Lenders often have higher credit, income, and financial requirements for approving a mortgage application to buy your second home compared to buying your first. That’s because they can see lending you money to buy a second home as a greater financial risk. As result, many lenders charge higher interest rates for second homes and require higher minimum down payments and higher minimum credit scores. They will also have maximum debt-to-income ratio (DTI) requirements you will need to meet. Many lenders have a maximum DTI of 43% for conventional loans. DTI is a percentage you get by dividing your total monthly debt payments by your gross monthly income. If you are buying a second home while still making monthly mortgage payments on your first home, the cost of both mortgages will be included in your DTI.