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:
What Is Included In A Mortgage Payment
A mortgage payment is made up of four components, often referred to as PITI: principal, interest, taxes and insurance. Heres a breakdown of each component:
- Principal: The original amount of your loan before interest.
- Interest: A percentage of the principal that you pay to the lender. Mortgage interest rates can be fixed or variable.
- Tax: Yearly property taxes are paid monthly and are considered part of your mortgage payment.
- Insurance: Your monthly homeowners insurance payment is also considered part of your mortgage payment.
Understanding what is included in a mortgage payment will help you accurately budget a percentage of income for mortgage. For example, if you forgot to include insurance and tax payments in your mortgage payment estimate, you might budget for more than you can afford. Note that your mortgage payment does not include home repairs and maintenance costs. Those are personal expenses youll have to budget for separately.
What Do You Mean
OK, for example, you might be making good money at your current job. But what if you dont like it and youre thinking of quitting? And what if your future job doesnt pay as well and you therefore have less monthly income? Are you going to feel comfortable continuing to pay the same amount each month?
Moreover, how is the health of your parents or your spouses parents? Are there medical bills down the road youre going to have to contend with? Are you thinking of starting or adding to your family?
Basically, you need to be honest with yourself about your personal expenses. How do you like to spend your money? Relatively small things add up and can put a dent in your monthly budget.
You also have to consider how youre going to decorate the house. Can you afford to furnish every room once you own them? And what do you expect your utility bills to be? What if the stove breaks in six months? Will you have the savings to get it repaired quickly? And speaking of savings, hows that situation going, or going to change in the months and years ahead? Are you currently trying to stow away lots of money for the future? If so, thats another issue you need to consider.
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What Is The Debt
Debt-to-income ratio, or simply DTI, refers to the percentage of your monthly income that goes toward debt payments.
When applying for a mortgage, youll authorize a credit check where lenders examine your credit history, including your current debts and the minimum monthly payments for these debts.
Theyll calculate your total monthly debt payments, and then divide this by your gross income to determine your DTI ratio. So, if you have a gross monthly income of $5,000, and $500 in monthly debt payments, you have a DTI ratio of 10%which is excellent.
But mortgage lenders dont only look at your current debts when calculating DTI ratio. They also factor in future mortgage payments to gauge affordability.
So, if youre thinking about buying a property with an estimated monthly payment of $1,300, youll have future monthly debt payments of $1,800. Assuming the same gross monthly income of $5,000, your DTI ratio increases to 36% after buying a home.
A good debt-to-income ratio to buy a house depends on your mortgage program. If you apply for a conventional home loan, your ideal DTI ratio should be 36% or less. On the other hand, if youre looking at an FHA home loan, these programs may allow DTI ratios up to 43%.
To be clear, though, these are only guidelines, and not hard or fast rules. Lenders sometimes allow higher DTI ratios, such as when a borrower has certain compensating factors.
How to Improve Your Debt-to-Income Ratio
Bottom Line
Notes On Using The Mortgage Income Calculator
This calculator provides a standard calculation of the income needed to obtain a mortgage of a certain amount based on common industry guidelines. These guidelines assume that your mortgage payments, including taxes, insurance, association fees and PMI/FHA insurance, should be no greater than 28 percent of your monthly gross income.
- FAQ: These guidelines assume that your mortgage payment and other monthly debt obligations combined should not exceed 36 percent of your monthly gross income.
Those are the base guidelines however, borrowers with excellent credit and healthy financial reserves can often exceed those guidelines, going as high as 41 percent of gross monthly income for mortgage payments and debt obligations combined. You may wish to take that into account when considering your own situation.
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How Much Of Your Income Should Go To Mortgage Payments
Now that you know whats included in a mortgage payment, its time to consider how much mortgage you can afford. Debt-to-income ratios can help you calculate what percentage of your income should go to your mortgage. To calculate this, you need to be familiar with two types of DTI ratios: back-end ratios and mortgage-to-income ratios.
