Capital Edge / Decision tools

What can I
comfortably afford?

A purchase price starts with a monthly payment. Work back from your income, obligations, and local housing costs.

28 / 36 planning guidelineFixed-rate conventionalOne-unit primary home

01Your starting numbers

Use stable gross income that a lender could document—not business revenue or take-home pay.

Annual gross household income

Income before taxes for borrowers applying for the loan.Other monthly debt payments

Include required loan payments, credit-card minimums, support, and retained-property obligations. Enter 0 if none.Down-payment cash

Down payment only. Keep closing costs, prepaids, and reserves separate.Mortgage interest rate

Use your lender’s note rate, not APR. No current rate is assumed.Fixed-rate loan term

Which debts and income should I use?

Use lender-qualifying monthly obligations, including student loans and other mortgages when applicable. Do not assume a deferred or income-based student loan has a zero qualifying payment. Exclude a current housing payment only when your lender confirms it will end or can be omitted. Variable and self-employed income need lender review.

Utilities, food, childcare, income taxes, and maintenance affect your personal budget even when they are outside this debt ratio.

02The property’s jurisdiction

Location sets the county loan limit. Local tax inputs must match the actual property.

State or territoryCounty / county-equivalent

North Carolina uses local county, municipal, and sometimes district taxes. There is no single statewide property-tax rate. The 28/36 guideline is a planning model across jurisdictions, not an NC-specific law.

03The full housing paymentAdd taxes, insurance, and other costsOptional

Optional housing costs

Add the costs you know. Blank fields are excluded and marked in the result.

Property-tax methodUse dollars for a particular property, or a rate for price-range planning.Combined tax rate / $100 of valueOptional

As a percent: 0.7857 means $0.7857 per $100 of assessed value. Rate mode assumes assessed value equals purchase price.

Annual property insuranceOptional

Include required homeowners, flood, and wind coverage. Use an insurance estimate or quote.Monthly HOA / condo duesOptional

Enter 0 if no association dues apply, or leave blank if unknown.Other required housing costs / monthOptional

Include required costs not already counted. Enter 0 if none, or leave blank if unknown.Annual PMI rate if neededOptional

Add a lender estimate if financing above 80% LTV. Blank excludes PMI; use 0 only for confirmed no monthly PMI.

Planning limits and personal comfort

Minimum down-payment assumptionThis is a selected planning constraint, not confirmation of program eligibility. High-balance, condo, and borrower requirements can differ.Your own monthly housing capOptional

An optional lower limit for the full housing payment. It cannot increase the ratio-based ceiling.

This models a conventional, fixed-rate, one-unit primary-home purchase. FHA, VA, USDA, jumbo loans, adjustable-rate loans, and investment properties need a different analysis.

How the calculation works, and what a lender still needs to verify

Payment first, price second.

Monthly gross income = annual qualifying income ÷ 12. Housing allowance = the smaller of 28% of gross monthly income and 36% of gross monthly income minus other monthly debt. A personal cap can reduce it further.

The calculator solves for the highest whole-dollar price that fits this allowance, your selected minimum down payment, and the county’s one-unit conforming loan limit. Standard fixed-rate amortization determines principal and interest. Each monthly cost is rounded to cents before totaling; ratio ceilings are rounded down to cents.

Unentered optional housing costs are excluded, making the result preliminary. Entered costs stay included when the dropdown is closed. Rate-based taxes change with price. Annual-dollar taxes stay fixed. Monthly PMI applies above 80% original loan-to-value. No credit-score or future-refinance assumptions are made.

Ratios are a starting point.

28/36 is conservative planning, not a North Carolina legal rule or universal lender maximum. Fannie Mae’s manual-underwriting total-DTI baseline is 36%, with conditional exceptions; automated underwriting can differ. This tool does not assess those exceptions.

A lender must verify qualifying income, debts, credit, reserves, appraisal, loan program, insurance, and property eligibility. A matching ratio does not establish approval. County limits are the 2026 FHFA snapshot; local taxes and insurer quotes require property-specific confirmation.

CFPB: home-loan toolkit ↗Fannie Mae: DTI ↗Fannie Mae: housing costs ↗CFPB: PMI ↗FHFA: 2026 county limits ↗NC local tax sources ↗

Sources reviewed October 28, 2026. No live mortgage-rate, tax-parcel, or insurance feed is connected.

From a number to a decision

Put your price target in context.

Review the property, local costs, and financing assumptions with an advisor and your lender.

Discuss your next move

What can Icomfortably afford?

Payment first, price second.

Ratios are a starting point.

Put your price target in context.

What can I
comfortably afford?