In the Home Mortgage Qualifying Worksheet,
you will be asked to find a given percentage of certain
amounts of money. First, you will be asked to figure out
28 percent of your gross monthly income. That is how much
a lender will usually allow you to spend on housing each
month.
Then you will be asked to figure out 36
percent of your gross monthly income. That is how much total
monthly debt, including mortgage payments and other debts,
a lender will allow you to have. By filling in these numbers
on the worksheet you can find out whether you can qualify
for the house you want.
This kind of calculation is called finding
a percentage of a known amount. What you are really
doing is looking for one missing piece of information. In
working with money it is usually easiest to use what is
called the decimal method to get the answer.
First you change the percentage to a decimal. For example,
28 percent would be changed to .28. (Go back to Lesson 1
if you don't remember how to do this.) Next, multiply the
percentage times the whole. For example, multiply $3,000
by .28:
$3,000
x .28
----------
24000
6000
----------
84000. Move the decimal point two places to the left.
$840.00
You should practice working some problems
by hand, but you can also use a calculator to get the answers
more quickly.
To find 28% of a $1,200 monthly income:
1. Change 28% to a decimal by moving the
decimal two numbers to the left: 28% = .28
2. Multiply:
$1,200
x .28
----------
33600
Move the decimal two places to the left,
$336.00.
To find 36% of a $1,200 monthly income:
1. Change 36% to a decimal by moving the
decimal two numbers to the left: 36% = .36
