Greg Rekitt with 2 pound yellow perch caught from Presque Isle Bay. Jim McCarthy with a perch taken on a jig while trolling a waterway in Wayne County. Joseph Getz of Nazareth displays a yellow perch caught while ice fishing at Mauch Chunk Lake, Carbon County. Walker Loveland Sr., Wallsville, caught this nice perch from a local pond in Lackawanna County.
DEFINITION of 'Housing Expense Ratio'. A ratio comparing housing expenses to before-tax income that is used by lenders to qualify borrowers for a mortgage. The housing expense measure includes mortgage principal, interest payments, property taxes, hazard insurance, mortgage insurance and association fees. The limit is generally 28%. It is sometimes referred to as the front ratio.
In this case, the lender looks at your ratio of total monthly debt payments (including mortgage, credit card payments, auto loans, student loans and other debt obligations). The ratio typically should be 36 percent or less.