Yes, you may “qualify” for more
home than you can “afford!” 
Even in today’s more complicated
lending environment, it’s still
common for lenders to “qualify”
Buyer’s for more than they can “afford” because the lender is calculating debt to income ratios the same for everyone but individual lifestyle determines an affordable mortgage.
Two Buyers with the same income and same debts might live very differently;
Eating out is generally more costly than cooking at home.
Renting movies is less expensive than going to movies.
Running is a free hobby whereas golf can be quite costly.
Sending a child to private school takes a huge bite from disposable income.
Annual vacations requiring passports cost more than “staycations.”
A passion for jewelry or the latest fashion will mean sacrifice elsewhere
Higher deductibles on a health insurance plan and/or chronic illness requiring drugs can involve expense as predictable as a car payment .
Buyers who understand what 
they can ”afford,” recognize
their take-home pay is the
starting point for a budget
factoring food, clothing,
entertainment, medical and
incidental expenses. They consider savings for major purchases, periods of unemployment and unplanned and/or unavoidable expenses to be part of the budgetary process.
In Summary, the buyer with a budget understands they’ll “qualify”for more home than they can comfortably “afford!”
