Tried to get a pre-approval from my local credit union in Tacoma and the number was way lower than I expected

Sage Allen · 2026-04-07T03:30:07.861016+00:00

I went in feeling good about my finances, but they only offered me $275,000 based on my student loan debt. I learned that even with a solid down payment, your debt-to-income ratio is a huge deal. Has anyone else had a lender come back with a much smaller amount than the online calculators said?

dakota_taylor394mo ago

Used to hate hearing about DTI but now I get why it matters so much.

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taylor6326mo ago

Same thing happened to me, my car payment totally wrecked what the calculator said I could afford.

6

kai6576mo ago

Yeah, those online calculators are basically useless for real life. They never ask about your actual monthly debt payments, just your total income. A lender actually looks at your full credit report and sees that $500 student loan payment every month. That money isn't going toward a mortgage, so your buying power drops hard. It's a brutal reality check that hits a lot of first time buyers.

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