How Much House
Can You Actually Afford?
Answer a few questions and you will see an estimate straight away. Then we fine-tune it into your real number by talking it through with you — what you owe, your credit, which programs fit. One short conversation, and you have a figure you can actually shop with.
That's Your Estimate.
Em will reach out right away — check your text messages.
The figure above is your starting point. One short conversation fine-tunes it into your real number — what you owe, your credit, the right program. No hard credit pull, no obligation.
Em is reaching out now by text to get your free intro call with your loan officer on the calendar. From there you'll book a Google Meet where we walk the whole buying process end to end — your real number, which programs you qualify for, and what the next 30 days look like.
If you don't have an agent yet, we have our own — so your agent and your lender are on the same team from day one. No pressure at any point. The goal of the first call is clarity, not a commitment.
Your information goes only to Speak Straight Mortgage. We will never sell it or share it.
Speak Straight Mortgage LLC · NMLS# 2426226 · Matthew Wentz NMLS# 1852397
Why Every Affordability Calculator Gives You a Different Answer
They all use the same shortcut — a share of your gross income — and then stop. The ones that do ask about your debts are not much better, because nobody can answer that question accurately without guidance. Not because it is hard, but because no one tells you what a lender actually counts. That is why one says $340,000 and the next says $520,000 for the same person.
✓ What actually raises your number
A higher credit score — the jump from the 620s to 740+ is worth roughly a full point of rate. On a $400,000 loan that is about $250 a month, which buys you close to $40,000 more house for the same payment.
Down payment assistance — Colorado programs can cover 3–5% of the price. That is money you do not have to save, and on the right structure it is a grant, not a second loan.
Paying off one small balance — a $400 car payment costs you roughly $55,000 of purchase price. Sometimes the cheapest way to buy more house is to clear one loan first.
Everyone on the loan — a second income counts even if that person has no savings. Most people run the calculator on themselves alone.
⚠ What quietly lowers it
Your monthly debts — car loans, student loans and card minimums come out of the same budget as the mortgage. This is the single biggest reason a calculator's number is too high.
Taxes, insurance and HOA — the payment is not just principal and interest. In parts of the metro an HOA alone can eat $400 a month before the mortgage starts.
Mortgage insurance — under 20% down it is part of the payment, and what it costs depends on your credit score and the loan type. It comes off conventional at 20% equity; on FHA it usually does not.
Being pre-qualified for the maximum — the top of your range is not the same as a payment you want to live with. We will show you both and let you pick.
Same Income. $118,000 Difference.
Two Colorado buyers, both earning $7,500 a month before taxes. Here is why their answers to "how much house can I afford" are nowhere near each other.
Buyer A — about $437,000
No monthly debts. Nothing competing with the mortgage payment.
748 credit score. Prices at the top of the rate sheet, and the cheapest mortgage insurance tier.
$22,000 saved — enough for 5% down on a conventional loan with room for closing costs.
Buyer B — about $319,000
$640 a month in debts — a car and a student loan. That alone is roughly $89,000 of purchase price.
648 credit score. Higher rate and higher mortgage insurance, which is another chunk of payment before any principal.
$6,000 saved — which is where down payment assistance changes the conversation entirely.
Illustrative, using a 30-year fixed and typical Front Range taxes and insurance. Your own number depends on the property, the program and a full application. That is the point — the average of two very different people is not useful to either of them.
An Estimate in 60 Seconds. Your Real Number by Talking With Us.
The figure on screen comes from your income, the way any calculator does it — a solid starting point. Fine-tuning it into the number you can shop with takes a short conversation with a licensed Colorado lender. That is the one we would write a pre-approval on.
✓ In 60 seconds — your estimate
A starting price range — worked from your income the way any calculator does it, so you know roughly where you stand before you speak to anyone.
The programs that may fit — FHA, conventional, VA, USDA, CHFA and down payment assistance, named, with what each one would mean for you.
Enough to know where you stand — before you give up an afternoon or talk to anyone. What it does not yet include is what you owe and your real credit profile.
No hard credit pull to start. Nothing here touches your score.
By talking with us — your real number
Your debts, counted the way a lender counts them — minimum payments, not balances. Your phone bill and utilities do not count. A co-signed loan you never pay does. A car with a few payments left can sometimes come out entirely.
Your income, counted the way a lender counts it — self-employed is net after write-offs, not deposits. Overtime and bonus usually need a two-year history. This is where the number moves most, in both directions.
Your real credit profile — it sets your rate and your mortgage insurance, and moves the number by tens of thousands. A student loan in deferment still counts on most programs.
A figure you can shop with — the one we would put on a pre-approval letter. No hard credit pull to get there.
From Question to Number in Four Steps
Answer a Few Questions
Timeline, where you are looking, what you have saved, income and credit. About 60 seconds, and no hard credit pull.
See Your Estimate
An estimated purchase price from your income, what you would borrow, what you would need down, and the programs that may fit — on screen, right away. Treat it as a starting point, not an answer.
We Fine-Tune It With You
This is where the detailed questions get asked, and why it is a conversation rather than a longer form. Those questions cannot be answered accurately without guidance — a form asks for your monthly debts and never tells you that it means minimum payments, not balances, or which ones count at all. We walk you through it the way an underwriter reads it, in a few minutes, and you leave with the figure you can shop with. No hard credit pull.
Get Pre-Approved
When you are ready, a real pre-approval you can put in front of a seller — not a maximum you were never comfortable spending.
So — How Much House Can You Afford?
An estimate in 60 seconds, then your real number by talking it through with us. No hard credit pull. No obligation.
