I’m Kayla, and yes, I bought a home while still paying my student loans. I thought I couldn’t. I was wrong, but it wasn’t smooth. It felt like threading a needle while holding hot coffee. You know what? I’d do it again, but I’d do a few things sooner.
If you’d like the full play-by-play, here’s my messy, honest review of buying a home with student debt that digs into every detail of the process.
The setup: my real numbers
- City: Austin, Texas
- Purchase: 2-bed townhome, built in 2008
- Price: $345,000
- Down payment: 3% ($10,350)
- Closing costs: about $8,900 (got $5,000 from the seller)
- Rate: 6.625% fixed, 30-year
- PMI: $142 per month
- Student loans: $42,600 federal, servicer MOHELA
- Student loan payment: $148 per month on SAVE plan (it was $310 before)
Monthly housing bill with taxes and insurance? Around $2,589. My debt-to-income (DTI) sat near 41% after we cleaned a few things up. That number spooked me at first. Then I learned what counted and what didn’t. If you’re looking for more ways to line up your loan payments with a lender’s comfort zone, this article on buying a house with student loan debt breaks down smart moves like debt-payoff timing and alternate loan structures.
Not sure where the tipping point is? I break down how much student debt is too much so you can gauge your own comfort zone before you ever start talking to lenders.
What surprised me first
I thought the loans alone would sink me. But lenders cared more about my DTI than the balance. My loan officer at a local credit union used my actual monthly payment for the student loans, not a big fake number. That helped. Rocket Mortgage and Better Mortgage gave me quotes too. One quote was higher unless I paid points. My credit union came in a touch lower and even tossed in a $1,200 lender credit. It wasn’t magic. It was just human.
A tiny snag (okay, not tiny)
Underwriting wanted a fresh student loan statement from MOHELA. It took four long days. I called, waited, called again. My agent kept me calm. We pushed closing by two days. It wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t the end either.
How I prepped without losing my mind
I kept things simple. I used Credit Karma to watch my score, and YNAB for my budget. Zillow and Redfin fed me listings and price drops. NerdWallet’s mortgage calculator helped me check monthly costs fast. Nothing fancy. Just tools that worked.
Digging through the guides at Occupy Student Debt gave me crystal-clear explanations of how each repayment plan would show up on my credit report.
I also did three things that mattered:
- I moved to the SAVE plan early, so the payment on my credit report was lower and real.
- I paid off a store card with a $1,800 balance. That dropped my DTI by a hair, but it counted.
- I asked for seller credits. We got $5,000. That saved my cash at closing and my sanity.
FHA or conventional? I wrestled with it
At first, I leaned FHA because I heard it was friendlier with student loans. But the condo list got weird, and the HOA wasn’t FHA-approved. So I went conventional with 3% down (Fannie Mae’s HomeReady). My rate was fine, and the PMI wasn’t awful. I can drop it later when I hit enough equity. That felt like a small win.
The moment it got real
The appraisal came in at value. I locked the rate. I signed a mountain of papers. It felt huge but also quiet, like the first five seconds of a song you love. The first night, I ate tacos on the floor. No table yet. My cat used the stack of moving boxes as a throne. Honestly, I cried a little. Good tears.
The good stuff
- Owning helps me breathe. The payment stays steady. Rent kept jumping.
- My lender counted my real student loan payment. That made all the math feel fair.
- I can build equity while still paying the loans. Both can move at once, slow but steady.
If you’re torn between throwing every extra dollar at your loans or investing instead, I compared both paths in my honest take on paying off student loans versus investing.
The hard parts
- Less wiggle room. I said no to two weekend trips and canceled two streaming apps.
- PMI stings a little, even if it’s not forever.
- Paperwork never ends. Pay stubs, bank letters, student loan letters—so many letters.
What I messed up (and fixed fast)
I bought a cute couch on my credit card the week before closing. Big mistake. My loan officer saw the new balance and raised an eyebrow. I returned the couch, paid the card, and brought proof to closing. I also forgot to budget for a full year of homeowners insurance up front. That was a gulp moment. We moved funds around, and it was fine—but I won’t forget again.
What actually helped
- Asking three lenders how they count student loans. The answers were not the same.
- Getting on SAVE early and letting it hit the credit report before house shopping.
- Keeping cash in an emergency fund (three months). Sleep is worth it.
- Rate shopping on the same day. Apples to apples.
- Sending every doc fast. I saved everything as PDFs in a folder on my desktop.
My monthly reality now
I can’t buy every cute thing at Target. I meal plan more. I brew coffee at home. But I also planted rosemary on the patio, and I wave to my neighbor who runs at sunrise. The house feels like a small promise I made to myself and kept, even with those old student loans riding shotgun.
Owning a home also means most of my date nights happen under my own roof—which honestly can be great for the budget. If you’re hunting for low-pressure ideas to keep the spark alive without leaving the house, this candid guide to amateur et sexe shares real-world stories and suggestions that feel approachable and wallet-friendly, so you can focus on connection while still keeping an eye on your mortgage and student-loan goals.
But if you’re still in the meet-cute phase and want a fun, time-efficient way to meet like-minded people, consider checking out Speed Dating Marion where you can rotate through several relaxed mini-dates in a single evening and quickly discover who shares your financial mindset before you ever split a dinner bill.
Would I do it again?
Yes. I’d start the student loan plan switch sooner. I’d skip the pre-closing shopping spree. I’d push harder for seller credits right up front. But I’d still buy.
One last thing. This is my story, not advice. Your numbers will be different. Still, if you’re staring at your loans and your dream place at the same time, don’t count yourself out. Run the math. Ask questions. Get three quotes. You might be closer than you think.
— Kayla Sox