Intero A Berkshire Hathaway Affiliate
Maria Elena Casillas, Intero A Berkshire Hathaway AffiliatePhone: (408) 821-2649
Email: [email protected]

Mortgage & student loan payments: What homebuyers should know

by Maria Elena Casillas 06/11/2023

It's common for homeowners to have both mortgage and student loan payments simultaneously. But how does student debt affect your chances of getting a mortgage in the first place?

While lenders consider all debt obligations in loan approval, you can still buy a home while paying student loans.

Do mortgage lenders care about student loans?

Lenders consider your current financial obligations, including any outstanding loan balance, in your financial statement. 

Your debt to income ratio, or DTI, measures your ability to make regular loan payments, so if your student loan payments skew your DTI too much, it could be a red flag to lenders.

Can I still get a mortgage?

While mortgage lenders consider your debt-to-income ratio for mortgage approval, you don't have to be completely debt free to get a mortgage. So, you can have student loan debt and still get a mortgage!

Should I pay down my loans before buying a house?

Student loan debt won't keep you from mortgage approval, but it can make it harder to qualify. If you have reliable income and a good payment history, it's not necessary to pay off your existing debt before buying a house.

Just remember to consider the monthly student loan payments and your homeowner costs. Multiple loan payments add up quickly.

So, it’s harder to buy a house as a student loan borrower?

It's not necessarily harder to buy a house as student loan borrowers. 

But regular student loan payments with regular mortgage payments can be expensive, so be careful to stay on top of your payments.

Student loan payment assistance programs may help with federal student loans, such as income-driven repayment plans. So explore all your options if you run into a hardship.

About the Author
Author

Maria Elena Casillas

  

You don’t need to do this alone. I am bilingual in English and Spanish, and I have been in the industry for over 20 years, after earning my degree in Business Management and successive studies in Human Resources and Technology. Never content to let my education lapse, I also received a certification in Negotiation Skills from Pepperdine University and attended courses at Stanford University. A leader in the field, I am a member of the Santa Clara Board of Realtors and served as a professional standards ombudsman for 8 years. I completed a term as the President of the National Hispanic Organization of Real Estate’s Santa Clara chapter in 2016, now serving as this organization’s National Vice President. I pursued additional in-depth training to achieve professional designations as an ABR (Accredited Buyer’s Representative), CRS (Certified Professional Specialist), and SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist), GREEN certification, and RCS-D (Divorce Real Estate Specialist). Far from being a meaningless alphabet soup, this demonstrates how proactive I am in pursuing the latest knowledge so that I completely prepared to satisfy all my sellers' and buyers' unique needs. I am committed to Excellence!