Hello
I am still in my rebuilding phase. I currently have student loans but I am wondering when should I start addressing my student loans. I am not currently in repayment status. My loans total 98k. How should I address this?
I am still in my rebuilding phase. I currently have student loans but I am wondering when should I start addressing my student loans. I am not currently in repayment status. My loans total 98k. How should I address this?
I'm in a similar boat, for about $30k. I broke it down into my subsidized and unsub, and started attacking the biggest unsub loan because interest. That means a monthly payment on it, along with taking my precious tax return and putting it towards that as well. If you have subsidized, and you're in deferral/not needing to pay on those at the moment, I would focus on paying anything accruing a lot of interest. I'm lucky that I recieved an inheritance and was able to pay off one loan of ~$3,000 completely. Are you still currently in school, or deferred on an income based repayment?
I am not in school and my loans are currently deferred. I would like to buy a home at the end of the year but I don’t want the loans to affect my eligibility. Honestly every time I honk about how much loans I have to repay I get overwhelmed. I can’t afford the standard repayment as my monthly payments would be about 4K.
I will have to get a breakdown because I do know all of my loans have different interest rates. I greatful that none of them are private loans.
I will have to get a breakdown because I do know all of my loans have different interest rates. I greatful that none of them are private loans.
The good news is recently the way banks look at your student loans re: DTI. Which means they're more lenient!
Wow that would mean unless wages go up I won’t be able to pay 4K student loan plus another 2k mortgage. So your saying home buying is not an option for another 10 years or until my loans are paid off?
The above was not very friendly or helpful advice.
As someone who was a realtor for five years, I can tell you it IS possible for you to purchase a home, even with student loans. I’ve had client with loans in the $150k plus range purchase a home no problem. Some factors to consider:
1) I don’t know if your loans are deferred because of an IBR or not, but if so, that is good and keep up with that. It’s honestly one of the best programs out there.
2) if you have a good personal banker you trust, or a mortgage broker, sit down with them and start asking questions. Right now, there are many programs that help individuals get financed for a home, especially through HUD, USDA, etc. Here in Wisconsin, WHEDA has a 0% down payment program. They help you determine the amount of house you can afford with your current DTI - and I want to say this for you to remember: student loans have an impact on your DTI, but not as large as other types of debt. And as mentioned in one of my previous comments, lenders tend to be more lenient now in regards to student loan debt because so many individuals are coming out of school with significant student loan amounts.
3) I’m assuming that with that amount of student loan you have a bachelors or masters degree. Are you working full time? What is your employment situation. Lenders will want to see that you’ve been at your job for at least six months, but the longer the better. If you’re self employed, a minimum of two years is required.
4) You’re doing the right thing by asking questions. Take a look at your loans, and if you feel like perhaps consolidating them would be a good option, talk to your loan servicer about it!
5) I’m not sure what your credit situation is beyond having the student loan debt. Minimum credit score lenders look for to finance someone is around a 580 - which is very, very low and you won’t get a great interest rate, etc. 740 is the number to shoot for with mortgages - you start getting into the good interest rates.
Whew. Sorry that was a lot of information!
As someone who was a realtor for five years, I can tell you it IS possible for you to purchase a home, even with student loans. I’ve had client with loans in the $150k plus range purchase a home no problem. Some factors to consider:
1) I don’t know if your loans are deferred because of an IBR or not, but if so, that is good and keep up with that. It’s honestly one of the best programs out there.
2) if you have a good personal banker you trust, or a mortgage broker, sit down with them and start asking questions. Right now, there are many programs that help individuals get financed for a home, especially through HUD, USDA, etc. Here in Wisconsin, WHEDA has a 0% down payment program. They help you determine the amount of house you can afford with your current DTI - and I want to say this for you to remember: student loans have an impact on your DTI, but not as large as other types of debt. And as mentioned in one of my previous comments, lenders tend to be more lenient now in regards to student loan debt because so many individuals are coming out of school with significant student loan amounts.
3) I’m assuming that with that amount of student loan you have a bachelors or masters degree. Are you working full time? What is your employment situation. Lenders will want to see that you’ve been at your job for at least six months, but the longer the better. If you’re self employed, a minimum of two years is required.
4) You’re doing the right thing by asking questions. Take a look at your loans, and if you feel like perhaps consolidating them would be a good option, talk to your loan servicer about it!
5) I’m not sure what your credit situation is beyond having the student loan debt. Minimum credit score lenders look for to finance someone is around a 580 - which is very, very low and you won’t get a great interest rate, etc. 740 is the number to shoot for with mortgages - you start getting into the good interest rates.
Whew. Sorry that was a lot of information!
No I’m thankful for any advice you can give!!! I have my master degree and I work tw jobs my annual income is about 102k. I’ve been at both jobs for almost 4 plus years full time.
My Fico8 scores are currently 680-676-656. I do have about 10k saved and about 15k in cc debt combined that I am actively paying down so that should bring my score up. I was hoping I could qualify for some type of program to help me. My loans are deferred but I still make payments from time to time which I will try to get on IBR soon.
I was going to wait but maybe I should start looking into programs now to see what would suit me best
My Fico8 scores are currently 680-676-656. I do have about 10k saved and about 15k in cc debt combined that I am actively paying down so that should bring my score up. I was hoping I could qualify for some type of program to help me. My loans are deferred but I still make payments from time to time which I will try to get on IBR soon.
I was going to wait but maybe I should start looking into programs now to see what would suit me best