See your maximum home price, full PITI, and how each lever changes the number.
Calculate how much house you can afford using lender DTI thresholds (28% front, 36% back), full PITI with taxes and insurance, and rate-sensitivity for shopping at current market levels.
Direct answers to the most common questions, in plain language. Skim if you're in a hurry; dig deeper below.
The total home price you can afford given income, debts, down payment, and rates.
Buying power is the maximum home price where your full PITI payment fits within a 28% front-end DTI (and 36% back-end DTI). Rate, taxes, insurance, and PMI all eat into it.
Hugely: a 1% rate increase shrinks buying power by about 10%.
At 7% rates, a $400k house is the same monthly payment as a $440k house at 6%. The rate move is the biggest single factor in how much house you can afford this year vs last.
Yes if they're on the loan; counts toward DTI.
Combined income and combined debt feed the same DTI ratios. If your partner is on the application, include both incomes. If not, just yours.
Housing ≤28% of gross, all debt ≤36% of gross.
Conventional lenders prefer housing payment under 28% of gross monthly income, and all debt under 36%. This calculator caps your buying power at whichever ratio binds first.
The mechanics in short answers. No jargon, no upsell.
Pre-tax. Include reliable side income with 2+ years documented history.
Conventional: 28% front-end (housing only) and 36% back-end (all debt). Buying power is capped at whichever binds first.
Every dollar of monthly debt reduces room for a mortgage payment dollar-for-dollar.
Given the allowed monthly PITI, current rate, taxes, and insurance, the calculator finds the maximum home price you can afford.
Worked example: On $9,500/mo income with $580 debts, the 28% front-end cap allows $2,660/mo housing (the binding limit, since 36% − debts = $2,840). With $50,000 down at 6.75% for 30 years plus 1.1% tax and $1,500/yr insurance, the search lands on a max price of about $365,000.
The 28/36 caps are conventional-lending guidelines, not a pre-approval; lenders also weigh credit score and reserves. The price is found by a 40-step binary search over the full PITI, not a closed-form formula. Everything runs locally in your browser; your numbers never leave this page.
Designed so anyone can model their situation in under a minute, with or without a finance background.
Max price where your full PITI fits within lender DTI thresholds.
See how much buying power changes with a 1% rate move.
Both ratios shown; see which one's binding.
Principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and PMI if applicable.
Auto loans, student loans, and credit cards reduce buying power.
See what extra income or paying off a car would unlock.
Everything you might ask before, during, or after using this tool.
Three usual reasons: (1) higher rates in 2026 vs when you last looked, (2) existing debt eating into your DTI, (3) higher property taxes and insurance in your target market. Each can knock 10–20% off the number you had in mind.
Yes; if your down payment is under 20%, the calculator adds an estimated PMI line (about 0.5–0.8% annually) to your PITI. That extra payment reduces buying power by roughly the PMI amount.
A larger down payment doesn't directly increase buying power (which is capped by income and DTI), but it can: (1) eliminate PMI, freeing room for more principal, (2) qualify you for better rates, (3) lower the loan amount, lowering monthly P&I. Together these can add 5–10% in max price.
Gross; lenders use pre-tax income to compute DTI. Using net underestimates your buying power.
Lenders require a 2-year average for variable income to count. If you've only had bonus pay for one year, expect it to be excluded. If 2+ years, the 2-year average gets used (which can underweight a recent raise).
No; closing costs (typically 2–4% of home price) come out of your savings, not your monthly budget. The calculator focuses on the recurring monthly burden, which is what binds buying power.
The displayed buying power assumes mainstream conventional qualification (typically 640+ for FHA, 680+ for conventional). At lower scores, expect higher rates, which shrinks buying power. At excellent scores (760+), you get the cleanest pricing.
It's the standard, but lenders will go higher with compensating factors (large down payment, big reserves, excellent credit). FHA stretches to 43% back-end by default. The calculator shows the conservative number; your actual ceiling may be 5–10% higher with the right profile.
Other Lazysmirk tools that pair well with this one.
Find out how much house you can afford. Enter income, debts, down payment, and rate to get your max home price, recommended budget, monthly PITI, and the binding constraint.
Calculate your true monthly mortgage payment with taxes, insurance, and PMI included. See how much interest you'll actually pay over 30 years.
Calculate your front-end and back-end DTI, see which loan programs you qualify for, and stress-test new debt before you apply.
Plan your home down payment: how much you need, how long to save, PMI tradeoffs.
Estimate your total US mortgage closing costs (lender fees, title, government taxes, and prepaids) and find out exactly how much cash you need to close.
Three forces compound: rates have moved from 3% to 7%+, property taxes are reassessing higher in many markets, and insurance premiums (especially in FL, CA, TX) are up 30–60% from 2020.
Same income, same debt, and your buying power can be 25–35% lower than it would have been pre-2022.
Without existing debt: the 28% front-end ratio usually binds first.
With debt (auto + student + cards combined > ~$700/month): the 36% back-end ratio usually binds first.
Pay attention to which one is limiting you; paying off a car can unlock significant buying power if back-end is the binder.
Increase income (raise, side stream with 2-yr history).
Decrease debt (car payoff, balance paydown).
Larger down payment (eliminates PMI, smaller loan).
Better rate (credit improvement, points, lender shopping).
Longer term (30-year vs 15-year; trades total interest for monthly cash flow).
Pre-approval verifies the inputs and applies lender-specific overlays (DTI cap, reserve requirements, credit-tier pricing).
This calculator is a quick ceiling. The pre-approval number is usually within 5–10% of it, sometimes higher, occasionally lower.
Two short notes worth reading before you trust any number on this page.
Your loan amount, rate, and prepayment inputs never leave your device. No accounts, no cookies on your numbers, no analytics on the values you type. Disconnect from the internet and it still works.
We are not a bank, NBFC, advisor, broker, or distributor of any financial product. The numbers shown here are estimates for educational purposes only, based on the inputs you provide.
Results are not financial, legal, or tax advice. Please consult a qualified professional before any decision about your loan, investments, or personal finances. Actual loan terms and charges depend on your bank and individual circumstances.
