$\"Student$ \n

Student loans are back in the spotlight. And whether you\u2019ve been following the headlines closely or just catching bits and pieces here and there, there\u2019s a good chance they\u2019ve been on your mind lately.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re questioning whether you have to hit pause on your plans to buy a home<\/a>, here\u2019s the thing you have to remember:<\/p>\n

Having student loans doesn\u2019t automatically mean buying a home has to wait.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Biggest Myth About Student Loans and Buying a Home<\/strong><\/h4>\nOne of the most common misconceptions among first-time buyers<\/a> is that they have to pay off their student loans before they can qualify for a mortgage. But in most cases, that\u2019s just not true.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As an article from Redfin<\/em> explains, student loans usually get evaluated the same way other debts do, like credit cards or car payments:<\/p>\n
\n
\u201cYes, you can get a mortgage with student loan debt. <\/em>Lenders primarily assess your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, which compares your monthly debt payments, including student loans, to your gross monthly income.<\/em><\/strong> Having student debt doesn\u2019t automatically disqualify you if your DTI is within acceptable limits.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
So having that loan on your credit report isn\u2019t some special red flag that immediately disqualifies you.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Instead, lenders look at your overall financial situation, including your income, credit history, and more. Student loans are one piece of that puzzle, but they\u2019re not the entire picture.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re in Better Company Than You Think<\/strong><\/h4>\nJust to really drive this home, here\u2019s a stat<\/a> from the National Association of Realtors <\/em>(NAR) that proves you can have student debt and still buy a home. Their research <\/em>shows 33% of first-time homebuyers still had student loan debt.<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"a$ <\/p>\n
That\u2019s 1 out of every 3 first-time buyers. <\/strong>The median amount they owed? $30,400<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Let that reassure you that people are buying homes with student debt every day. And carrying student loans doesn\u2019t automatically put homeownership out of reach.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t Count Yourself Out Before You Even Try<\/strong><\/h4>\n
At the end of the day, here\u2019s where a lot of buyers trip themselves up. They assume the worst and never even check what they could actually qualify for. But your situation is more unique than a blanket \u201cno.\u201d<\/p>\n
If your income is steady and the rest of your finances are in decent shape, buying a home could be more realistic than you think. The only way to know for sure is to actually run the numbers with someone who does this for a living.<\/strong><\/p>\n
You may discover you\u2019re closer to buying than you think.<\/p>\n
Bottom Line<\/h3>\n
Student loans don\u2019t have to be the thing standing between you and owning a home. If you\u2019ve been putting off your homebuying plans because of that debt, talk to a lender about your options. It may not be the barrier you think it is.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Student loans are back in the spotlight. And whether you\u2019ve been following the headlines closely or just catching bits and pieces here and there, there\u2019s a good chance they\u2019ve been on your mind lately. And if you\u2019re questioning whether you have to hit pause on your plans to buy a home, here\u2019s the thing you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6517,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[29,27,20,18,28],"class_list":["post-6516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-insight","tag-idaho-real-estate","tag-north-idaho-homes","tag-rain-silverhawk","tag-real-estate","tag-sandpoint-idaho"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t