Need advice about purchasing home with personal debt.

[Gustavo Rodriguez]

Hello everyone, I busted wanted some advice on purchasing a home while having personal debt. My wife and I do not live in the most desirable part of Newark, NJ and have been wanting to leave in order to purchase a multi family or single family home. Ideally, we would I would like to get a multi in order to begin an investment portfolio in real estate, but my concern is the debt we currently have will prevent us from obtaining a mortgage. At this point, I am more concerned of giving my kids a nice home more than anything else. I am new to real estate and eventually want to expand my portfolio, but a home for my children is my priority. My wife and I have about 90k in debt, I am working on a savings for the house. I should have have about 18k by the end of the summer.

Most people will say to use the money to pay down debt, but I frankly am tired of my neighborhood. I am looking for any advice on either trying to put my debt into a mortgage if possible or any other alternatives I can take to purchase a home. First time home owners? Programs with for people with personal debt? My credit score is in the upper 700s. I’ve seen mortgage companies have programs where you are given money for closing costs, but am not sure if they are legit. Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.