How Much Should Your Mortgage Be In Relation To Income

Check Your Credit History

When you apply for a mortgage, lenders usually pull your credit reports from the three main reporting bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Your credit report is a summary of your credit history and includes your credit card accounts, loans, balances, and payment history, according to Consumer.gov.

In addition to checking that you pay your bills on time, lenders will analyze how much of your available credit you actively use, known as credit utilization. Maintaining a credit utilization rate at or below 30 percent boosts your credit score and demonstrates that you manage your debt wisely.

All of these items make up your FICO score, a credit score model used by lenders, ranging from 300 to 850. A score of 800 or higher is considered exceptional 740 to 799 is very good 670 to 739 is good 580 to 669 is fair and 579 or lower is poor, according to Experian, one of the three main credit reporting bureaus.

When you have good credit, you have access to more loan choices and lower interest rates. If you have poor credit, you will have fewer loan choices and higher interest rates. For example, a buyer who has a credit score of 680 might be charged a .25 percent higher interest rate for a mortgage than someone with a score of 780, says NerdWallet. While the difference may seem minute, on a $240,000 fixed-rate 30-year mortgage, that extra .25 percent adds up to an additional $12,240 in interest paid.

How To Calculate A Down Payment

The down payment is the amount that the buyer can afford to pay out-of-pocket for the residence, using cash or liquid assets. Lenders typically demand a down payment of at least 20% of a homes purchase price, but many let buyers purchase a home with significantly smaller percentages. Obviously, the more you can put down, the less financing youll need, and the better you look to the bank.

For example, if a prospective homebuyer can afford to pay 10% on a $100,000 home, the down payment is $10,000, which means the homeowner must finance $90,000.

Besides the amount of financing, lenders also want to know the number of years for which the mortgage loan is needed. A short-term mortgage has higher monthly payments but is likely less expensive over the duration of the loan.

Homebuyers need to come up with a 20% down payment to avoid paying private mortgage insurance.

How Do Lending Multiples Work

When it comes to households with two incomes, some lenders offer a choice:

• The option to add the second income on top of the multiple, so if the main breadwinner earns £30,000 and the second persons income is £15,000 a lender might offer 4x the first income, plus the second income or
• A slightly lower multiple for two incomes than for one. So £30,000 + £15,000 = £45,000. Then £45,000 x 3 = £135,000

Many lenders now only use income multiples as an overall maximum that they will lend, conducting a detailed affordability assessment to decide how much they will actually let you borrow. All income you declare in your mortgage application will need to be proven, usually through you providing your latest pay slips, pensions and benefits statements.

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Analyze Your Monthly Expenses

When estimating what you can afford, its also important to have a clear view of your monthly expenses. These can be hard to track and will likely vary based on the size of your household and your spending habits. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average individual has monthly expenditures that include:

• Food: $644

• Internet: $47
• Cell phone: $120

For an individual, these expenses add up to a monthly total of $2,463. Some of these items are discretionary and will fluctuate based on your lifestyle, city, the size of your home, and the size of your family. The goal is to estimate how much money youll need to spend each month after you pay your mortgage and other debts.

A Better Waythe Smartphone App That Completely Changed The Way I See Money

A lot of times people underestimate the power of earning more through a side job, through a business, through negotiating your salary, Sethi says.

Dont just give up, Sethi added. Start saving, pay off debt, and consider earning more. All three of those things will help you eventually buy a house if thats what you choose to do.

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Finding The Right Lender

One place to start is with , a site that allows you to get quotes from three lenders in only three minutes. Theres no obligation, but if you see a rate you like for your mortgage or refinancing your mortgage, you can progress to the next step of the application process. Everything is handled through the website, including uploading documents. If you want to speak to a loan officer, you can, of course, but it isnt necessary.

As you shop for a lender, remember that every dollar counts. Youre committing to a monthly mortgage payment based on the rate you choose at the very start. Even small savings on your interest rate will add up over the years youre in your house.

is another great place to get started since they allow you to shop and compare multiple rates and quotes with minimal information, all in one place. Youll input the amount of the loan, your down payment, state, mortgage product type, and your credit score to get mortgage quotes from multiple lenders at once.

