Affordability
Definition of "Affordability"
The definition of affordability in real estate is simply a buyer’s capacity to afford a house. Affordability is usually expressed in terms of the maximum amount a buyer will be able to pay for a house, and subsequently be approved for a loan in order to pay this amount. In real estate, this is known as the maximum affordable sale price, and it can be empirically calculated with relative ease.
To calculate the maximum affordable sales price, you’ll need to take into account three different metrics by which the maximum affordable sales price is calculated. These are the income rule, the debt rule and the cash rule. After calculating each of these numbers, affordability will be the lowest of the three. Let’s take a closer look at each of these rules in turn, and see exactly how they come into play in calculating the maximum affordable sales price.
The Income Rule in Affordability
This rule states that a borrower's monthly housing expense (MHE), which is the sum of the mortgage payment, property taxes and homeowner insurance premium, cannot exceed a percentage of the borrower's income specified by the lender. Once you’ve calculated a buyer’s MHE, you have their maximum affordable sales price according to the income rule.
The Debt Rule in Affordability
The debt rule says that the borrower's total housing expense (THE), which is the sum of the MHE plus monthly payments on existing debt, cannot exceed a percentage of the borrower's income specified by the lender. Once calculated, this number is often lower than the number that you might arrive at using the income rule, making it essential for calculating the maximum affordable sales price.
The cash rule in Affordability
The required cash rule says that the borrower must have cash sufficient to meet the down payment requirement plus other settlement costs. When the cash rule sets the limit on the maximum sale price, the borrower is said to be cash constrained. This number can be raised by lowering the down payment.
Popular Mortgage Terms
The total cash required of the home buyer/borrower to close the purchase plus loan transaction or the loan transaction on a refinance. Required cash includes the down payment, points and ...
Rates and points quoted by loan providers. You cannot safely assume that mortgage price quotes are always timely, niche-adjusted, complete, or reliable. Timeliness: Most mortgage lenders ...
A rate lock, plus an option to reduce the rate if market interest rates decline during the lock period. ...
Same as term Interest Rate: The rate charged the borrower each period for the loan of money, by custom quoted on an annual basis. A mortgage interest rate is a rate on a loan secured by a ...
An option exercised by the borrower, at the time of the loan application or later, to 'lock in' the rates and points prevailing in the market at that time. When lenders 'lock/' they ...
Same as term Qualification: The process of determining whether a prospective borrower has the ability to repay a loan. ...
A borrower who does not meet the underwriting requirements of mainstream lenders. Sub-prime borrowers pay more than prime borrowers and are sometimes taken advantage of. ...
The period until the last payment is due. The maturity is usually but not always the same as the period used to calculate the mortgage payment. ...
The number of days for which any lock or float-down holds. The longer the period, the higher the price to the borrower. ...
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