Question 1

What is FOIR and what should I put?

Accepted Answer

The fixed obligation to income ratio is the share of your net monthly income a lender will let all your instalments take, including the ones you already pay. Lenders commonly work between 40% and 55%, and set it case by case on income, job stability and credit history. It is policy, not law, so ask your lender rather than trusting the default here.

Question 2

Why is the cash I need bigger than the deposit?

Accepted Answer

Because stamp duty, registration and legal and brokerage fees are all paid in cash and no lender funds them. On a one crore purchase they can easily be seven lakh on top of a twenty lakh deposit. Budgeting for the deposit alone is the commonest way a purchase falls through at the last moment.

Question 3

It says savings are my limit. What should I do?

Accepted Answer

Saving more is the only thing that moves it, because a longer tenure or a higher salary raises what your income can carry and your income is not what is stopping you. A lower deposit percentage would also work if your lender allows it, as would buying in a state with lower stamp duty.

Question 4

Why does the stress test always fail when income is my limit?

Accepted Answer

Because the price is set by borrowing right up to your FOIR ceiling, so any rate rise pushes you past it by definition. That is a property of buying at your maximum rather than a fault in the numbers. If you want headroom against a floating rate, the answer is to buy below the maximum this page shows.

Question 5

Does this include maintenance, property tax or insurance?

Accepted Answer

No. It answers what you can buy, not what it costs to live there. Society maintenance, municipal tax and insurance are real recurring costs on top of the EMI, and a buyer stretched to their FOIR often has no room for them. The rent versus buy page carries those ongoing costs.

Question 6

Should I borrow the maximum this shows?

Accepted Answer

Rarely. It is a ceiling that a lender might allow, not a recommendation. It leaves nothing for a rate rise, a job change, or the costs of actually furnishing and running the place. Treat it as the top of the range and shop below it.

Home Affordability Calculator