In the market for a house sometime soon? Use our resources to target your searchand know well in advance what you can afford:

Our Take: Somewhere In Between

Not everybody is as debt-averse as Ramseyand following his one-size-fits-all advice has risks. You just have to remember: The more you spend on your home, the less you have available to save for everything else. You may be able to afford a housing payment that is 35% of your pretax income today, but what about when you have kids, buy a new car, or lose your job?

Another reader put it this way:

• Your mortgage payment should be equal to one weeks paycheck.
• Your mortgage payment plus all other debt should be no greater than two weeks paycheck.

Thats on the conservative side, too. One weeks paycheck is about 23% of your monthly income.

If I had to set a rule, it would be this:

• Aim to keep your mortgage payment at or below 28% of your pretax monthly income.
• Aim to keep your total debt payments at or below 40% of your pretax monthly income. Note that 40% should be a maximum. We recommend an even better goal is to keep total debt to a third, or 33%.

As some commenters have pointed out, while it may be possible to buy a decent home in a small midwestern town for $100,000 , workers in New York or San Francisco will need to spend five times that amount just to get a hole in the wall. Yes, people tend to earn more in these high-cost-of-living areas, but not that much more. Does it mean they shouldnt buy a home? Not necessarily. Theyll simply have to make trade-offs to buy in those areas.

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Know How Much House You Can Afford

Terri Williams is an expert in mortgages, real estate, and home buying. As a journalist she’s covered the “homes” corner of personal finance for more than a decade, with bylines in scores of publications, including Realtor.com, Bob Vila, Yahoo, Time/Next Advisor, The San Francisco Chronicle, Real Homes, and Apartment Therapy.

The 28/36 rule of thumb is a mortgage benchmark based on debt-to-income ratios that homebuyers can use to avoid overextending their finances. Mortgage lenders use this rule to decide if theyll approve your mortgage application.

Heres how the 28/36 rule of thumb works, as well as what it includes and excludes, plus example calculations and some caveats for using the rule.

Realize That Other Expenses May Come Up

Even if your mortgage doesn’t stretch your budget, an unexpected job loss or other event could cause you to struggle to make your mortgage payments. The more affordable a home is in the first place, the better chance youll have of recovering.

Building up an emergency fund is easier if you limit your mortgage payment to 25 percent of your take-home pay. The more cash you have on hand, and the lower your monthly obligations, the better chance youll have of staying afloat if difficult times strike.

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How We Calculate Your Home Value

Rent vs Buy

Work With A Buyers Agent We Trust

For more guidance on buying a house you can afford, work with a real estate agent. A good agent will help you set the right expectations when shopping for a home in your price rangethey may even be able to find you a home sale others dont know about.

For a quick and easy way to find an agent we trust, try our Endorsed Local Providers program. We only recommend agents who actually care about the financial path youre on and wont push you to overspend on a house just so they can bring home a bigger commission check.

About the author

Ramsey Solutions

Ramsey Solutions has been committed to helping people regain control of their money, build wealth, grow their leadership skills, and enhance their lives through personal development since 1992. Millions of people have used our financial advice through 22 books published by Ramsey Press, as well as two syndicated radio shows and 10 podcasts, which have over 17 million weekly listeners.

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Your Debt And Salary Limit What You Can Afford

Besides showing you how much income you need to afford the home you want, this calculator also shows how your debts can compromise your chance for a mortgage. You can see how paying down debts directly affects your buying power. The fewer debts you have, the more of your salary can go toward the home, allowing you to afford a more expensive property. At the same time, more debts mean less money available, based on your current salary, to pay for – and qualify for – the home you want.

You can use this calculator to visualize how a higher or lower salary could change your ability to afford the home of your dreams. What if you got a raise? Or took a weekend job? You can vividly see how you could afford different homes with more income, or less.

How Much Can You Afford To Borrow For A Mortgage

Before applying for a mortgage, you need to think about more than just whether you can afford the monthly repayments. Mortgage providers will look at your income and outgoings to see if you can keep up with repayments if interest rates rise or your circumstances change.

