Posted On: December 3rd, 2021 5:05AM
How to Calculate your Debt-to-Income Ratio
If you’re in the market to buy a house, your mortgage lender will look at a couple of main factors to determine if you qualify. Most people know they check your credit score and credit history, but they aren’t aware of the debt-to-income ratio and how it works.
What is a Debt-to-Income Ratio?
Your DTI is a comparison of your monthly debts to your gross monthly income (income before taxes). The higher the percentage is, the higher your risk of default becomes. Lenders like borrowers with a DTI of 43% or less. This leaves plenty of money for living expenses and savings, reducing the risk of default.
What’s Included in your Debt-to-Income Ratio?
The only information you need to calculate your DTI is your total debts and total income.
Debts to Include in your DTI
The debts you include are those on your credit report. A few examples include:
The DTI also includes the new mortgage you’re applying for which includes the principal, interest, real estate taxes, and homeowner’s insurance. It also includes any HOA dues and mortgage insurance, if applicable.
Income to Include in your DTI
You can include any income the lender will use for qualifying purposes. Obviously, this includes your full-time income. But if you have any other sources of income that have a two-year history and will continue for the foreseeable future, you may include them too.
Common examples include alimony or child support you receive or side gigs you run with income you can prove.
Calculating your DTI
With these two totals, you can calculate your own debt-to-income ratio using this calculation:
Total debts/Total income = Debt-to-income ratio
Here’s an example.
Jan makes $7,000 a month before taxes. Her debts include the following:
Jan’s debt-to-income ratio is:
$2,450/$7,000 = 35%
How to Lower your Debt-to-Income Ratio
If your debt-to-income ratio is higher than a lender might like, here are a few ways to lower it:
Final Thoughts
Your debt-to-income ratio is just as important as your credit score. Take the time to figure out your DTI and where you stand before thinking about buying a house. You can prepare both your credit score and debt ratio early on to increase your chances of loan approval.
Posted On: June 16th, 2021 5:25PM
By: Melissa Dittmann Tracey.
The cheerful color of yellow is lighting up home design ever since paint firm Pantone chose it as the Color of the Year.
Yellow is a bold color and should be used sparingly. In small doses, yellow may be just the ray of sunshine to help brighten the mood in your home design.
You can find the entire article in the link bellow:
https://www.nar.realtor/blogs/styled-staged-sold/hot-home-trend-a-color-bomb-of-yellow
Posted On: March 22nd, 2021 4:37PM
The weather isn’t heating up, but the real estate market sure is!
Let’s take a look at the housing market stats.
Posted On: January 25th, 2021 4:48PM
Would you Rather.
Trends come and go, so regardless of what’s hot right now, the choice between light and dark kitchen cabinets really comes down to personal preferences.
Consider this:
Would you rather have Light or dark cabinets in your kitchen?
Posted On: January 19th, 2021 4:56PM