Colorado Home Loan Resource

Mortgage calculator • No account • 60 seconds

Looking up mortgage answers? Start with the useful ones.

No fluff. No vague "journey" language. Just a cleaner estimate based on the inputs lenders actually care about.

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Mortgage basics

The answer is always a payment question first.

People search for home price. Underwriting starts with payment. Income, debt, rate, taxes, insurance, and down payment decide what is actually workable.

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About 60 seconds

How much house can I afford?

The short answer: most buyers are constrained by monthly payment, not purchase price. Lenders usually look at income, monthly debts, credit score, down payment, taxes, insurance, and the current rate environment.

A quick rule of thumb is that housing costs often need to stay near 28% to 31% of gross monthly income, while total monthly debt usually needs to stay under 43%. That is not a law. It is just a common underwriting range.

If you want a useful answer, you need more than a rough multiplier. The difference between a 6.25% rate and a 7.25% rate can move affordability by tens of thousands of dollars.

What credit score do I need to buy a house?

It depends on the loan type. Conventional loans often start around 620. FHA can go lower, with 580 commonly used for 3.5% down. VA does not set an official minimum, but lenders often do.

A higher score does two things: it can expand your loan options and it can reduce your rate. That directly changes what payment you can qualify for.

If your score is borderline, the best move is usually to find out where the cutoff is for the program you are targeting instead of guessing based on a blog post.

How much down payment do I need?

Not always 20%. That is one of the most persistent bad assumptions in mortgage search results.

Conventional can start as low as 3% for some buyers. FHA is often 3.5%. VA and USDA can be 0% down for eligible borrowers. A larger down payment can still help by lowering the loan amount and possibly improving the pricing.

The real question is not the minimum down payment. It is whether the monthly payment, cash to close, and reserves still make sense after you factor in taxes, insurance, and closing costs.

Loan types people actually compare

Conventional

Often the default for buyers with stronger credit. Can start with low-down-payment options, but pricing and mortgage insurance vary.

FHA

Popular for first-time buyers and credit profiles that do not fit cleanly into conventional pricing. Lower down payment, but mortgage insurance is part of the tradeoff.

VA

For eligible service members, veterans, and some spouses. Often the best zero-down option because it can avoid monthly mortgage insurance.

USDA

Zero-down option for eligible areas and incomes. More suburban locations qualify than most people think.

Refinance: when it is worth checking

People refinance to lower payment, shorten term, remove mortgage insurance, or pull cash out. The only useful test is whether the numbers improve enough to justify the reset cost.

Ignore generic advice like "refinance if rates drop 1%." Break-even, loan size, future plans, and closing costs matter more than a headline rule.

If you are looking for a refinance answer, you need current balance, estimated value, credit, and income. That is why the form asks for those inputs.

FAQ

What is included in a mortgage payment?

Usually principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and sometimes mortgage insurance or HOA dues. Search results that only show principal and interest are often understating the real monthly cost.

What debt-to-income ratio do I need?

Many buyers land somewhere under 43% total DTI, but the actual ceiling depends on the loan program, credit file, cash reserves, and automated underwriting. Lower is safer. Higher is sometimes possible.

Should I get pre-approved before I look at homes?

Yes. Otherwise you are shopping without a ceiling, and listing agents will not take your offer as seriously. A pre-approval is the point where the vague answer becomes a real one.

Does checking this form hurt my credit?

No. This flow does not pull your credit. It is for estimate and follow-up only.

No credit pull

This is an estimate flow. Your credit is not checked here.

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You do not need to create a login just to ask a mortgage question.

Useful follow-up

If you submit, the next step is a licensed advisor reviewing your scenario.

Your information will NOT be sold to multiple parties. Most online mortgage shopping experiences sell the information they collect to multiple mortgage lenders, banks, and other institutions.

Provided by Colorado Home Loan Resource. Equal Housing Lender. Not a government agency.