Why we built this
I'm an engineer. When I model a system, I account for every cost it carries over its life — not just the sticker price. Buying a mountain home should work the same way. It doesn't. The listing shows you a price and a monthly payment; it doesn't show you the propane, the snow removal contract, the septic pumping, the well maintenance, the insurance that's climbed for three years running, or the assessment the HOA hasn't announced yet.
Those costs are knowable. They're just scattered across a dozen local sources nobody bothers to assemble — because assembling them is slow, unglamorous, and specific to each neighborhood. So that's what we did. We collected the real numbers, neighborhood by neighborhood, and built the calculator I went looking for and couldn't find: the true cost of owning here, before you sign.
No national averages. No estimate pulled from a zip code. Sourced local data, modeled honestly, so you see the real number.
What this is (and isn't)
This is: a cost-of-ownership reference built from sourced local data — association documents, contractor quotes, utility estimates, and FAIR Plan data. Every number has a source you can check.
This isn't: financial advice, a real estate brokerage, or a lead-generation tool for mortgage lenders. We don't have sponsored content. We don't sell your contact information.
Data currency
All figures reflect 2026 data, last verified April 2026. HOA assessments are updated annually when associations publish new-year figures. Fire insurance premiums shift as FAIR Plan rates change. The methodology page documents the source and confidence level for every line item.