The single number lenders check first — and the one that decides your mortgage approval.
Debt-to-income ratio
38%
Acceptable — back-end ratio.
28% guideline
36% guideline, 43% cap
Lenders calculate two ratios. Your front-end ratio (housing alone) is 26% against a 28% guideline, and your back-end ratio (all debt) is 38% against a 36% guideline that most lenders stretch to 43%. You'd generally qualify under standard underwriting.
You carry $935 of non-housing debt. Eliminating it entirely would raise your maximum mortgage by roughly $144,925 at current rates. This is why paying off a car loan before applying is frequently worth more than saving the same amount toward a down payment — a dollar of down payment buys about a dollar of house, while a dollar of eliminated monthly debt buys many times that.
See your price ceilingReaching 36% means clearing $133 of monthly debt. The 43% cap is the maximum lenders will accept, not a target — approvals near it leave nothing for childcare, retirement saving or a repair, which is how households end up technically approved and practically stuck.
Lenders count required monthly payments on installment loans, credit card minimums, child support and alimony. They do not count utilities, insurance, groceries, phone bills or subscriptions. An installment loan with fewer than ten payments remaining is sometimes excluded — worth asking about specifically if you're close to a threshold.
Plan your payoffWorked scenarios with the full analysis, so you can see how the numbers move before entering your own.
Within conventional guidelines and comfortably approvable.
Debt-to-income ratio
38%
Lenders calculate two ratios. Your front-end ratio (housing alone) is 26% against a 28% guideline, and your back-end ratio (all debt) is 38% against a 36% guideline that most lenders stretch to 43%. You'd generally qualify under standard underwriting.
You carry $935 of non-housing debt. Eliminating it entirely would raise your maximum mortgage by roughly $144,925 at current rates. This is why paying off a car loan before applying is frequently worth more than saving the same amount toward a down payment — a dollar of down payment buys about a dollar of house, while a dollar of eliminated monthly debt buys many times that.
See your price ceilingReaching 36% means clearing $133 of monthly debt. The 43% cap is the maximum lenders will accept, not a target — approvals near it leave nothing for childcare, retirement saving or a repair, which is how households end up technically approved and practically stuck.
Heavy non-housing debt pushing the borrower outside standard underwriting.
Debt-to-income ratio
57%
Lenders calculate two ratios. Your front-end ratio (housing alone) is 30% against a 28% guideline, and your back-end ratio (all debt) is 57% against a 36% guideline that most lenders stretch to 43%. You'd need to reduce monthly debt by $925 to reach the 43% ceiling most lenders apply.
Most conventional lenders cap the back-end ratio at 43%, and qualified-mortgage rules make exceeding it harder. Clearing a car loan or a personal loan entirely usually moves this more than paying a little extra on several — lenders count the required monthly payment, so a loan with two payments left still counts fully until it's gone.
You carry $1,770 of non-housing debt. Eliminating it entirely would raise your maximum mortgage by roughly $274,350 at current rates. This is why paying off a car loan before applying is frequently worth more than saving the same amount toward a down payment — a dollar of down payment buys about a dollar of house, while a dollar of eliminated monthly debt buys many times that.
See your price ceilingHousing only — the strongest position for a mortgage application.
Debt-to-income ratio
24%
Lenders calculate two ratios. Your front-end ratio (housing alone) is 24% against a 28% guideline, and your back-end ratio (all debt) is 24% against a 36% guideline that most lenders stretch to 43%. You'd generally qualify under standard underwriting.
You're already under it at 24%, which is where you get the best pricing and the most flexibility. The 43% cap is the maximum lenders will accept, not a target — approvals near it leave nothing for childcare, retirement saving or a repair, which is how households end up technically approved and practically stuck.
Lenders count required monthly payments on installment loans, credit card minimums, child support and alimony. They do not count utilities, insurance, groceries, phone bills or subscriptions. An installment loan with fewer than ten payments remaining is sometimes excluded — worth asking about specifically if you're close to a threshold.
Plan your payoffUnderwriting runs on two numbers, and whichever binds first sets your ceiling. The front-end ratio is housing costs divided by gross monthly income, conventionally capped at 28%. The back-end ratio is all monthly debt payments including housing, conventionally 36% and stretched to 43% by most lenders.
Both use gross income rather than take-home pay, which is a significant part of why approval amounts feel high relative to what your actual budget tolerates. A 36% back-end ratio on gross income is closer to 48% of take-home pay for most households.
Lenders count the required monthly payment, not the balance. A car loan with $2,000 remaining and a $480 monthly payment counts as $480 against your ratio — exactly the same as one with $20,000 remaining at the same payment.
That makes clearing a small loan entirely far more valuable than reducing a large one. Paying $2,000 to eliminate that car loan removes $480 from your ratio and adds roughly $74,000 to your borrowing power at current rates. Paying the same $2,000 toward a mortgage down payment adds $2,000. Some lenders also exclude installment loans with fewer than ten payments remaining — worth asking about directly if you're near a threshold.
DTI uses gross. Using net overstates your ratio by roughly 30%.
Groceries, utilities and subscriptions aren't debts. Including them understates your borrowing capacity.
Lenders count the payment, not the balance. Clear one loan entirely instead.
A new car loan days before a mortgage application can push you past the ceiling and kill the approval.
It's the maximum, not a goal. Approvals near it leave nothing for childcare, saving or a repair.
Under 36% is good and gets you the best pricing. Up to 43% is generally approvable at most lenders. Above 43% becomes difficult under qualified-mortgage rules, though FHA and VA loans sometimes allow more with compensating factors like large reserves or a high credit score.
Add every required monthly debt payment — housing, auto, student loans, credit card minimums, personal loans, child support — then divide by gross monthly income before tax. Multiply by 100. Utilities, groceries, insurance and subscriptions are not included.
Most conventional lenders cap the back-end ratio at 43%, with 36% as the conventional guideline. FHA loans can go to 50% with strong compensating factors, and VA loans use a residual income test alongside DTI. Under 36% gets you the best available pricing.
Eliminate a loan entirely rather than paying several down a little, since lenders count the required payment regardless of remaining balance. Clearing a $480 car payment adds roughly $74,000 to your borrowing power. Increasing documented income works too, but lenders typically want a two-year history for variable income.
Yes for your current ratio, but when you apply for a mortgage the lender substitutes the new proposed housing payment for your current rent — they're evaluating the ratio you'll have after the purchase, not before it.
No. Lenders count only debt obligations — loans, credit card minimums, child support and alimony. Utilities, insurance, groceries, phone bills, subscriptions and childcare are excluded, which is precisely why an approved amount can exceed what your real budget comfortably supports.
The next calculations that usually follow this one.
Two answers: what a lender will approve, and what your budget can genuinely sustain.
Enter your balances, get a payoff date — and see exactly what the easier order costs you.
A verdict, not a payment — risk level, stress test, and whether the down payment is the right call.
Model paying down cards, opening accounts or a late payment before you do it.
Federal tax, FICA, state tax and deductions — see exactly what lands in your account.
Guides that explain the decisions behind these numbers.
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