The 28/36 Rule: The Math That Decides Who Can Afford Your Home
Published by Cash Flow Deals · Last updated 2026-07-22 · Reviewed by Camilo Palacio, Licensed Florida Real Estate Professional (License #3280644, REALTOR®), affiliated with Silver Door Realty, LLC (License #CQ1064903)
Your financed buyer pool depends on what buyers can qualify for. The 28/36 rule is a lending guideline: monthly housing costs (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) should stay under 28% of gross monthly income, and total debt payments under 36%. On a $100,000 salary, that's $8,333 in gross monthly income, a $2,333 maximum housing payment, and roughly a $370,000 home at a 6.5% rate with 20% down, depending on taxes, insurance, and other costs. Actual limits depend on the loan program and lender. Price above what your buyers can qualify for, and financing may prevent a closing. Through Cash Flow Deals, you choose between the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your house as-is and close, and the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. A Premium buyer still needs final lender approval; selling to us through Fast Cash avoids dependence on a homebuyer's mortgage approval.
| Cash Flow Deals | Traditional Listing | |
|---|---|---|
| Timeline | Buyers matched to your price are already screened against real financing ratios up front; net price back within 24 hours, closing in 45 days or less, on a date the seller helps pick. | A buyer's true affordability isn't confirmed until underwriting; a financed contract can still fall apart 30-45 days in if their debt-to-income ratios don't hold up. |
| Buyer Qualification | Buyer's ratios are checked against the 28/36 caps and their loan-type limits before you sign, so the contract is one a lender can actually approve. | Buyer's pre-approval letter may sit at the ceiling of their ratios; real qualification isn't confirmed until underwriting weeks later. |
| Repairs | The number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens. With Premium, only what your buyer's lender requires gets fixed; we cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket, with costs settled from the sale proceeds out of our share. | FHA, VA, and conventional appraisals can require repairs before the loan funds, even after a buyer already qualified under the 28/36 caps. |
| Fees/Costs | With your Premium Cash Offer, the buyer buys directly from you, and Cash Flow Deals is paid as a separate line item on the closing statement. Commissions and closing costs are settled from the sale proceeds out of our share, so nothing comes out of your pocket. | Typical 5-6% agent commission plus seller-paid closing costs, on top of whatever ratio-driven price a qualifying buyer can support. |
How the 28/36 Rule Works, With Real Numbers
The rule splits into two halves. Front-end ratio: housing costs alone (mortgage principal, interest, property taxes, and insurance) can't pass 28% of gross monthly income. Back-end ratio: housing costs plus every other debt payment (car loans, student loans, credit cards) can't pass 36%.
Here's what that looks like on a $100,000 salary. Gross monthly income: $8,333. The 28% cap caps the housing payment at $2,333 a month. The 36% cap caps total debt payments at $3,000 a month. At a 6.5% rate with 20% down, that housing payment supports a home price of roughly $370,000.
Most people miss this part: the caps aren't lender limits. Conventional loans regularly approve debt-to-income ratios up to 45%, sometimes 50%. FHA allows up to 43%, sometimes higher. VA has no strict cap at all, though most lenders still prefer 41% or below. The 28/36 rule is the conservative baseline. Real approvals stretch well past it.
Why a Buyer's Rule Matters When You Are the Seller
Every buyer walking through your door carries this math whether they know it or not. Price your home at $370,000 and your core buyer pool is households earning around $100,000 a year with manageable debt, plus buyers using loan programs that stretch further: FHA at 3.5% down, VA at 0% down. A VA buyer with no mortgage insurance can often afford $30,000 to $50,000 more house than a conventional buyer putting 5% down at the same income.
Here's the most common failure point: buyers confuse their maximum pre-approval with what they can actually sustain. A buyer pre-approved at the top of a 50% debt-to-income ratio looks strong on paper, then cracks under an appraisal gap, a rate move, or a surprise car repair before closing. When that financed contract falls apart in week four, the seller eats the delay. Screening for buyers who sit comfortably inside their ratios, not at the ceiling, is the difference between a contract and a closing.
How Cash Flow Deals Applies This Math for Florida Sellers
Cash Flow Deals gives you two offers for your Florida home, and you choose: the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your house as-is and close, or the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. For Premium, the 28/36 math matters when those ratios apply to the buyer's loan. We review financing against the requirements of the buyer's loan type; a pre-approval still depends on the lender's final review of the buyer and your property.
For Premium, your home may be listed through Silver Door Realty, a licensed Florida brokerage, with a licensed agent and scheduled showings. You sign with us at an agreed number and give us permission to bring in a buyer in our place. That buyer signs a new contract directly with you, title passes directly from you to the buyer, and the buyer's lender funds the purchase. To compare your options for your address, start at our Florida seller hub.
We cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket. With Premium, only what the buyer's lender requires gets fixed, with repair costs settled from the sale proceeds out of our share. With Fast Cash, we buy as-is, with no repairs for you to make. The number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens.
Cash Flow Deals' Buyer-Vetting Process:
1. Cash Flow Deals reviews your property and returns your offers within 24 hours, considering your home's condition and real buyer-financing requirements.
2. You compare the Fast Cash Offer and Premium Cash Offer and choose. For Premium, if your buyer's loan falls through, that is our problem, not yours, and you can still take the Fast Cash Offer at its own number.
3. Our existing closing target is 45 days or less, on a date you help pick. Your buyer's financing review includes the 28/36 math where applicable, and final loan approval remains with the lender.
Common questions
Is the 28/36 rule an actual lending requirement?
No. It's a guideline, not a law. Real approval limits depend on the loan program. Conventional loans often allow debt-to-income ratios up to 45%, sometimes 50%. FHA allows up to 43%, sometimes higher. VA loans have no strict cap, though most lenders prefer 41% or below. The 28/36 rule marks the comfortable zone. Buyers who stay inside it are far less likely to fall apart between contract and closing.
Does the 28/36 rule affect what my house sells for?
Indirectly, yes. At any given price and interest rate, the rule sets the income a buyer needs to qualify comfortably. A home priced around $370,000 at a 6.5% rate maps to buyers earning roughly $100,000 a year under the 28% housing cap. Price above what your local buyer pool's income supports, and you're depending on buyers stretched past their ratios, the ones most likely to miss the closing table.
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What this means for your options
Every path to selling a house has real tradeoffs.
Wait and see
Keep the property as-is and hope conditions improve. The mortgage, insurance, and upkeep keep costing money while you wait, with no set date for things to turn around.
List with a traditional agent
Standard MLS listing, typically 5-6% in commission, and a financed buyer whose deal depends on appraisal, inspection, and lender approval — any of which can fall through after weeks on market.
Sell to Cash Flow Deals
Two offers for your house, Fast Cash or Premium Cash, and you choose. Cash: Cash Flow Deals buys the house as-is and closes. Premium: More money. A pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have buys directly from you.
See your selling options before you decide anything.