The OPI (Other People’s Income) is the solution, and the PCI (Per Capita Income) is the problem we’re trying to solve.
In this context of co-borrowing, I personally refer ‘personal income qualification’ as Per Capita Income1.
The problem? For many, the individual earning isn’t enough to meet income qualifications for the home you want (or even the home you need). Rising home prices and stagnant wage growth have widened the gap, locking out would-be buyers who, in every other sense, are financially responsible and ready to own.
Why Per capita Income falls short
- Individual income limits mean you can only qualify for so much, no matter how stellar your credit or how disciplined your savings
- The higher the home prices climb, the more the system exposes its flaw, because the standard metric measures your buying power through a single paycheck
- It is a slow-moving number. Wages and salaries tend to inch upward over years, sometimes decades while home prices can jump dramatically in just a few months or a single market cycle (every 4 years)
In my opinion, per capita income is designed to find a co-borrower—whether you realize it or not, the gap it creates, pushes people toward combining incomes to make ownership possible.
In California, for example, the median home price hovers around $750,000. Sounds like a lot—because it is.
The per capita income in California is about $41,000 – $47,000.
To qualify for a $750,000 home (assuming a traditional mortgage and standard debt-to-income ratios), you’d need to make roughly $150,000 a year—on your own.
So, quick self-check: “Am I making $150,000 a year?”
Please raise your hand, and if you just laughed instead of raising your hand—you’re not alone.
The gap we’re talking about…
The system’s rules are still built around this filter—measuring your buying power by what you, and only you, earn.
The idea of buying with ‘solo income’ is almost impossible for many single home buyers.
OPI changes the game…
OPI2—Other people’s income—is the leverage of combining incomes with another qualified home buyer to break through the income ceiling. Read more about OPI in my other post.
For example:
- You make $75,000/year
- Your co-borrower makes $80,000/year (OPI)
- Together, you could qualify for the home that neither of you could afford alone
The concept is simple. Combine your income with another qualified borrower—if there’s not a spouse, not a sibling, just someone available aligned with your goals—to unlock greater buying power.
Why OPI works now more than ever?
- Bigger buying power: two or more incomes mean a stronger mortgage qualification
- Shared costs: combined down payment, closing costs, and maintenance, HOA’s (if any), means lighter upfront costs for each person
- Better choices: Buy in safer neighborhoods, close to work, or in areas with stronger long-term equity growth.
The solution
Make OPI work for you by joining us today. Our work is to find the best OPI co-borrower match for you, bypassing PCI limitations so that you can be a part of another person’s OPI, and together present a collective income application to the mortgage lender, and realize your dream of co-owning a home (the pride in and of itself).
The whole solution offers flexibility, affordability, a new mindset and security.
- Flexibility: You can co-borrow with friends, colleagues or like-minded individuals you meet through coborrower hub.
- Affordability: Your dream home is no longer limited by what one person earns—together with your co-borrowers, you’re likely will have access to better neighborhoods, larger spaces, or higher quality properties
Shifting the mindset…
We’ve been conditioned to think homeownership is a solo milestone, measured by one income. But in reality, wealth-building has always been collaborative—from business partnerships to investment groups.
Co Borrower Hub’s OPI is simply that logic applied to real estate.
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- In economics, per capita income (PCI) is the average income earned per person in a specific area—such as a country, state, or city—during a set period (usually a year). Economists use it to compare economic well-being between regions or over time. ↩︎
- OPI is about leveraging shared income between multiple co-borrowers to collectively achieve property ownership. ↩︎
photo credit: MonicaVolpin via Pixabay