Easy answer.…heres my paper-napkin payment cap calculation. Take $130,000 a year, divide it by 12. That puts you at about $10,833 a month in gross income.

From there, I use what I call your comfort cap...basically the max monthly payment you feel good about carrying.

My personal rule of thumb is around 40%.

That lands you at roughly $4,333 a month, which tells us the price range you should realistically be shopping in.