{"id":2611,"date":"2026-06-21T14:15:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T19:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hepacom.org\/capacidad-de-endeudamiento-vivienda\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T11:47:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T16:47:33","slug":"capacidad-de-endeudamiento-vivienda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hepacom.org\/en\/capacidad-de-endeudamiento-vivienda\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing borrowing capacity: how much will the bank lend you"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last updated: June 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don Arist\u00f3bulo arrived at the foundation with a folder full of apartment quotes and a question that had been keeping him up at night for weeks: "How much will they lend me?" He had already seen the house, he had already done the math on the back of a receipt, but the number he dreamed of and the one a bank would approve were not the same. That difference, which almost no one explains to a working family in time, has a technical name: borrowing capacity for housing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In short: your mortgage borrowing capacity is the maximum monthly payment you can afford without straining your household budget, and in Colombia, most banks allow payments up to 301% of your monthly income. Knowing your limit before falling in love with a house saves you frustration and, above all, protects you from taking on debt you can't afford.<\/p>\n

What is housing borrowing capacity?<\/h2>\n

It's the answer to a very specific question: how much money can you owe without running out of money to live on? The bank doesn't lend based on the value of the house you want, but rather on what your income shows you can afford to pay month after month. That's why two people who want the same apartment can receive different approvals: what changes isn't the property, but their individual financial situation.<\/p>\n

The rule used by almost all financial institutions is easy to remember. They add up your monthly income, apply a cap (usually 30%, although some go up to 40% depending on your profile), and that result is the maximum monthly payment they would approve. Using that payment and the loan term, the bank calculates the total amount they can lend you.<\/p>\n

\"Housing<\/p>\n

Calculating housing debt capacity with a cool head prevents a family from signing a payment that they cannot afford.<\/em><\/p>\n

How does the bank calculate how much it can lend you?<\/h2>\n

The bank calculates by subtracting before adding. First, it looks at your household income: salary, fees, rent, and your partner's income if you're applying for the loan together. Then, it subtracts what you already owe each month: your motorcycle payment, credit card bill, a payroll loan, or your grocery bill. What's left is the actual amount you have available for a mortgage payment.<\/p>\n

The 30% cap is applied to that available credit. If you and your partner earn three million pesos a month and have almost no debt, the maximum monthly payment would be around nine hundred thousand pesos; but if you're already paying half a million pesos in other debts, that margin shrinks. That's why arriving at the bank with your smaller debts paid off completely changes how much they approve for you. If you want to understand the entire loan process, our guide on [the topic] can help. How mortgage loans work<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What factors increase or decrease your borrowing capacity?<\/h2>\n

Salary isn't everything. These are the factors that carry the most weight when an organization makes a decision:<\/p>\n