Whats in this guide

• Government schemes

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Home Affordability Begins With Your Mortgage Rate

You will probably notice that any home affordability calculation includes an estimate of the mortgage interest rate you will be charged. Lenders will determine if you qualify for a loan based on four major factors:

If lenders determine you are mortgage-worthy, they will then price your loan. That means determining the interest rate you will be charged. Youryoull get.

Naturally, the lower your interest rate, the lower your monthly payment will be.

What Portion Of Your Income Should Go To Your Mortgage

Many lenders and mortgage experts adhere to the 28% limit meaning your monthly mortgage repayments should not exceed 28% of your gross monthly income or the amount you earn before taxes are deducted.

This percentage also puts you below the mortgage stress threshold of 30%.

According to some experts, if you are spending more than 30% of your pre-tax monthly income on mortgage payments, then you may be at risk of mortgage stress.

To illustrate, the average weekly income of full-time working adults in Australia is $1,714, according to last Mays seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics .

To get the median monthly income, we need to multiply this number by four the number of weeks in a month then multiply the product by .28 to get the 28% limit and .3 to find the mortgage stress threshold.

$1,714 x 4 x 0.28 = $6,856 x 0.28 = $1,919.68

$1,714 x 4 x 0.28 = $6,856 x 0.3 = $2,056.80

Given these, an average working Australian should ideally allocate about $1,920 to their monthly mortgage repayment and not pay more than $2,057 to avoid falling into mortgage stress.

However, it is worth noting that each persons financial situation is different and there are some who can allot more than 30% of their income to their monthly mortgage and still live comfortably.

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What Percentage Of Income Should Go To A Mortgage

Every borrowers situation is different, but there are at least two schools of thought on how much of your income should be allocated to your mortgage: 28 percent and 36 percent.

The 28 percent rule, which specifies that no more than 28 percent of your income should be spent on your monthly mortgage payment, is a threshold most lenders adhere to, explains Corey Winograd, loan officer and managing director of East Coast Capital Corp., which has offices in New York and Florida.

Most lenders follow the guideline that a borrowers housing payment should not be higher than 28 percent of their pre-tax monthly gross income, says Winograd. Historically, borrowers who are within the 28 percent threshold generally have been able to comfortably make their monthly housing payments.

This 28 percent cap centers on whats known as the front-end ratio, or the borrowers total housing costs compared to their income.

The 36 percent model is another way to determine how much of your income should go towards your mortgage, and can be used in conjunction with the 28 percent rule. With this method, no more than 36 percent of your monthly income should be allocated to your debt, including your mortgage and other obligations like auto or student loans and credit card payments. This percentage is known as the back-end ratio or your debt-to-income ratio.

Most responsible lenders follow a 36 percent back-end DTI ratio model, unless there are compensating factors, Winograd says.

The Traditional Model: 35%/45% Of Pretax Income

In an article on how the mortgage crash of the late 2000s changed the rules for first-time home buyers, the New York Times reported:

If youre determined to be truly conservative, dont spend more than about 35% of your pretax income on mortgage, property tax, and home insurance payments. Bank of America, which adheres to the guidelines that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set, will let your total debt hit 45% of your pretax income, but no more.

Lets remember that even in the post-crisis lending world, mortgage lenders want to approve creditworthy borrowers for the largest mortgage possible. I wouldnt call 35% of your pretax income on mortgage, property tax, and home insurance payments conservative. Id call it average.

Also Check: How Much Income For Mortgage Calculator

Increase Your Credit Score

The higher your credit score, the greater your chances are of getting a lower interest rate. To increase your credit score, pay your bills on time, pay off your debt and keep your overall balance low on each of your credit accounts. Don’t close unused accounts as this can negatively impact your credit score.

What Should You Do If Youre Experiencing Mortgage Stress

Just like your other financial obligations, you need to plan monthly mortgage repayments, so you do not fall behind.

However, there are certain life-changing events such as job loss, illness, death of a loved one, divorce, or birth of a child that can affect your ability to manage your home loan payments.

If you are finding it difficult to meet your mortgage repayments without stretching your finances, there are several measures you can take.

These include:

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