To calculate 'how much house can I afford,' a good rule of thumb is using the 28%/36% rule, which states that you shouldn't spend more than 28% of your gross monthly income on home-related costs and 36% on total debts, including your mortgage, credit cards and other loans like auto and student loans.
The usual rule of thumb is that you can afford a mortgage two to 2.5 times your annual income. That's a $120,000 to $150,000 mortgage at $60,000. You also have to be able to afford the monthly mortgage payments, however.
Take a homebuyer who makes $40,000 a year. The maximum amount for monthly mortgage-related payments at 28% of gross income is $933. ($40,000 times 0.28 equals $11,200, and $11,200 divided by 12 months equals $933.33.)
How much do you need to make to be able to afford a house that costs $250,000? To afford a house that costs $250,000 with a down payment of $50,000, you'd need to earn $37,303 per year before tax. The monthly mortgage payment would be $870. Salary needed for 250,000 dollar mortgage.
How much do you need to make to be able to afford a house that costs $500,000? To afford a house that costs $500,000 with a down payment of $100,000, you'd need to earn $74,607 per year before tax. The monthly mortgage payment would be $1,741. Salary needed for 500,000 dollar mortgage.
One suggestion, provided by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, is to spend no more than 25 percent of your monthly gross income on your rent. For example, if your annual salary is $30,000 per year, or $2,500 per month, you shouldn't plan to spend more than $625 per month on rent.
To afford a house that costs $300,000 with a down payment of $60,000, you'd need to earn $44,764 per year before tax. The monthly mortgage payment would be $1,044.
The golden rule in determining how much home you can afford is that your monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 28% of your gross monthly income (your income before taxes are taken out). For example, if you and your spouse have a combined annual income of $80,000, your mortgage payment should not exceed $1,866.
Multiply Your Annual Income By 2.5 or 3
Simply take your gross income and multiply it by 2.5 or 3, to get the maximum value of the home you can afford. For somebody making $100,000 a year, the maximum purchase price on a new home should be somewhere between $250,000 and $300,000.
To afford a house that costs $200,000 with a down payment of $40,000, you'd need to earn $29,843 per year before tax. The monthly mortgage payment would be $696.
The most typical cash reserve requirement is two months. That means that you must have sufficient reserves to cover your first two months of mortgage payments. So if your principal, interest, taxes, and insurance (PITI) come to $1,500 per month, the reserve requirement will be $3,000.
To afford a $400,000 house, for example, you need about $55,600 in cash if you put 10% down. With a 4.25% 30-year mortgage, your monthly income should be at least $8178 and (if your income is $8178) your monthly payments on existing debt should not exceed $981.
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