Home Affordability Calculator

Based on your income and debt, we determine your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, which is the percentage of your income you use each month to pay off your debts. This ratio helps us estimate how much you may have available to spend on a mortgage. We then factor in the down payment amount, interest rate and loan term to arrive at an estimated home price.

Keep in mind, this figure is an estimate. If the calculator doesn’t give you results, don’t worry! Contact a mortgage representative to talk about your options.

It can help to familiarize yourself with some terms that will likely come up in the mortgage process.

Interest rate: This is the cost of borrowing money. Interest rates are based on factors such as creditworthiness, current interest rate benchmarks, loan term, type of mortgage and down payment.

Down payment: The amount you pay upfront when buying a home. There are exceptions to this but if you put down less than 20%, you’ll likely have to pay PMI or private mortgage insurance until you’ve paid down a certain amount of the principal.

Principal: The amount you borrow.

Fixed-rate: Fixed-rate means the interest remains the same over the life of the loan.

Variable-rate: Variable-rate means the interest rate can change over the life of the loan.

Secured loan: A secured loan (as opposed to an unsecured loan) is a loan that’s backed (or secured) by an asset (collateral).

Collateral: An asset (such as a home) that serves as security for a loan.

Loan term: The length of a loan. For example, you could have a mortgage term that’s 15 years.

Prequalification: Prequalification is often the first step in the homebuying process. Getting prequalified before you start shopping lets you know how much mortgage you might be able to afford and can make the process go more smoothly. To get prequalified, you self-report your income, debts, assets and other financial information to a lender. The lender may or may not perform a credit check.

Preapproval: Most sellers want to know you’re preapproved before considering an offer. For a preapproval, you’ll provide documents like paystubs, a W-2, other form of income, a list of assets and information about debts. Lenders will typically perform a credit check. If you’re preapproved, you’ll get a letter saying you’re preapproved to borrow up to a certain amount. This is good for a certain number of days (usually 90).

Mortgage points: Sometimes called discount points, mortgage points are fees paid at closing to lower your mortgage’s interest rate.

Taxes: Property tax payments are typically rolled into your monthly mortgage payment. Lenders hold this money in escrow until taxes are due.

Insurance: Your mortgage agreement may require you to get certain types of insurance, including homeowners insurance, title insurance, flood insurance and private mortgage insurance. For many homeowners, costs like insurance and property taxes are rolled into the monthly mortgage payment and held in escrow.

Closing costs: The costs of closing on a home. This can include things like appraisal, origination fees, real estate commissions, title search fees and attorney fees. Closing fees are usually between 3% and 6% of the home purchase price.

Homeowners Association (HOA) fees: Certain types of homes come with HOA fees that cover things like repairs and maintenance. HOA fees can impact how much you’re able to borrow and what kind of mortgage payment you can afford.

It can make sense to get prequalified before starting to shop for a home. This will give you an idea of what kind of mortgage you might be able to afford.

If you're ready to put in an offer, it’s usually a good idea to get a preapproval letter from a lender. Many sellers will not consider an offer if a prospective buyer hasn’t been preapproved.

When you’re ready to apply for a mortgage, the first step after selecting a lender is filling out an application. The application will ask for information about you, your finances and the property you’re interested in buying.

Learn more about the loan application process.