Finance tool
Home affordability calculator
Enter income, monthly debts, and down payment — see the max home price you can afford without overstretching DTI.
Start with the free manual tool. If you want the real document view after that, analyze a statement PDF.
Free tool
How much home can you actually afford?
Enter income, monthly debts, down payment, mortgage terms, and DTI limit. The calculator back-solves for the maximum home price that fits your DTI with all housing costs included.
Income & debts
Gross (before tax) household income.
Car loan, credit cards, student loans, child support — NOT including housing.
Conventional loans allow up to 43-50%. Conservative is 36%. Choose your comfort level.
Loan & ownership costs
Cash you have for the down payment.
Annual, % of home value. US avg ~1.1%.
At 36% DTI with $7,917/month income, $650/month debts, and $40,000 down.
Principal + Interest + Taxes + Insurance + HOA.
On $279,568 loan.
After $40,000 down.
Total monthly debt / income. Target ≤ 36%.
28/36 rule: classic conservative guideline. 28% PITI, 36% total DTI.
Conventional: up to 43-45% DTI with strong credit. 50% in some cases.
FHA: up to 43% DTI typical, exceptions to 50% with compensating factors.
Just because lenders allow 43%+ doesn't mean you should. 36% leaves breathing room for life.
Natural next step
Are your 'monthly debts' actually accurate?
The monthly debt input is the wildcard — most people underestimate it. Upload your bank statement to see actual recurring debt payments pulled from transactions, not your optimistic memory.
What it gives you
Fast enough for a first pass
Each tool is intentionally narrow. The job here is a clean estimate, not a fake replacement for a full statement analysis.
Income-first, not price-first
Solves backwards from DTI to max home price — inverse of a standard mortgage calculator.
Full PITI in DTI check
Handles property tax, insurance, and HOA as part of PITI — the real payment lenders check.
28/36 vs 43% comparison
Adjustable DTI limit — compare conservative 28/36 vs modern conventional 43% side by side.
When it's useful
Solves for maximum home price from income, debts, and down payment — not the other direction.
First-time buyers establishing budget
Solves the 'how much house can I afford' question directly — get a concrete max price before looking at listings.
Couples running numbers together
Add both salaries and all combined debts. Often surfaces that joint buying power is higher than either partner expected.
Anyone deciding between 28/36 and conventional DTI
Toggle between 36% (conservative) and 43% (modern conventional) to see how much more or less home you can 'afford' by loosening your personal limit.
Self-employed applicants
Start with the income number from your bank-statement-based underwriting — use our bank-statement loan calculator alongside.
Deeper context
Why DTI is more important than income
Income alone doesn't determine what you can afford — debt load matters just as much.
Two $100k earners with different DTI capacity
Earner A has no debts. Earner B has $800/mo car payment and $400/mo student loans. Same income, but A can afford ~$150k more house than B at the same DTI limit.
Paying off debt dramatically boosts buying power
Paying off a $500/mo car loan lets you qualify for ~$80k more house at 6.5% / 30-year. If buying a home is the goal, eliminating recurring debt payments helps more than saving an extra $10k for down.
Credit card minimums hurt DTI even when you pay in full
Lenders use the MINIMUM payment on your credit card, not $0. If you have $15k across three cards at 2% minimums, that's $300/mo counted against your DTI even if you pay in full each month. Closing or paying down cards before applying helps.
Deeper context
Common affordability mistakes
Three patterns that trick first-time buyers into overextending.
Using gross income vs net income
DTI formally uses gross (pre-tax) income. But what lands in your bank account is net. At 25% effective tax rate, a 36% DTI on gross = 48% of net. Consider whether that monthly housing payment actually works for your real take-home.
Forgetting maintenance as an ongoing cost
Lenders don't count maintenance in DTI (the monthly roof repair fund isn't a minimum payment). But in reality, budget 1% of home value annually for maintenance and repairs. On a $400k home, that's $333/mo that WILL come out of your budget.
Ignoring property tax variance
1.1% is the US average. Some states (Texas, New Jersey, Illinois) run 2%+. Some (Hawaii, Alabama, Colorado) under 0.5%. A 1% property tax difference on a $400k home is $333/mo — the difference between affording and not affording.
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