Calculate Based On Your Financial Situation
Now that you know how to calculate your net monthly income, and the basics of the 50/30/20 rule, you can determine what percentage of this income should go to rent by using this how much rent can I afford calculator. Since the percentage will vary slightly for every individual based on their financial picture, lets explore three examples to see how the 50/30/20 rule might shake out for each situation.
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Take A Longer Mortgage Term
The longer your mortgage term, the lower your monthly payment. If you take a longer term, you spread your payments over a larger number of months and years, which reduces the amount youll owe each month. While taking a longer term will increase the amount you pay in interest over time, it can free up more cash to keep your DTI low.
Don’t Be Fooled By The 5
Kaplan says homeowners usually need to stay put for at least five years to make the closing costs of buying a home worthwhile. That’s a useful rule of thumb, but if you’re thinking of staying that long, you may be tempted to opt for a mortgage that’s higher than you can comfortably afford now. Be careful. Predicting future income isnt as easy as it may seem. Kaplan cautions that stretching your budget can backfire if you become unemployed for an extended period.
When they’re planning for the long term, many homebuyers may also see their home as an investment for the future, which can be an excuse for spending more today than they can easily afford. But real estate can be volatile, as we saw in the 2008 housing crash. Having too much of your net worth tied up in your home can be risky.
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Salary Is A Poor Indicator Of Mortgage Affordability
Lets suppose your salary is $100,000 a year. You could, by this rule of thumb, afford a mortgage of between $200,000 and $250,000.
But one person on that income may have much less left at the end of each month than another.
For example, lets assume that one is a real estate agent with a big auto loan and credit card balance from expensive lifestyle choices. Theres nothing wrong with any of that if he can afford it.
But another person with the same household income may have a much lower cost of living. Maybe hes a freelance graphic designer who drives a paid-off car. His wardrobe costs a few hundred a year to maintain and he zeroes his card balances every month.
These two people have significantly different available income to pay towards a mortgage. So pre-tax income on its own doesnt capture the whole picture.
How To Calculate Debt
Calculating your debt-to-income ratio isn’t difficult. The first thing you need to do is determine your gross monthly incomeyour income before taxes and other expenses are deducted. If you are married and will be applying for the home loan together, you should add together both your incomes.
Next, take the total and multiply it first by 0.28, and then by 0.36, or 0.43 if you’re angling for a qualified mortgage. For example, if you and your partner have a combined gross monthly income of $7,000, it would be broken down like this:
- $7,000 x 0.28 = $1,960
- $7,000 x 0.36 = $2,520
- $7,000 x 0.43 = $3,010
This means that your mortgage, taxes, and insurance payments shouldnt exceed $1,960 per month, and your total monthly debt paymentsincluding that $1,960should be no more than $2,520.
Unfortunately, the rule says to keep your monthly payments under both of these limits. So the next step is to see what effect your other debts have. Add up your total monthly non-mortgage debt payments, such as credit card, student loan, or car loan payments.
For this example, lets assume your monthly debt payments come to a total of $950. Subtract that amount from $2,520, and youll see that your mortgage payment shouldnt exceed $1,570.
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How To Increase Your Mortgage Affordability
If you want to increase how much you can borrow, thus increasing how much you can afford to spend on a home, there are few steps you can take.
1. Save a larger down payment: The larger your down payment, the less interest youll be charged over the life of your loan. A larger down payment also saves you money on the cost of CMHC insurance.
2. Get a better mortgage rate: Shop around for the best mortgage rate you can find, and consider using a mortgage broker to negotiate on your behalf. A lower mortgage rate will result in lower monthly payments, increasing how much you can afford. It will also save you thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage.
3. Increase your amortization period: The longer you take to pay off your loan, the lower your monthly payments will be, making your mortgage more affordable. However, this will result in you paying more interest over time.
