Too much debt to be approved - always a renter?

[Janessa H.]

Hello!

I am very new to Bigger Pockets, but I found my way here because I am very interested in buying multi family housing for profit. Currently, I am 26yo, paying a lot of $$ in rent because I have a lot of student loan debt that I am paying and am unable to get house loan. About a year ago, I visited a real estate company to see if I'd even be able to purchase a small single family home. My friends were telling me their mortgages were $600 (or so) for a house, while I'm paying $900+ in rent for an older apartment with no parking, dishwasher, ect. However, my debt to income ratio is high and the lender said I wouldn't be able to get a loan with my numbers. I'm able to get car loans, but I'm not really familiar with all of my options for housing. My student loan payments are over $1000 a month and I am not able to consolidate, so I'm stuck thinking I'll have to rent for the next 20 years while I pay for school. 

I have some money saved, but just enough for an emergency fund... not thousands of dollars. I'm just like every other college grad, supporting myself and living paycheck to paycheck. Bills are all paid on time, but it's hard to save a large amount of money and still pay off bills. 

I'm looking for any suggestions/ knowledge/ advice. I know some people have found friends/partners to go in with them in buying a home. I haven't found that kind of friend yet :) but what can I do to buy a cheap house before I'm retired? 

Thanks! 

Janessa