This House Fits

Housing numbers without the sales pitch

How much house can you actually afford?

Qualifying for a loan is not the same as having money left to live. Pretax income sets the lender-style cap. Your real take-home sets cash left.

Your numbers

Nothing is sent off this page. Results update as you type.

Annual pretax household income Combined gross pay for everyone on the loan. Lenders use this for debt-to-income limits.

Take-home pay What actually hits the bank. Replace the guess with a real deposit. How often is that deposit? Every two weeks × 26 checks ÷ 12 months.

We prefilled 78% of gross as a stand-in for taxes and payroll deductions. Change it if you know the real number.

Monthly debt payments Car, student loans, credit cards, child support. Not rent, utilities, or groceries. Typical monthly living costs Groceries, utilities, gas, phones, childcare, subscriptions. Not the mortgage and not the debts above.

Cash available for a down payment Do not put every dollar here. Closing costs are often 2–4% of the price, and lenders may want extra cash in reserve. Interest rate (%) Use a rate you could actually get, not last year’s low.

Loan term

Taxes, insurance, HOA, PMI, maintenance

Property tax (% of home price per year) U.S. average is often near 1%. Some counties are much higher. Homeowners insurance ($ per year) HOA dues ($ per month) Estimated PMI (% of loan per year) Used only if the down payment is under 20%. 0.75% is a planning figure, not a best-case quote. Strong credit can be lower; small down payments and mid credit can be 1% or more. Include home maintenance (about 1% of the home price per year). Banks ignore this. Your roof will not.

Comfortable vs what a lender may allow

Lenders look at whether they can get paid back. They often use a debt-to-income cap near 36% to 43% or higher. That number can still leave you short for normal life.

Comfortable here means housing near 28% of pretax monthly income, and housing plus other debts near 36%. Stretch is closer to a lender-style cap. Tight is a house-poor zone: the payment may be approvable and still a bad fit.

Use cash left as the check. Cash left starts from take-home pay, then subtracts the full housing payment, the debts you listed, living costs, and maintenance if you included it. If the stretch price spends the cash you need for food, transportation, and savings, the house does not fit even if a lender says yes.

How this is calculated

The tool turns your comfortable, stretch, and tight monthly housing budgets into home prices. Those budgets use pretax income because that is how debt-to-income math works. Housing in the cap includes principal and interest, property tax, homeowners insurance, HOA, and PMI if the down payment is under 20%.

Cash left is separate. It uses the take-home deposit you entered, not a hidden tax guess, once you replace the prefilled amount. Maintenance is included in cash left when the box is checked. It is not part of the lender cap. Banks do not underwrite your water heater.

This is not a pre-approval, loan offer, or financial, tax, or legal advice. Rates, taxes, insurance, PMI, HOA, maintenance, and withholding vary. A lender will use credit, assets, and other rules this page does not see. Confirm numbers before you make an offer.

