how much a tenant can afford?

[J Richardson]

I tried searching around, so i know this has been posted before, but what total income do you guys look at to determine if somebody can afford something?

I've been taking the rent for a year and multiplying it by 3 and require them to make that at the minimum. So if rent is 1,000 dollars a month, then the tenants need to make at least 36,000 dollars.

I've taken as low as 2.5 times their income if they can come up with last months' rent as well. Normally I collect first months and security, but if they don't make 3 times and are 2.5 then I've been collecting first, security and last.

I'm not sure if there's a rule of thumb, are kids considered or other expenses?

Trying to figure a quick way to determine if somebody can afford it and not sure I'm doing it right.

Thanks in advance