Got Student Loans?

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Got student loans? There's quite a bit of that going around. But that doesn't mean you can't purchase a home. Prior to 2008 first time home buyers occupied almost 40% of the market. Due to the recession, that percentage has gone down, into the low 30's.  Student loans is one of the reasons given for that large decrease. And student loans sure can eat up a chunk of change, no doubt about that.

  But having student loans doesn't necessarily mean you can't purchase a home.

 If your loans are in deferment, while that is not a bad thing, it doesn't help when you are qualifying for a loan. Your student loan payments have to be taken into account whether you are actively paying them or not. 

  So keep in mind that student loan payments are a factor in the debt ratio.  
  
  Purchasing a home, like any large financial decision requires some planning. If you are considering purchasing a home and you have student loan debt, now might not be a good time to buy a luxury car for instance. The best way to determine how much house you can buy is to visit your lender for a pre-home buying consultation. Your loan originator can go over your debt and income and come up with a plan so you may be able to purchase a home in the future. It might be that some consumer debt will need to be paid down in order to afford the home you wish to buy. Or perhaps you might need to re-amortize your student loans into a longer repayment period. 
  
  Or perhaps the best thing is throw as many resources at your student loans as possible for a few years to get them paid down. There is no one size fits all answer - but if you wish to own a home and begin building equity and net worth, it is certainly worth the time to investigate.