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How affordability is calculated
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Total debt-to-income (DTI) ratio
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FHA vs. VA vs. Conventional
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To calculate your general affordability range, we take into account a few primary items, such as your household income, monthly debts (for example, car loan and student loan payments) and the amount of available savings for a down payment. That said, as a home buyer, it’s important to have a certain level of comfort in understanding your monthly mortgage payments. While your household income and monthly debts may be relatively stable, your overall savings and how much you wish to allocate toward your home can vary depending on how much you want to set aside for a rainy day or how much you want to set aside for a future expenditure.
A good rule of thumb is to have three months of your housing payments, including your monthly expenses, in reserve. This will give you an additional buffer in case there is some unexpected event.
A good rule of thumb is to have three months of your housing payments, including your monthly expenses, in reserve. This will give you an additional buffer in case there is some unexpected event.
An important metric that your bank uses to calculate the amount of mortgage you can borrow is the DTI ratio, or simply put, the ratio of your total monthly debts (for example, your mortgage payments including property and tax payments) to your monthly pre-tax income. Depending on your profile and lending resource, you may be qualified at a higher ratio closer to 43%. We recommend that your total monthly spend for housing and debts should not exceed 36% of your monthly income in order to provide you with a safe cushion.
In considering your available savings for a down payment there are specific loan types to consider. We’ve made the assumption that if you have at least a 20% down payment, you would be better fit for a conventional loan and anything less (down to a minimum of 3.5%) would be considered for a FHA loan. If you are Active Military, you could qualify for 0% down payment.