MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME
United States: $51,914
Georgia: $49,347
Fulton County: $56,709
Cobb: $65,522
DeKalb: $51,349
Gwinnett County: $63,219
Clayton County: $43,311
Source: American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau
HOME AFFORDABILITY, BY COUNTY
Median price/minimum income needed
Cobb: $265,000/ $40,900
Clayton: $103,000 /$17,400
DeKalb:$275,000/$43,800
Fulton: $371,000/ $59,500
Gwinnett: $220,000/ $35,400
Source: Fifth Third Bank, Atlanta Board of Realtors
To qualify for a mortgage in metro Atlanta, how much money do you think you need to make? It may be less than you think.
That is, if you have a good credit rating, haved saved for a down payment and don’t have much debt.
Based on median home prices in different metro Atlanta counties, the income level you need varies from a high of $59,500 in Fulton to a low of just $17,400 in Clayton.
Those numbers depend on a lot of variables: How much can you put down? How much do you need to borrow? How much other debt are you carrying?
Each application for a loan is different. Each piece of property, too.
In general, an applicant should not have debt of more than 43 percent of his or her income each month, according to Jason Conn, a senior mortgage loan originator at Fifth Third Bank.
To estimate the income needed to get a mortgage, he used that figure as a ceiling, then assumed a down-payment of 10 percent and a good, but unspectacular credit score of 700.
There’s still no guarantee of getting a mortgage, of course. But the probabilities are on your side.
Conn also emphasized that there are some financial burdens that should concern the borrower, even if the bank doesn’t count it in calculating qualifications. Childcare expenses, for instance, are not part of the bank’s equation but may be significant.
Banks are not as tough on borrowers as they were right after the housing market crash. But there are still good reason for rejections: Many people whose paycheck is big enough have too much debt. Many are struggling with bad credit – often because of financial woes caused by the recession.
