federal agency that monitors the federal savings an loan associations and federally insured state-charted S&Ls. It acts as a central bank. ...
Room in a home where the occupants spend their leisure time. ...
Where property is sold to the highest bidder. ...
Sometimes, a perplexing legal term (a genuine headscratcher) emerges when buying or selling a property. You know you should know it, but its precise definition escapes you. Today's special ...
In urban areas, one way to organize urban development is to keep track of building density. The building density definition is a way to determine the concentration of buildings in a given ...
Substituting one party for another in an action giving that party full rights or claims. Foe example, an insurance company pays the insured for a fire loss caused to the home by a third ...
A written agreement between institutional investors to buy or sell ownership shares in mortgages. An institution such as a bank can agree to buy a certain number of shares in a single or ...
As a hopeful house hunter, renter, or seasoned real estate investor, you've probably come across baffling terms. One such term is "adhesion contract." It might sound complex, but don't ...
Self-employed contractor who may perform work on a structure such as residential or commercial property. ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.