How Much House Can You Actually Afford?

Working forward from a house you like tells you what you want. Working backwards from your income tells you what a lender will agree to — and those are usually different numbers.

What the Home Affordability does

Estimates the property price your income supports, from your deposit, existing debt payments and a debt-to-income limit.

Debt-to-income is the lever lenders actually use. The default of 36% is a common comfort threshold; raising it shows what a more permissive lender might allow, which is not the same as what you can comfortably carry.

Open the Home Affordability and follow the settings and checks below.

How lenders think about this

Setting	What it means
Debt-to-income	Total monthly debt payments ÷ gross monthly income
Common comfort limit	Around 36%, which is the default here
Range accepted	10–60% — the top end is well past comfortable
Existing debt	Car finance, cards, student loans all count against you
Deposit	Raises the price you can reach, and may improve the rate
Not included	Property tax, insurance, service charges, maintenance
Term range	5–40 years

How to use it

1. Enter household income and your existing monthly debt payments.
2. Enter the deposit you actually have available — after moving and closing costs, not before.
3. Set the rate and term.
4. Leave max debt-to-income at 36% unless you are testing what a lender might stretch to.

Practical advice

Clearing a car loan before applying can raise your affordable price more than saving the same amount toward the deposit, because the monthly payment is removed from the debt-to-income calculation entirely. Worth testing both ways before deciding where spare money goes.

Common questions

A lender offered me more than this suggests.

Lenders differ, and some will stretch well past 36%. What a lender will approve and what leaves you comfortable are different questions — the maximum is their risk tolerance, not a recommendation, and their downside is not the same as yours.

Does the result include tax and insurance?

No. Property tax, insurance, service charges and maintenance sit on top and can add a fifth or more to the monthly cost. Take the price this gives you into the Mortgage Calculator with real local figures for the fuller picture.

How much deposit do I actually need?

It varies by market and product, but a larger deposit lowers the amount borrowed and can unlock better rates or remove mortgage insurance. Remember closing costs come out of your savings too — the deposit is not the only cash you need on the day.

Should I use gross or take-home income?

Debt-to-income is conventionally calculated on gross income, which is what this expects. That is also why the result can look generous against what your bank account experiences — check the resulting payment against your take-home pay before believing it.

Useful next tools

• Mortgage Calculator — Monthly payment, total interest and full amortisation schedule.
• Closing Costs Estimator — Estimate the fees on top of the purchase price.
• Rent vs Buy — Compare renting against buying over your real time horizon.
• Mortgage Payoff — How much time and interest extra payments save.
• Take-Home Pay — Estimate net pay from gross salary.
• 50/30/20 Budget Calculator — Split take-home pay into needs, wants and savings.

Vootkit provides general educational estimates, not mortgage, investment, legal, valuation or financial advice. Lending rules, taxes, transaction costs and property markets vary. Check actual offers and consult appropriately licensed professionals before acting.