MORTGAGE PAYMENTS AS A PERCENTAGE OF YOUR INCOME:

The rule of thumb is as follows: Your mortgage payment which includes the principal, interest, real estate taxes and insurance payments can not exceed 28% of your gross income (income before taxes are taken out). These payments plus your other outstanding monthly installments can not exceed 36% of your gross income.

Even though this is the rule of thumb, many lenders are flexible as to the exact percentages that they will allow.

This field allows you to adjust the percentage of your mortage payment to your income to see the results of different "what if" scenarios.

Note: Even though the software allows you to adjust these values, your lending institution will set the amounts based on their own guidelines.

If you do not have a lender, a good resource is your REAL ESTATE AGENT. He or she will be able to recommend a lender that may be willing to work with you.