How to Use This Calculator
Enter your gross annual income (or combined income for joint borrowers) and your monthly debt obligations (credit cards, auto loans, student loans, etc.). Choose a loan term and interest rate, then add estimated taxes, insurance and HOA to model your PITI. You can also set DTI caps to match common guidelines (e.g., 28/36, 31/43, etc.).
Inputs Explained
- Gross annual income: Before-tax income (all sources).
- Monthly debts: Minimum required payments on recurring debts.
- Rate & term: Used to convert a housing payment into a loan amount.
- Taxes & insurance: Annual estimates (we convert to monthly).
- HOA: Monthly dues, if applicable.
- Down payment: For a target home price scenario and PMI estimate.
- DTI caps: Your max allowed housing ratio (front-end) and total ratio (back-end).
Understanding Your Results
We compute a max housing payment using your DTI caps, then subtract taxes, insurance, HOA and (if needed) PMI to find max principal & interest. From that we derive the max loan and an estimated max home price (adding your down payment). We also show your scenario’s front-end & back-end DTIs and the required income for your target price and down payment.
Front-End vs. Back-End DTI
Front-end DTI is your housing payment (PITI) as a percentage of gross income. Back-end DTI is housing plus all other monthly debts as a percentage of gross income. Lenders compare both to program limits.
The “4 Cs†Lenders Evaluate
- Capacity: Income stability and DTI.
- Capital: Savings/assets for down payment and reserves.
- Collateral: The property’s value and condition.
- Credit: Credit history, score, and depth.
Ways to Improve Your Qualification
- Reduce revolving debt balances to lower minimum payments.
- Increase down payment to cut PMI and required loan size.
- Choose a longer term (e.g., 30-year) to reduce P&I payment.
- Improve credit profile to qualify for a lower rate.
Glossary
PITI: Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance. PMI: Private Mortgage Insurance, typically required with <20% down. DTI: Debt-to-Income ratio.