DTI Ratio
DTI Ratio - DTI, also known as debt to income ratio, is a major factor
when becoming qualifed for a mortgage.
50% DTI is usually the most that lenders will lend
upon. Exceptions do abound.
Your DTI, or debt to income ratio is the general
basis
for calculating how much of a home or home loan a consumer can afford.
Debt to income ratio is figured by dividing monthly income and monthly
bills by each other. The percentage calculated will equal your debt to
income ratio.
DTI does not take into account bills like
telephone,
grocery and other daily living exspense. Keep this in mind when
figuring your mortgage payment and how it will affect your finances.
If you think your DTI is too high for most lenders
you
should consider a "No Ratio" loan. These mortgages require high credit
scores and good employment history. Be sure to ask your preferred
mortgage professional if a No Rato loan is right for you.
Different loan programs have different
debt-to-income
guidelines. Government and conventional mortgages have lower DTI
requirements than some Alt-A and subprime loans.
Installment debts (like car loans for example)
with less
than ten payments remaining generally are not included in the DTI
calculation.
There are two Debt-To-Income Ratios (DTI) lender
banks
look at. The "Front DTI" is derived from dividing the housing expenses
by gross income. The "Back DTI" is the sum of housing expenses and all
installment debt obligations, such as vehicle finance and credit card
debt payments, divided by gross income. Lenders are more concerned
about the Back DTI than the Front DTI.
A loan program where you are stating your income
rather
than providing full proof of it will usually have a lower DTI
requirement. Again, as has been mentioned before, stated income is
designed for those who cannot prove their income and should not be
taken as an opportunity to artificially inflate actual levels of income.
Debt to Income Ratios - A Debt to Income Ratio is
the
percentage of monthly income compared to monthly debt. To figure out
ones debt to income ratio you will take a 12 month total of income (a
W2 from work is perfect for this) and divide the total by 12 months and
this will give you your average monthly income. Next you will add up
all of your current monthly expense payments (such as cars, credit
cards, house payments {including property taxes, homeowners insurance,
homeowners association fees if applicable}, alimony or child support
you are required to pay, personal loans, etc...) and then divide the
monthly income by the total monthly expenses. This is a simplistic
approach to calculate your approximate debt ratio.
Example: $36,000 yearly income / 12 months = $3,000 monthly income
Total monthly bills = $1300 per month / $3,000 monthly income = $43.33%
debt to income ratio
Your debt to income ratio is the main factor that
a
lender uses to determine how much of a home loan mortgage payment and
home that you qualify for. By calculating your debt ratio before your
mortgage payment you can figure out how much money your monthly
mortgage payment can be based on the lenders debt to income ratio
guidelines and you income. Consult your WI mortgage consultant to find
out exactly how much of a home you will qualify for based on your debt
to income ratio, also known as DTI.
If you do not qualify for a loan because your DTI
is too
high there are a couple options you have available. You can either try
to increase your monthly income, or decrease your expenses. If you have
some additional income that is hard to document, such as a part time
cash job, or rental income, etc. that you did not include talk to your
mortgage professional they may be able to use that income to help
qualify you. You may also be able to decrease your expenses by paying
off the remainder of a car loan, personal loan, or credit card that has
a high payment. Another alternative is to consider some alternative
types of mortgages that have lower payments such as Interest Only,
ARMs, 40 year terms, or a Pay Option ARM
You can reduce your debt to income by paying off
your
credit cards at closing. The lender will not include these debts in
your dti if they are going to be paid at closing.
Bills such as groceries, cell phone and everyday
living
expenses are not figured into DTI. Keep this in mind when deciding on a
comfortable house payment for your budget.
Your debt to income ratio (DTI) is a key indicator
of
your true financial picture. It is definitely the lending industry's
measure of fiscal health. Your debt to income ratio is calculated by
dividing monthly minimum debt payments (excluding mortgage or rent,
utilities, food, entertainment) by monthly gross income.
Your debt-to-income ratio, also referred to as a "back end" ratio, is a
major factor considered for mortgages, auto loans, and other large
purchases. If your ratio is too high, you won't qualify for even high
interest loans.
Getting out of debt and staying out of debt is simple. All it takes is
spending less than you earn, but although the solution is simple,
putting it into practice is hard for many people.
In mortgage related documents, Debt-to-Income
Ratios are
often expressed as two sets of two digit numbers separated by a slash.
For instance, 28/36, where 28 is percentage of the "front DTI", or
proposed housing expenses in relation to the applicant's income, and 36
is the percentage of the "back DTI", or total debt divided by income.
If you have a particular liability like a car loan
or a
student loan with 10 or less remaining payments then lenders will
generally allow you to exclude that payment from your debt to income
ratio.
Lenders look at both your front end ratio and your
back
end ratio. The front end ratio is calculated by taking the sum of your
mortgage payment, property taxes, and homeowners insurance, and
dividing that total by your gross monthly income. The back end ratio
includes all of your other monthly obligations such as credit cards,
car payments, personal loans, etc.
It is important to remember, when figuring your
Debt to
Income(DTI) while considering a debt consolidation/refinance, to remove
any credit card payments from the equation, if they are to be paid off
through the new loan.
High debt to income ratio mortgage loans - Many
people
have high debt to income ratios and can still qualify for a mortgage
loan. There are many options available out there for people who have a
high debt to income ratio, also referred to as DTI. One solution to a
high debt to income ratio is to work with a lender that allows for a
high debt to income ratio. Typical good credit lenders allow for debt
ratios around 40%, although many times an automated underwriting system
may qualify borrowers with a much higher DTI too. Typical below average
credit score lenders will allow a maximum debt to income ratio of 50%.
Then there are even a few other lenders who will allow debt to income
ratios up to 55%, and sometimes even 60% on rare occasions. Consult a
mortgage broker today to find the right lender for your individual
situation.
Paying off high payment credit card and car loan
accounts as part of a debt consolidation or cash out refinance is a
great way to qualify for a lower rate mortgage.
There are also no ratio loans that some lenders
can provide.
There are also programs available for high credit
score
borrowers called No Doc loans. This is when a lender does not require
income information from the borrower and will base the loan on the
creditworthiness of the borrower.
If you are doing a mortgage refinance it may be
possible
to consolidate some of your other debts, such as credit cards, car
loans, etc. into your new mortgage. By eliminating your other monthly
debt payments, leaving you with just your new mortgage payment, you
might find that this significantly lowers your debt to income ratio.
Even if you make more than enough money to
comfortably
pay for the mortgage you may find that you have to look at some of
these other types of loans because the lender will not accept all of
your income. Some examples would be a 2nd job, commission income, or
bonuses that you have been receiving less than 2 years. Lenders may
also not include rental income you receive if you rent out rooms in
your home and do not have a signed lease, or proof of 12 months
payments received.
If you fall into one of these categories you may need to look at a loan
that allows a high debt to income ratio, even though your actual income
may be more than sufficient to qualify.
Having a high debt to income ratio no longer means
you
are forced to accept the high rates and unfavorable terms of many
subprime loans. If you have sufficient compensating factors, such as a
perfect mortgage payment history and high credit scores, you may be
able to qualify for a loan only slightly more expensive than someone
with a low debt to income ratio. Be sure to ask your loan officer to
submit your loan to various Automatic Underwriting programs prior to
accepting a high rate subprime loan.
On higher debt-to-income ratio borrowers, a lender
will
sometimes require a certain amount of disposable income before
approving this high debt ratio loan. Disposable income is calculated by
taking the gross monthly income minus the monthly liabilities. If the
borrower has a large amount of disposable income, say $3000 a month,
then the lender is more likely to approve the loan.