Type in the price, the rate from a real quote and your own income and debts. The check works out the monthly housing payment and your debt-to-income ratio. It runs only in your browser.
Monthly housing payment
–
| Down payment | – |
|---|---|
| Loan amount | – |
| Principal and interest | – |
| Taxes and insurance | – |
| Mortgage insurance | – |
Debt-to-income, housing included
–
Example figures only; replace them with your own quotes. Debt-to-income here is all monthly debts, the new housing payment included, divided by gross monthly income. Lenders set different limits. More in How Much House Can I Afford? A Budget That Starts With the Monthly Payment.
What the numbers mean
Principal and interest is the loan payment itself, worked out from the loan amount, the interest rate and the term. With a fixed rate this part stays the same for the life of the loan.
Taxes and insurance are the yearly property tax and homeowner’s insurance divided by twelve. Many lenders collect them every month through an escrow account and pay the bills for you, so they are part of your payment even though they are not part of the loan. They can change from year to year.
Mortgage insurance usually applies to a conventional loan with less than 20 percent down and to every FHA loan. Use the figure from your Loan Estimate; leave it at zero if your quote has none.
Debt-to-income is all your monthly debt payments, including the new housing payment, divided by your gross monthly income. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s example is a $1,500 mortgage payment, a $100 car loan and $400 of other debts on a $6,000 income, which is 33 percent. Lenders and loan programs set different limits, so ask each lender what it uses.
The starting figures are only an example. Replace them with your own: the rate and costs from your Loan Estimate, a tax figure for the actual address and real insurance quotes. Our guides to How Much House Can I Afford? A Budget That Starts With the Monthly Payment and Conventional, FHA, VA or USDA? Mortgage Loan Types for First-Time Buyers explain how to choose the inputs.