What a budget comfortably carries, and where the lender ceiling sits above it. Start from a scenario or enter your own numbers; nothing here is pre-filled on your behalf.
Income before taxes and deductions. Lender ratios run on gross income by convention, which is why an affordable-on-paper payment can feel heavier in practice.
The required minimum payments on loans and cards: car loans, student loans, credit card minimums, support obligations. Utilities, groceries, and subscriptions do not count.
The part of the purchase price paid in cash up front. The loan covers the rest. Below 20% down, mortgage insurance usually applies.
All monthly debt payments, including the proposed housing payment, divided by gross monthly income. Lenders commonly cap it near 36%, with program-specific exceptions.
Source: Freddie Mac weekly average, as of Aug 27, 2026. A national average, not your quote.
Optional. Taxes and insurance start from national averages.
The annual premium for insuring the building against damage and liability. It does not cover tenant belongings or rent shortfalls unless specifically added.
Monthly dues charged by a homeowners or condo association for shared amenities and building upkeep. They are paid to the association, not the lender.
Lenders do not count utilities or other spending. Your budget does, so these lower the comfortable figure and never the lender ceiling.
Comfortable range
A lender may approve up to $1,717,646: about $27,646 above the comfortable figure. Approval is priced on gross income and credit-report debts, not on your budget, so the two are not expected to match.
The $550,000 down payment is only part of the cash due at signing. Estimate cash to close
Illustrative estimate only. Not advice and not a pre-qualification.
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You choose the assumptions; nothing is guessed for you.
The rest of this suite. Each answers one question.
Affordability is the home price your money can comfortably carry, which is not always the biggest loan a bank is willing to give you. A lender decides by looking at what you earn before tax, then checking that your monthly housing cost, and your other debts on top of it, stay under set limits, known as debt-to-income ratios in the US and GDS and TDS ratios in Canada. This calculator runs that same check in reverse. You enter your income, your monthly debts, and your down payment, and it works backwards to the highest price that still fits inside those limits, then shows the monthly payment that would come with it.
Plain-language definitions of every term this calculator uses.
All monthly debt payments, including the proposed housing payment, divided by gross monthly income. Lenders commonly cap it near 36%, with program-specific exceptions.
Front-end is the housing payment alone as a share of gross income, commonly capped near 28%. Back-end adds every other monthly debt payment, commonly capped near 36%.
Income before taxes and deductions. Lender ratios run on gross income by convention, which is why an affordable-on-paper payment can feel heavier in practice.
The required minimum payments on loans and cards: car loans, student loans, credit card minimums, support obligations. Utilities, groceries, and subscriptions do not count.
Pre-qualification is an estimate from stated numbers. Pre-approval is a lender’s written commitment after verifying income, assets, and credit. Sellers weigh pre-approval; pre-qualification is a starting point.
The rate a lender must test your payment against, which can be higher than the contract rate. Where a stress test applies, the maximum loan is sized at the qualifying rate.
Insurance that protects the lender when the down payment is under 20%. It is added to the monthly payment and can usually be removed once you reach about 20% equity.
The maximum price your income, debts, and down payment support at a given rate. It moves with rates: roughly 10% less for every one-point rate rise.
The part of the purchase price paid in cash up front. The loan covers the rest. Below 20% down, mortgage insurance usually applies.
One-time transaction costs due at purchase: legal or title work, taxes and registration, inspection, appraisal, lender fees. Commonly 2 to 4% of the price, paid on top of the down payment.