Student Loans & Home Buying

According to StudentLoanHero.com, you can get a mortgage loan, even with high student loan debt. It’s all in how you manage the three most important factors in getting loan approval:

Down Payment: Twenty percent of the purchase price of the home is the benchmark down payment, but it’s possible to get a loan with a down payment as little as 3% such as the Fannie Mae HomeReady™ mortgage. Down payments can be gifts from parents, from your savings, or from state and local down payment assistance programs. No-down-payment loans for veterans are available from VA.gov and rural community loans from USDA.gov.

Credit Scores: Quickenloans.com says the minimum credit scores you need (between 580 and 620) depend on the type of loan you want. VA loans don’t require credit scores, but the private lenders who make the loans do have minimum credit score requirements, usually 580.

Debt-to-Income ratio: Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio means how much debt you have as a percentage of your income. Most lenders believe you should have no more than 28-31% of your gross monthly income put toward housing costs. Your total debt service should be no more than 10-13% of your gross monthly income. To lower your debt, start making higher payments to reduce the amount of credit card debt you have. You can also refinance your student loans to lower the payments, but be cautious about refinancing federal loans as you’ll lose certain protections like loan forbearance, loan forgiveness and income-based payments.