These are just a few ways you can increase the amount you can afford to spend on a home, by increasing your mortgage affordability. However, the best advice will be personal to you. Find a licensed mortgage broker near you to have a free, no-obligation conversation thats tailored to your needs.
The Recommended Ratio Of A House Price To Your Yearly Income
Related Articles
Generally your total debt including mortgage payments shouldn’t exceed 30 to 40 percent of your monthly income.A range of factors must be weighed before any home-buying decision can be made, including the amount of home you can afford. In terms of obtaining a mortgage, classic debt-to-income, or DTI, ratios always come into play. Matching a home price to your income involves two standard debt-to-income ratios: one based on housing expense and the other based on your total debt-to-income.
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The Reality Of Mortgage Payments
The fact is the amount you’ll be paying every month to your mortgage company includes more than just the loan itself. Every month you’ll be paying the loan’s principal as well as the interest on the loan, your real estate taxes, and homeowner’s insurance.
And if you do not put 20 percent down on the home from the start, you may also have private mortgage insurance tacked on every month.
How much of your income should go toward your mortgage?
You need to have a rough estimate of all of these figures in order to know how much house you can afford – and to figure out if you can cover the monthly payments over time.
You take out a $150,000 mortgage with a $716 per month payment. Your real estate taxes equal $4,000 and your homeowner’s insurance equals $900 per year. This means $333 per month for real estate taxes and $75 per month for homeowner’s insurance. Your total mortgage payment equals $1,124, or $408 more than the principal and interest alone.
If you have PMI on top of this payment, it could add $100 or more onto your payment. The once affordable $716 mortgage payment suddenly looks much less affordable.
Take a look at mortgage rates in your area . This will give you an idea of what your monthly mortgage payment will be. You can use it to crunch some numbers to figure out how much you can afford.
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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.
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How To Estimate Affordability
There is a rule of thumb about how much you can afford, based on the calculations your mortgage provider will make. The rule of thumb is you can afford a mortgage where your monthly housing costs are no more than 32% of your gross household income, and where your total debt load is no more than 40% of your gross houshold income. This rule is based on your debt service ratios.
Lenders look at two ratios when determining the mortgage amount you qualify for, which generally indicate how much you can afford. These ratios are called the Gross Debt Service ratio and Total Debt Service ratio. They take into account your income, monthly housing costs, and overall debt load.
The first affordability guideline, as set out by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation , is that your monthly housing costs mortgage principal and interest, taxes, and heating expenses – should not exceed 32% of your gross household monthly income. For condominiums, P.I.T.H. also includes half of your monthly condominium fees. The sum of these housing costs as a percentage of your gross monthly income is your GDS ratio.
Other Mortgage Qualification Factors
In addition to your debt service ratios, down payment, and cash for closing costs, mortgage lenders will also consider your credit history and your income when qualifying you for a mortgage. All of these factors are equally important. For example, even if you have good credit, a sizeable down payment, and no debts, but an unstable income, you might have difficulty getting approved for a mortgage.
Keep in mind that the mortgage affordability calculator can only provide an estimate of how much you’ll be approved for, and assumes youre an ideal candidate for a mortgage. To get the most accurate picture of what you qualify for, speak to a mortgage broker about getting a mortgage pre-approval.
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Dave Ramseys Household Budget Percentages Analysis
The idea is to use these budgeting categories as a way to analyze your current monthly budget.
As such, the first step to making these budgeting categories useful is to compare them with your actual current spending. The emphasis is on actual because research shows there is a vast difference between what we say and what we do.
This is called social desirability bias. It means that we tend to answer questions about ourselves in ways that are socially desirable. A fun exercise to see how this bias works in practice is to estimate your current monthly expenses, then compare that estimate to the actual data. For a quicker experiment, try just one category. For example, compare what you think you spent on eating out last month to what you actually spent at restaurants.
Simple ways to get this data include:
The goal is to get the actual results, showing exactly what you spent down to the dollar.
