There is no maximum debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. So even if you’ve experienced a loss of income, you could still qualify. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHowever, the lender is required to prove a 45% DTI in the following circumstances: The payment will increase by more than 20% (which might happen if you change an adjustable-rate loan to a fixed-rate); OR a borrower is removed from the loan; OR the loan is a Higher-Priced Covered Transaction (HPCT) or Higher-Priced Mortgage Loan (HPML) which are special classifications of loans where the fees are higher than normally permitted, usually due to a small loan amount. These cases are rare, though.u003cbr/u003e u003cbr/u003eThe debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is typically not an issue because monthly costs will go down or – when replacing an ARM – borrowers will get a fixed monthly cost for principal and interest.