Affordability works backward from a debt-to-income cap, so start there. A lender takes your gross monthly income, multiplies by the program's DTI ceiling, subtracts your existing monthly debts (car, student loans, credit card minimums), and what remains is your maximum housing payment. The ceilings vary by loan type: - Conventional: up to 50% total DTI on an automated (AUS) approval. - FHA: with an AUS approval, up to 46.99% for the housing payment and 56.99% total debt. Those are hard ceilings, they apply only with the automated approval, and they aren't available to every borrower; compensating factors and lender overlays still matter, and manual underwriting runs much tighter. - VA: no set maximum DTI. VA treats 41% as a benchmark, and above it the file leans on residual income, the real affordability test in the VA world. Then break the housing number down. Set aside roughly a quarter to a third of it for property taxes, insurance, any HOA, and mortgage insurance; the rest is principal and interest, which converts to a loan amount. As an illustrative rule of thumb, figure about $6 to $7 per $1,000 borrowed each month (that reflects a roughly 6 to 7% example rate, a math anchor rather than a quote). So a $1,300 principal-and-interest budget supports very roughly $185,000 to $215,000 in loan. Two things worth holding onto. Extra savings move the payment less than you'd expect: an additional $12,000 down might only trim around $72 a month. And what you qualify for and what you should spend are two different numbers; buy the payment you're comfortable carrying. Knowing your program, your real payment, and your true price ceiling is exactly what we build with you on the free Roadmap conversation.