What’s my next move?Buy, sell or keep: a simulator with 2026 loan rules

Most people stall on the same question: am I ready, and what would it take? A lender answers it with a few ratios. The biggest is debt-to-income: every monthly debt, the new house payment included, divided by your monthly income before taxes. A conventional loan works up to 45%%, or 50%% with an automated approval; FHA starts at 43%%; VA at 41%% with enough left over each month.^4,5,7

The second is cash: the down payment, Virginia’s closing costs, and what some loans want left in the bank afterward. The simulator runs both for every loan you could use, picks the one that works now with the lowest risk, and says what would move a “not yet” to a yes.

Bigger home: three ways. Sell first turns your equity into the down payment, one payment at a time. Buy first lets you move once, but the lender counts both payments until the old home sells; a bridge loan stops counting once your home has a signed contract with its financing contingency cleared.¹² Keep it as a rental builds wealth, and from November 1, 2026, Fannie Mae counts 75% of its market rent only against its own payment, and wants 6 months of that payment in the bank if you have been a landlord under a year.¹³

In the example, owners of a $700,000 home who want a $1,100,000 house pay about $7,292/month selling first, with 20% down. Keeping the old home needs about $24,983 more cash than they have, and buying first puts their debt-to-income at 69%: the simulator shows both, and what closes each gap.

Bigger down payment or bigger monthly? Below 20% down on a conventional loan, PMI runs about $30 to $70 a month per $100,000 borrowed.⁸ Past 20%, every extra dollar down saves the rate, but money in the bank keeps you ready for repairs and surprises. The slider in your plan shows the trade.

Moving away from Virginia? Two different moves. Sell and buy there: the family in the example, with an $800,000 home and $300,000 owed, keeps about $496,440 after the payoff and Virginia’s selling costs, and pays about $3,008/month on a $450,000 home there. Keep it, rent it out, and rent there: at $3,600 rent, the house nets about $333/month after its payment and 1% a year of upkeep, against $2,500/month of rent there.

Watch the tax clock. Up to $250,000 of gain is tax-free ($500,000 married filing jointly) when you lived in the home 2 of the last 5 years. Move out, and you have about 3 years to sell and keep that, less the depreciation you took as a landlord.¹⁹

Buying as a family. A parent or an adult son or daughter can go on the loan without living there. Conventional allows up to 95% financing with an automated approval; FHA allows 96.5% when the co-borrower is family.^9,5 Their own debts count too, their own house payment included. In the example, a daughter earning $75,000 with parents earning $140,000 (and a $2,400 mortgage of their own) reaches a $600,000 home at about $4,923/month with a $20,000 gift.

Gift money from family needs a signed letter that says it is not paid back; on a one-unit home, a conventional loan needs none of your own money.¹⁰ A 401(k) loan of up to half the vested balance ($50,000 at most) is another source, and Fannie Mae does not count its repayment as a debt.^17,12

First home, ready or not? A first-time buyer earning $110,000 with $40,000 saved, eyeing a $550,000 townhouse in Fairfax County: the simulator shows the loan that comes closest, how far off it is, and the price that works today. At $110,000, they reach about $450,000 today at the 45% line, and paying down a few hundred dollars/month of debt or adding a co-borrower closes the rest.

Starting a career? A signed offer letter counts if the job starts within 90 days after closing, with 6 months of payments in reserve.¹¹ Student loans on an income-driven plan count at the documented payment, even $0; deferred ones at 1% of the balance.¹² Doctors and dentists also have physician loans, often with little down and no PMI. I work with loan officers who offer them, and I’m glad to connect you.