How much home you can afford comes down to three numbers: your gross income, your monthly debt payments, and the full monthly cost of the home, including taxes and insurance. The guides in this section walk through each one with worked examples at today’s mortgage rates.
Guides
- How much house can I afford? Our free calculator plus the 28/36 rule, affordability by salary from $60,000 to $200,000, and how rates, taxes, insurance, debt, and your down payment change the answer.
- Debt-to-income ratio How to calculate your DTI, what counts as debt, and the limits for conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA loans.
- How much down payment you need Minimums by loan type, monthly payments from 3% to 20% down, and the total cash you need at closing.
- Preapproval vs. prequalification What each one means, the documents you need, and mistakes that can sink an approval.
Key ideas in this section
- The 28/36 rule: keep housing costs at or under 28% of gross income and all debt payments at or under 36%.
- Debt-to-income ratio (DTI): the measure lenders use to decide how much they will lend. Limits vary by loan type.
- The full payment: principal, interest, property tax, insurance, and mortgage insurance, often called PITI.