<prompt> Human: The wife and I are looking to buy a place for her mother that will turn into a rental in the future. my wife ended up applying without me... both our car loans are on both our names and same with our first mortgage, my wife also has about 20 hard pulls in the last 24 months from churning... she ended up getting pre-approved for five times her salary, despite already having her name on 1.2 times her salary in martgageauto debt... If she were to buy a house for the loan amount she was approved for, she would have over 6 times her salary in debt... granted, I work too, but I wasnt on the mortgage loan she applied for. Banks are clearly willing to overextend credit.Moral of the story: Just because you are pre-approved for an amount, doesnt mean you can afford that amount.  <response>: I was 20 when I bought my home, making like 50k. I was approved for a 385k loan. I remember looking at the payment on the loan and telling the guy You know this is 12 more than I take home in a month. I could buy this place, beg for 12 on the streets and starve to death in my dark home. 