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Feature · Can I afford it?

“Can I afford it?” uses the same rule lenders use

You tell us your income, savings and debts. We answer green, amber or red - plus what you'd have left each month.

01 What it is

A home can be a great deal and still be wrong for your budget. This is the feature that answers the question a deal score can't: can I actually carry this one?

02 How we work it out

You enter your monthly income, cash on hand and other monthly debts. We compare your likely house payment to your income using the same yardstick lenders use - the 28/36 rule (housing comfortably under about 28% of income; housing plus all debts under about 36%). Under comfortable = green. A stretch = amber. Over the line lenders usually allow = red.

We judge against the middle of the cost range - never the rosy low end, never the scary high end. We also check whether your cash actually covers the cash-to-close, and if you're short, we say by how much and drop the verdict to at least amber. Then we tell you the human number: roughly how much you'd have left over each month after the house and your debts.

One thing we take seriously: your income, savings and debts are used only to answer your question. The math runs and the numbers are gone - they aren't logged or printed to power this.

Worked exampleExample: “Green - after the house payment and your other debts, you'd have roughly $400–$900 left each month.”
Standard lender 28/36 DTI guidanceYour true monthly costYour cash-to-close
Why you can trust this

The 28/36 rule is the standard lenders apply, not a number we invented - and we judge against the honest midpoint, so the verdict is neither sugar-coated nor alarmist.

Honest caveat: This is a budgeting guide, not a pre-approval. A real lender looks at your full credit and finances - get pre-approved before you make an offer.