My husband and I are beginning the home buying process. We are interested in obtaining a USDA loan. We are both students. My husband is a full-time student and I am a part-time student. We gross about 2000 per month. We are also currently paying about $645 a month in rent. I have a car payment that is $269 a month and a personal loan that will be paid on next June that is $145 a month. Our credit is clear. We have perfect payment history. My credit is around a 670 and his is around a 700. My mom has offered to co-sign with us if needed. She makes $52,000 a year and her credit score is 634. My major concern is the debt to income ratio. With our income alone the amount we want to spend would put us at about 50%. We have no problem paying our rent/bills without any assistance but I don't know if the lender will consider that. We are wanting to spend between $75,000 - $90,000 which will end up being similar to what we pay in rent. We have two credit cards with balances. Both around 60% utilization. The other cards we have carry no balances. Do you think we have a shot at getting approved? What are your thoughts on debt to income ratios and how lenders look at that?