Definitions

Pretax household income: Combined income before taxes for the people on the loan. Overtime and bonuses may not fully count. Lenders use this number for debt-to-income limits.
Take-home pay: What hits the bank after taxes and payroll deductions. If you are paid every two weeks, one deposit × 26 ÷ 12 is the monthly amount. Cash left uses this, not pretax pay.
Monthly debt payments: Minimum payments you already owe: car loans, student loans, credit cards, child support. Not utilities or groceries.
Living costs: Groceries, utilities, gas, phones, childcare, subscriptions, and other normal spending. Not the mortgage and not the debts listed above.
Down payment: Cash you put down at purchase. The loan is price minus this amount. Do not treat every dollar in the bank as down payment money.
Closing costs: Fees to buy the house, often about 2% to 4% of the price. These sit on top of the down payment. Lenders may also want extra cash left in reserve after closing.
Interest rate: The yearly rate on the mortgage. A small change changes the price you can carry. Use a rate you could actually be offered.
Loan term: Years you take to repay. 30 years lowers the monthly payment and raises total interest. 15 years is the reverse.
Principal and interest (P&I): The loan payment itself: principal reduces the balance; interest is the lender’s charge.
PITI: Principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. The housing payment most people should budget, plus HOA and PMI if they apply.
Escrow: Money the bank often collects with the mortgage to pay property tax, homeowners insurance, and PMI. This page shows those pieces as separate lines, then adds them into the full housing payment.
Property tax: A yearly tax on the home, set by the local government. This page uses a percent of price as a stand-in. Your county may be higher or lower.
Homeowners insurance: Insurance the lender will require. Cost depends on location, the house, and coverage.
HOA dues: A monthly fee to a homeowners association, common for condos and some neighborhoods.
PMI (private mortgage insurance): Extra monthly insurance on most conventional loans when you put down less than 20%. It protects the lender, not you. This page estimates 0.75% of the loan per year unless you change that rate. Actual PMI is often about 0.46% to 1.50% and depends on credit score and down payment. PMI often drops after you reach 20% equity.
LTV (loan-to-value): Loan divided by home price. Below 80% LTV (20% down) you often avoid PMI.
DTI (debt-to-income ratio): Monthly debts plus housing, divided by pretax monthly income. Lenders use this to cap the loan. A passing DTI can still be house-poor.
28/36 guideline: A common rule of thumb: housing near 28% of gross income; housing plus other monthly debts near 36%. Not a law. A starting point for “comfortable.”
Comfortable price: The home price that keeps you near that 28/36 range after tax, insurance, HOA, and PMI.
Stretch price: A higher price closer to what some lenders allow. You may qualify and still feel tight.
Tight / house-poor: A payment that can crowd out savings and normal living costs. Qualifying is not the same as fitting.
Maintenance: A planning reserve of about 1% of the home price per year for repairs and upkeep. Not a lender line item. Optional in this tool, on by default.
Cash left: Monthly take-home minus the full housing payment, minus debts, minus living costs, minus maintenance if included. This is the “can we live?” line. It is not pretax leftover.

FAQ

How much house can I afford?

Start with a payment you can carry after take-home pay, existing debts, and normal living costs. Then see the home price that produces that payment at today’s rate, taxes, and insurance. A lender max is only a ceiling. It is not a target.

Why is this lower than Zillow, Bankrate, or a lender quote?

Those tools often answer “what might be approved.” This page also asks what is left to live on. If you include take-home pay, living costs, and maintenance, the comfortable price is usually lower than a 36% or 43% DTI quote.

What is the 28/36 rule?

It is a guideline, not a law. Housing costs stay near 28% of pretax monthly income. Housing plus other monthly debts stay near 36%. Some loans allow higher ratios. Higher is not automatically safe.

Should I use gross pay or take-home pay?

Both, for different jobs. Gross pay is what DTI uses. Take-home is what pays the bills. Enter both. If you are paid every two weeks, type one deposit and choose that option so the monthly figure is correct.

Does the down payment I type have to be everything I have saved?

No. Closing costs often add 2% to 4%. Many lenders also want reserves after closing. If you put every dollar into the down payment box, the price will look more affordable than the cash in your account can support.

What is PMI and when does it kick in?

PMI is extra insurance on many conventional loans when you put down less than 20%. This page adds an estimate once the loan is more than 80% of the price. The default rate is 0.75% of the loan per year. That is a planning figure, not a best-case quote. Change it if you have a quote. PMI is shown as its own line in the payment stack and is also part of the escrow bundle a bank may collect.

Why include home maintenance?

A paid-off roof still fails. A common planning figure is about 1% of the home price per year. Lenders usually ignore it. Your checking account will not. Uncheck it if you want approval-style math only.

Is cash left the same as extra fun money?

No. It is what remains after housing, listed debts, living costs, and maintenance. If that line is small or red, there is little room for savings, travel, or surprises.

Can I afford a house if the comfortable price is $0?

Not under these rules. That usually means current debts already fill the 36% cap, or take-home is already gone after living costs. Paying down debt or raising take-home changes the picture more than stretching the loan.

Do you store my numbers or check my credit?

No. The calculator runs in your browser. Nothing is sent to a lender from this page, and there is no credit pull.

Is this a loan offer?

No. It is an estimate. A lender will use credit, assets, property details, and program rules this page does not have.