Margie,
Of the answers you have received T.E.Summer has given you the correct answer. Now I an not in your area and can not assist you in your home search or purchase( Legally I could write the contract but that would not be representing you.). So that being said , you can go to my web site and under buyers there is a place for you to work with your ratio and see what it is and what you may qualify for. Do not contact a lender through my site or anyone elses. You do not wan a "Dot Com " lender - you want one from your area that you can sit across the table from.
Good luck in your home search and purchase
Margaret

Lenders use two basic ratios to determine your qualifications to purchase a home (besides other criteria).

The front ratio is the monthly cost of the proposed house compared to your monthly gross income. For example, if your income (not your net paycheck) is $3,000 a month and the cost of the loan repayment (principal repayment with interest - P&I) plus a set-aside for real estate taxes and insurance is $1,000, then your front ratio is 33%. Other things might be included in the cost of housing, such as HOA dues. The total monthly payment for all 4 items above is often referred to as PITI.

Your back ratio is the PITI plus all other debt payments you must make each month. So, if you have a $150 student loan payment and a $200 car payment, then compared to the gross $3,000 income your total payments are $1,000 for the house + $350 for other debts, which is a 45% back ratio. All debts, but not food and things like that, are included in your back ratio. So, if you have credit cards, installment debt for furniture, a car payment and a student loan, these would all be included. Note that child support is treated similar to debts because you must pay it each month.

Now that you know what the front and back ratios are, you need to know that different types of loans have different thresholds. They might be expressed as 29/41, meaning 29 for housing and 41 DTI (debt to income or back ratio). Your loan officer can tell you the maximum ratios for different programs.
Also know that some debts don't count against you, if they will be paid off completely in a short number of months.

You might be referring to the income to debt ratio. FHA, VA, and Conventional loans all have set ratio's that lenders use (in addition to your credit history) to determine how much house you can afford. The front ratio is income only, the back ratio includes your income with long term debt. I hope that helps.

Can you tell us a little more about your situation? A ratio is basically a comparison of 2 values. Loan amount to property value is very common.