George L. Duarte - Mortgage Loans Fremont California Horizon Financial Associates

Assessing Your ‘Debt-to-Income Ratio’ and Why This Number Matters When Getting a Mortgage

August 23, 2022 by George Duarte

Assessing Your Debt-to-Income Ratio and Why This Number Matters When Getting a Mortgage If you are looking to buy a home, you may want to consider shopping for a loan first. Having your financing squared away ahead of time can make it easier to be taken seriously by buyers and help move along the closing process. For those who are looking to get a mortgage soon, keep in mind that the Debt-to-Income ratio of the borrower plays a huge role in the approval of your mortgage application.

What is a Debt-to-Income Ratio?

A debt-to-income ratio is the percentage of monthly debt payments compared to the amount of gross income that a person earns each month. Your gross monthly income is typically the amount of money you earn before taxes and other deductions are taken out. If a person’s monthly gross income is $2,000 a month and they have a monthly debt payments of $1000 each month, that person would have a DTI of 50 percent. The lower the DTI the better. 43 percent is in most cases the highest DTI that potential borrowers can have and still get approved for a mortgage.

What Debt Do Lenders Look At?

The good news for borrowers is that lenders will disregard some debt when calculating a borrower’s DTI. For example, utilities, cable, phone and health insurance premium would not be considered as part of your DTI. What lenders will look at are any installment loan obligations such as auto loans or student loans as well as any revolving debt payments such as credit cards or a home equity line of credit. In some cases, a lender will disregard an installment loan debt if the loan is projected to be paid off in the next 10-12 months.

What Is Considered Income?

Almost any source of income that can be verified will be counted as income on a mortgage application. Wage income is considered as part of a borrower’s monthly qualifying income. Self-employed individuals can use their net profit as income when applying for a mortgage, however, many lenders will average income in the current year with income from previous years. In addition, those who receive alimony, investment income or money from a pension or social security should make sure and include those figures in their monthly income as well when applying for a loan.

How Much Debt Is Too Much Debt?

Many lenders prefer to only offer loans to those who have a debt-to-income ratio of 43 percent or lower. Talking to a lender prior to starting the mortgage application process may help a borrower determine if his or her chosen lender offers such leeway.

A borrower’s DTI ratio can be the biggest factor when a lender decides whether to approve a mortgage application. Those who wish to increase their odds of loan approval may decide to lower their DTI by either increasing their income or lowering their debt. This may make it easier for the lender and the underwriter to justify making a loan to the borrower.

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – August 22, 2022

August 22, 2022 by George Duarte

Mortgage Rates August 22, 2022 Last week’s economic reporting included readings on home builder confidence in housing market conditions, Commerce Department readings on building permits issued, and housing starts along with readings on retail sales. Weekly readings on mortgage rates and jobless claims were also published.

NAHB: Home Builder Confidence Falls for 8^th Consecutive Month in August

The National Association of Home Builders reported an index reading of 49 for home builder confidence in August. Analysts expected a reading of 54 and July’s index reading was 55. Readings over 50 indicate that a majority of home builders surveyed viewed current housing market conditions as positive. Builders surveyed cited ongoing concerns including rising materials and labor costs and a lack of buildable lots, but rapidly rising mortgage rates and the resulting higher costs of buying a home increased home builders’ concerns about the U.S. housing market.

Builders reported making buyer concessions including lowering home prices and adding buyer incentives. 20 percent of home builders surveyed said that they reduced home prices within the last month.

Component readings for home builders’ confidence were also lower. Sales expectations for the next six months fell two points; the index reading for prospective buyer traffic fell by 5 points to 32 points. Regional readings also showed lower readings for builder confidence. The Western region reported 11 points lower builder confidence in July; home builder confidence in the Northeastern region fell by nine points and home builder confidence was seven points lower in the South. Home builder confidence in the Midwestern region fell by three points.

Mortgage Rates, Initial Jobless Claims Fall

Freddie Mac reported lower average mortgage rates last week as fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.13 percent and were nine basis points lower. Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.55 percent and four basis points lower. Rates for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages averaged four basis points lower at 4.39 percent. Discount points averaged 0.80 percent for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and 0.70 percent for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages. Discount points for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages averaged 0.30 percent.

Initial jobless claims fell to 250,000 initial claims filed as compared to 252,000 first-time jobless claims filed in the previous week. Analysts expected 260,000 initial jobless claims to be filed last week. Continuing jobless claims rose to 1.44 million claims from the previous week’s reading of 1.43 million ongoing jobless claims filed.

What’s Ahead

This week’s scheduled economic reporting includes readings on sales of new homes and pending home sales, inflation, and consumer sentiment. Weekly readings on mortgage rates and jobless claims will also be published.

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