How to Check TDSR and MSR Affordability

You earn $12,000 a month and want to buy a $2M condo. Can you get the loan? In Singapore, it does not matter how wealthy you feel — the bank is bound by law to check your Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) and Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR). These two ratios determine the absolute maximum you can borrow, regardless of your savings.

This calculator tells you your borrowing limit in seconds — so you can set a realistic budget before falling in love with a property you cannot finance.

What This Calculator Does

How much can you actually borrow? Singapore's TDSR (55%) and MSR (30%) rules determine your maximum loan. Enter your income and existing debts to instantly see the most expensive property you can afford. Essential before you start viewing showflats.

You can find this calculator in the Calculators tab on ShiokNest. It updates results instantly as you adjust inputs — no waiting, no page reloads.

Why This Matters

TDSR and MSR are the legal frameworks that determine how much you can borrow. No amount of savings can override these ratios — they are hardcoded into banking regulations. Understanding your limits before you start property hunting saves you from:

• Falling in love with a property you cannot finance
• Wasting weekends viewing showflats outside your budget
• Discovering at the last minute that your car loan reduces your property budget by $200K

What You Will Discover

After running this calculator with your personal numbers, you will know:

• Your maximum monthly mortgage payment under TDSR (55% of income)
• Your maximum monthly mortgage payment under MSR (30% for HDB/EC)
• The most expensive property you can afford given your income and debts
• How existing debts reduce your borrowing capacity

Key Inputs Explained

Here are the inputs you will configure, along with their default values. Each default is calibrated to a realistic Singapore condo scenario so you can explore results immediately.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 🏠 Navigate to Calculators — Click the "Calculators" tab in the ShiokNest navigation bar. All 26 calculators are grouped by purpose for easy access.
2. 🔍 Select the calculator — Choose "How to Check TDSR and MSR Affordability" from the calculator list. You will see default values already loaded so you can explore immediately.
3. ✏️ Enter your values — Replace the defaults with your own numbers. The key fields are:
   • Gross Monthly Income — Your total monthly income before tax.
   • Existing Obligations — Current monthly debt repayments.
   • Interest Rate (%) — Annual loan interest rate.
   • Loan Tenure (Years) — Duration of the mortgage loan.
   • Down Payment (%) — Your cash/CPF contribution as % of price.
   • Plus 1 more fields for fine-tuning your scenario.
4. 📊 Review the results — The calculator updates instantly as you change any input. KPI cards show your maximum monthly payment under both TDSR and MSR, plus the maximum property price you can target.
5. 🔄 Run what-if scenarios — This is where the real power lies. Change one variable at a time to see its impact. For example, try increasing the interest rate by 1% or extending your holding period by 5 years. Note how the results shift.
6. 💾 Compare and decide — Run 2-3 different scenarios and note the results. This gives you a range of outcomes to base your decision on, rather than relying on a single projection.

Worked Example

Meet Daniel, earning $12,000/month gross with no existing debts. He wants to know the most expensive condo he can afford. The bank uses a stress-test rate of 4% (higher than the actual rate) to ensure he can handle rate increases.

How TDSR works: The bank caps Daniel's total monthly debt payments at 55% of his gross income. With $12,000/month income and no debts, he can allocate up to $6,600/month to his mortgage. At the 4% stress-test rate over 25 years, this translates to a maximum loan of approximately $1,250,000.

What if Daniel has a car loan? If he pays $800/month for his car, his maximum mortgage payment drops to $5,800/month, and his maximum property price falls to approximately $1,465,000. That is a reduction of $202,000 in buying power — just from a car loan.

Real-World Scenarios to Try

Here are some realistic scenarios you can plug into the calculator right now. Each one reflects a common situation Singapore property buyers face.

Expert Tips and Common Pitfalls

💡 Pro Tips

• Use realistic assumptions — Singapore condo appreciation has historically averaged 2-4% per year. Avoid overly optimistic projections. When in doubt, use 3% as a baseline.
• Include ALL debts — Car loans, credit card minimum payments, study loans, personal loans, and even guarantor obligations count toward TDSR.
• Pay off debts before applying — Clearing a $500/month car payment could increase your maximum property budget by $150K or more.
• Joint income strategy — Co-borrowing with a spouse combines both incomes for TDSR, dramatically increasing your borrowing capacity.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

• Forgetting credit card limits — Even if you pay your card in full monthly, banks may count 3.5% of your credit limit as a monthly obligation.
• Not accounting for the stress-test rate — The bank uses 4% (or higher), not your actual mortgage rate, when computing TDSR.

🤔 What-If Scenarios to Explore

Get the most value from this calculator by testing these scenarios:

• What if you pay off your car loan first? How much more can you borrow?
• What if you add your spouse as co-borrower? How does combined income change the picture?
• What if you opt for a 30-year tenure instead of 25? Does the maximum property price increase?
• Run at least 3 scenarios — best case, base case, and worst case — to understand the full range of outcomes.

Related Calculators

Your property journey involves many interconnected decisions. These calculators work hand-in-hand with this one:

• How to Use the mortgage calculator
• How to Read the Borrowing Sensitivity Heatmap

This how-to guide is auto-generated using ShiokNest's calculator defaults. All worked examples use default values — adjust inputs to match your personal scenario for accurate results.