**What DTI really means — in plain English**

DTI sounds like a secret code. Promise- it's not. It's just math — and yes, I promise to make it painless.

Okay, real talk: DTI stands for debt-to-income ratio. Sounds very “banker in a suit,” I know. But really it's just a formula to figure out how much debt you can afford relative to your income. Now some people might be fine spending more than others- so we just use a math calculation to figure out what the absolute MAX amount your debt should be. 

In Layman's terms: how much of your monthly income is already spoken for by debts — car payment, student loans, credit cards, that sort of thing — before we add a mortgage on top.

Quick example: if you bring home $5,000 a month and $1,500 already goes to debts, that's 30% before a house payment. Lenders just want to make sure the total still leaves you money for, you know, living. And tacos. Tacos are important. And vacations! We really don't want anyone to be house poor!!

You don't have to sit there with a calculator and a headache. That's literally my job — we'll look at your numbers together, in plain English, no jargon, no judgment. Heck- we can even get a plan together and do some reverse engineering to figure out how to make numbers work on a specific house!

Curious where you stand? Send me a message and I'll walk you through it. No pressure, I promise. Who has time for that sort of thing?

Not ready to chat? That's ok too! HERE is a link for an easy to use calculator you can use! 

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