The Truth about the Credit Crunch
Monday, November 23rd, 2009If you have ever applied for a mortgage, you may well have wondered about where that “28/36 debt-to-income ratio rule” came from that the mortgage broker talked to you about….and whether it even makes any sense. After sometime researching, I discovered some very surprising facts.

When you apply for a mortgage, the banks will usually calculate your debt-to-income ratio. The idea is that your total monthly debt repayments shouldn’t be above a certain threshold relative to your income.
And there are two numbers. The first one concerns your housing expenses. Your monthly payments towards principal, interest, taxes and insurance for your housing should be no more than 28% of your gross income.
The second number deals with your total monthly debt payments, including credit card payments, car payments, other loans, and housing payments. Those should be less than 36% of your gross income.


