Problem Description: Understanding how much home you can affors is critical to anyone contemplating their next home purchase. I run a real estate company and want to create a Home Buying Power Calculator so that potential customers can better understand how much home they can afford to purchase given their income, amount available for downpayment, and monthly debts. Here is an example of what I am looking to create. https://www.movoto.com/mortgages/buyingpower/

Acceptance Criteria: The web application should have a simple design with a fintech design stye. The calculator should be accessible to users from any device, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The user should be able to input their annual income, down payment, monthly debt payments and zip code into the calculator. The calculator should provide a range of home affordability options based on the user's input, with the options being affordable, stretching, and aggressive. And it should provide a breakdown of the monthly payment into principal, property taxes, mortgage insurance, and insurance.

Technical Details: The home purchasing calculator should be built as a responsive web application, using modern front-end web development technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The calculator should use an API to retrieve current interest rates and other financial data necessary for the calculations. FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) API: This is a free API provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis that provides a wide range of economic and financial data, including interest rates. You can access the FRED API using HTTP requests, and you'll need to register for an API key to use it. The back-end of the calculator should be built using a server-side programming language such as Python or Ruby, and a database such as MySQL or PostgreSQL. The application should be hosted on a reliable web hosting platform such as AWS, Google Cloud, with appropriate security measures in place to protect user data.

Timelines and milestones:

Week 1: Planning and Requirements Gathering

-Define the project requirements and acceptance criteria
-Create a project plan and timeline
-Research and choose appropriate technologies and APIs

Week 2: Front-End Development

-Design the user interface for the calculator
-Build the front-end using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
-Implement form validation and error handling

Week 3: Back-End Development

-Build the server-side application using a programming language and database
-Implement API integrations to retrieve interest rates and other financial data
-Develop the calculation logic and output ranges for home affordability

Week 4: Testing and Deployment

-Test the application to ensure it meets the acceptance criteria and is bug-free
-Conduct user acceptance testing to gather feedback and make necessary improvements
-Deploy the application to a hosting platform and configure security settings

Milestones:

-Completed project requirements and acceptance criteria (end of week 1)
-Functional front-end with input validation and error handling (end of week 2)
-Functional back-end with API integrations and calculation logic (end of week 3)
-Bug-free and tested application ready for deployment (end of week 4)