Student Loans & Mortgage Approval—DTI Issues

[Olivia Umoren]

Hi Everyone, My name is Olivia, I’m a 24 year old college grad (Penn State ‘16) and like most of my classmates I have student loans ($45,000). I am trying to prepare myself to purchase a property for househacking in the next year or two (location TBD). However with my DTI ratio being unbalanced, I think get approved for a mortgage will be difficult. So my question is for those of you with student loans (or any other significant debt) how were you able to finance your property purchase? How did you prepare yourself? Just some additional info about me: I work a full time and part time job, I have a 6 year credit history, I’ve never missed a payment and I have a good credit score. Thanks! Olivia

[Amy Beth]

Is there a way you can lower your current living expenses and pay down a lot of the loan debt in the next year or two before buying a house? You mentioned having two jobs so perhaps that could be feasible for you.