Debt Ratios
When analyzing the personal budget of a borrower, lenders use two different debt ratios to
determine if the borrower can afford his obligations. These two debt ratios are:
1.Top Debt Ratio
2.Bottom Debt Ratio
The "top" debt ratio is defined as:
Top Debt Ratio = Monthly Housing Expense/Gross Monthly Income
By "monthly housing expense" we mean either the borrower's monthly rent
payments, or if she owns her own home, the total of the following -
Monthly Housing Expense
1st mortgage payment on home plus
Real estate taxes (annual cost/12) plus
Fire insurance (annual cost/12) plus
Homeowner's association dues(if home is a condo or townhouse) plus
Second mortgage payment (if any) plus
Third mortgage payment (if any).
You will often hear the term P.I.T.I. It refers to (P)rincipal, (I)nterest, (T)axes and
(I)nsurance. While P.I.T.I. is not exactly the same as Monthly Housing Expense because it
does not include homeowner's association dues, the two terms are often used
interchangably.
Lenders have learned over the years that a borrower's "top" debt ratio should
not exceed 25%. In other words, a person's housing expense should not exceed 1/4 of his
income. While lenders will often stretch this number to as high as 28%,
traditional lending theory maintains that anyone with a debt ratio in excess of 25% stands
a good chance of developing budget problems.
The second ratio that lenders use to determine if a borrower can afford her obligations is
the "bottom" debt ratio. It is defined as follows:
Bottom Debt Ratio = (Total Housing Expense + Debt Payments)/Gross Monthly Income
The only difference between the two ratios is the inclusion in the numerator of "debt
payments." Debt payments include the following:
Debt Payments
Car payments
Charge card payments
Payments on installment loans, for example - a payment on a washer & dryer that the
borrower purchased.
Payments on personal loans, for example - a signature loan from the borrower's bank.
What is not included in "debt payments" is Utilities such as PG&E, water or
telephone and payments on real estate loans. Real estate loans are usually offset first by
the net rental income from the property. If the borrower has a net positive cash flow from
all his rentals, then the net income is usually added to his "gross monthly
income." If the borrower has a net negative cash flow from all of his rental
properties, then the amount of the negative cash flow is usually added
to the numerator of the "bottom" debt ratio as if it were a monthly debt
obligation, like a car payment.
Traditional lending theory maintains that a borrower's "bottom" debt ratio
should not exceed 33 1/3%. In other words, the total of the borrower's housing expense and
debt obligations should not exceed 1/3 of his income. Lenders often will stretch on this
ratio to as high as 36%, and some have even been known to stretch as high as 40% or more.
Obviously a loan with a debt ratio of 40% is a far more risky loan than a loan with a debt
ratio of 32%. |
Commercial Loans
Underwriting Guidelines
Commercial Mortgage Ratios
Commercial LTV Ratio
Commercial Debt Ratios
Commercial Debt Service Ratio
Commercial Property Types
Questions to Ask Yourself
10 Myths and Facts About SBA
Commercial Loan Checklist
Financing Options |
