Is there an acceptable amount of debt to carry?
Different experts have different opinions, but most agree that borrowers should try to keep all non-mortgage debt to less than 10 percent of their monthly take-home pay. If you're taking home $2,000 per month, this means your non-mortgage debt should rarely, if ever, exceed monthly payments of $200 per month. Installment debt (school loans, car loans, etc.) counts as debt too. What loan officers and underwriters are looking for is an acceptable debt ratio for your income level. As with every aspect of the mortgage process, such ratios must be tailored to the specifics of each loan.