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The debt ratio is one of the most important factors used by mortgage lenders to determine whether to make a loan at all and the size of the loan. Ideally, the ratio will be greater than one. If it is greater than one, it means that borrower has enough income to pay all her debts and make other routine payments such as those necessary for utilities, food, and entertainment. If the buyer has a ratio of less than one, he does not have enough income to make his debt payments, let alone those other expenses. Not surprisingly, a lender does not want to lend to someone who does not have enough income to pay off all his debt. Instead, a lender prefers to see a ratio of about 1.3, which means that the borrower has about 30% more money than she needs to pay her debt - in other words, she has money to pay her debts and live on, too. Or, sometimes, the lender will make a loan to a person with a low debt ratio if the person has substantial assets or other income. For instance, a person with a low income, but significant stock portfolio may get a loan anyhow.
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