How To Get a Mortgage With High Student Loan Debt
What I learned from a homebuying counselor who specializes in dealing with student loan debt
I wrote recently about how absurd the student debt crisis in this country has gotten. In many cases, trying to pay off student loans prevents borrowers from making moves that secure their financial future, such as putting money into an IRA or buying a house.
The Obama-era Income-Driven Repayment Plans have been a lifeline for many borrowers in terms of keeping their monthly payments manageable. However, continuing to carry a large student debt balance can hurt them when they try to qualify for a mortgage because many industry professionals are under-educated on the rules and regulations surrounding student debt, and the rules change often.
I’m what they call a big-time borrower (BTB). Somewhere in the student loan Hall of Fame, there’s a picture of me posing next to my student loan balance, like at one of those steakhouses where your 72-oz steak comes free if you can finish the whole thing. Only I’m pretty sure no one’s giving me my college education(s) for free. The honor is more like an Olympic Medal than the Nobel Prize.
Anyway, my BTB status burned me pretty badly when I began exploring options for buying a house — until I met a…
