Start with your monthly income
Lenders use gross income: what you earn before taxes and deductions. $100,000 a year works out to about $8,333 a month. If you're buying with someone else, their income can count too.
Base salary is the easiest income to document. Bonuses, overtime and commission can also count, usually when you have a history of receiving them, often about two years.
Apply debt-to-income
Your debt-to-income ratio, or DTI, is your total monthly debts divided by your gross monthly income. At CapCenter, your DTI can be up to 50%, depending on your loan and the rest of your file. This example uses 45% to leave some room.
At 45%, total monthly debts can be about $3,750. If you already pay $500 a month for a car loan and credit card minimums, about $3,250 is left for your full housing payment.
Take out taxes, insurance and HOA dues
Your housing payment isn't just the loan. It also includes property taxes, homeowners insurance, any HOA dues and, with a smaller down payment, mortgage insurance. Those costs vary a lot by location and home. Subtract them from your housing budget to find what's left for principal and interest.
What price that supports
Hypothetical example. APR may differ; example only. Rates change daily.
If $2,400 of the $3,250 housing budget goes to principal and interest on a 30-year fixed loan at 6.75%, that supports about a $370,029 loan. With 10% down, that's roughly a $411,143 home. A bigger down payment, fewer debts or lower taxes would raise that number. New car payments or higher insurance would lower it.
Example details: $370,029 30-year fixed at 6.750% (6.778% APR): 360 monthly payments of $2,400.00. Purchase price $411,143 with a $41,114 (10%) down payment. Mortgage insurance is typically required with less than 20% down and is not included here; it would raise the payment and the APR. Principal and interest only; taxes and insurance not included, so the actual payment will be higher. Unless noted, APR assumes ZERO Closing Costs, no discount points and 15 days of prepaid interest. Hypothetical example prepared November 4, 2026, not a current CapCenter rate offer; subject to credit approval.
Approved vs. comfortable
The most a lender approves may not be the right budget for you. Many planners suggest keeping your housing payment near 28% of gross income. At $100,000, that's about $2,333 a month all-in, which is less than the example above.
Think about what else you want money for: savings, retirement, childcare, travel and home repairs. A payment that leaves room for those can make owning a home far less stressful.
Ways to stretch your budget
- Pay down or pay off a car loan or card balance before you apply
- Save a bigger down payment to lower the loan amount
- Compare taxes and HOA dues in different areas
- Ask about down payment assistance if you're a first-time buyer
- Look at loan programs with lower down payment requirements
Get your real number
A pre-approval turns these estimates into a real budget based on your credit, income and debts. With CapCenter, pre-approval uses a soft credit check, which doesn't affect your score, and the online application takes about 15 minutes.
