Buying budget · Income and debt
Home Affordability Calculator
Work backward from two payment limits: housing as a share of gross income and total debt after your existing monthly obligations. Then include taxes, insurance, HOA dues, PMI, and closing cash.
Quick estimate
Estimate a payment-based home price
Estimated payment-based home price
$408,616$2,800 modeled monthly housing costThe housing-only DTI limit is the binding constraint in this estimate.
A lender qualification is not a personal spending recommendation. Credit, reserves, loan program rules, taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities, and other priorities can justify a lower budget.
01
How this calculator works
The calculator first creates a housing-only limit from gross monthly income and the front-end DTI setting. It creates a second housing limit by subtracting existing monthly debts from the total back-end DTI allowance. The lower amount controls.
The home price is solved iteratively
Each candidate price changes the loan, principal and interest, property tax, and possibly PMI. The calculator searches for the highest price whose full modeled housing payment stays within the controlling limit.
Qualification is not comfort
CFPB distinguishes what a lender may allow from what fits your family’s priorities. Lender ratios do not capture groceries, childcare, healthcare, utilities, maintenance, retirement saving, emergencies, or income volatility. Treat the result as a ceiling to investigate, not a target to reach.
Cash is a separate constraint
The result estimates down payment plus an editable closing-cost percentage. You may also need reserves, moving costs, immediate repairs, furnishings, and a safety buffer. A payment can fit the ratio while the transaction still requires too much cash.
Try a higher interest rate, the property’s actual tax bill, an insurance quote, and applicable HOA dues. A broad national default is least useful where insurance or property taxes are unusually high.
02
Worked example
A household earning $120,000 has $10,000 of gross monthly income. A 28% housing ratio permits $2,800, while a 36% total-debt ratio with $1,500 of other monthly debt leaves only $2,100 for housing.
The $2,100 debt-adjusted amount controls. The tool then solves for a price using the entered down payment, mortgage rate, tax, insurance, HOA, and PMI assumptions.
03
Questions people ask
What is debt-to-income ratio?
DTI is monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income. Different lenders and loan products use different definitions, documentation, and limits.
What debts should I enter?
Enter recurring obligations a lender would count, such as minimum credit-card payments, auto, student, personal, alimony, or other required debt payments. Confirm the treatment with the lender.
Is the estimated price what I will qualify for?
No. Credit, income documentation, reserves, loan program, property type, appraisal, rate, and underwriting rules affect approval.
Why include both front-end and back-end DTI?
One limits housing cost alone; the other limits housing plus existing debts. Showing both reveals whether the house payment or other obligations are the tighter constraint.
Should I use gross or take-home income?
DTI is generally based on gross income. For a personal comfort budget, also compare the payment with take-home pay and all household expenses.
04
Sources and model basis
Published rules and formulas are linked below. Values supplied by the visitor remain scenario inputs, not factual claims.
- CFPB: What is a debt-to-income ratio?Definition and gross-income calculation
- CFPB: How much home can I afford?Qualification versus a personally affordable payment
- CFPB: Figure out how much to spendFull payment, maintenance, insurance, utilities, and savings priorities