Student Loan Debt (Atlanta: rent, mortgage, student loans)

[AnsleyPark]

Doesn’t look too good for Southern cities, including Atlanta.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfri...o#3747aa7b21e4

[908kiddo]

My advice to fellow college aged/recent grad millennials:


Buy your home now (hopefully your DTI ratio isn't too out of hand)
Rent out each of your extra rooms (you can get the same amount of rent from one room as entire 3bds/2ba in some cities, especially with Atlanta's population influx)
Live mortgage and college debt free

Easier said than done, but its working out for a large portion of people I know with a decent balance

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by 908kiddo

My advice to fellow college aged/recent grad millennials:


Buy your home now (hopefully your DTI ratio isn't too out of hand)
Rent out each of your extra rooms (you can get the same amount of rent from one room as entire 3bds/2ba in some cities, especially with Atlanta's population influx)
Live mortgage and college debt free

Easier said than done, but its working out for a large portion of people I know with a decent balance

What has also helped me is applying to consolidate my loans and lower my monthly payment. I have a much higher balance than the median, but I also have a decent-paying job and support myself. So I just take it month by month and don't worry about it.

As far as buying a home, even without renting out the extra space, you're going to be building good equity (thanks to Atlanta being an economically healthy and rapidly growing city) and seeing good appreciation that will allow you to sell the home a decade from now at a decent price, and you can use that money to pay off the remaiming student loan balance.

I'm also in the process of applying for a mortgage, so we'll see how that goes.

[DreamerD]

It would be nice if the interest rate on student loans weren't so high. Didn't they go back to 6.8%? I just wish students could have gotten a much better deal on their loans when interest rates were cut by the Fed. If big banks could get loans for 0-0.25 per cent, students should have been able to secure a loan for 1 per cent. That student bubble will only get bigger.

[bryan alan]

I owe an embarrassingly large amount of school loans. Luckily, I work for a non-profit, so I qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and after 120 payments, they will hopefully be gone!

[Need4Camaro]

Student loans are a big problem Nationwide. Not just Atlanta. It's getting so out of hand that in some instances the feds have stepped in completely canceling the debts of some individuals and punishing universities that either overcharged or made job placement promises that they couldn't keep. My field for example was an easy $80k a year starting off but when I got out of college not only did I not get any job placement assistance but I had to start from ground 0 making 11 an hour. Worked all the way up to $115k a year but by the time that happened I owed so much interest in my loans that my balance is nearly double that so it's still difficult for me to buy a house.

[908kiddo]

Originally Posted by citidata18

What has also helped me is applying to consolidate my loans and lower my monthly payment. I have a much higher balance than the median, but I also have a decent-paying job and support myself. So I just take it month by month and don't worry about it.

As far as buying a home, even without renting out the extra space, you're going to be building good equity (thanks to Atlanta being an economically healthy and rapidly growing city) and seeing good appreciation that will allow you to sell the home a decade from now at a decent price, and you can use that money to pay off the remaiming student loan balance.

I'm also in the process of applying for a mortgage, so we'll see how that goes.

Are you using Georgia Dream? Last time I checked there was an automatic 15k down payment assistance, regardless of the loan type. I've heard it'll be 15k until they run out of funds, but haven't checked in a few months. Worth checking out if anything.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by 908kiddo

Are you using Georgia Dream? Last time I checked there was an automatic 15k down payment assistance, regardless of the loan type. I've heard it'll be 15k until they run out of funds, but haven't checked in a few months. Worth checking out if anything.

I looked into it, but there are too many stipulations for it. BTW, I was told that the $15K was only available in certain Metro Atlanta counties (not Coweta, where I'm at), otherwise it's only $5K. Also, I was told it could only be used in conjunction with a FHA loan (which requires PMI).

On top of that, they do something funky if you receive closing cost assistance from the builder for new construction homes. I can't remember the exact details, but basically you get less than the maximum grant amount depending on how much the builder contributes to your costs.

I'm currently going through another (lesser known) program and I have an appointment next week to review my application.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by bryan alan

I owe an embarrassingly large amount of school loans. Luckily, I work for a non-profit, so I qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and after 120 payments, they will hopefully be gone!

I'm happy to hear that. I heard from someone that the president is getting rid of the program; so glad to hear it's not gone yet. 120 payments? Isn't that 10 years worth of payments?

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Student loans are a big problem Nationwide. Not just Atlanta. It's getting so out of hand that in some instances the feds have stepped in completely canceling the debts of some individuals and punishing universities that either overcharged or made job placement promises that they couldn't keep. My field for example was an easy $80k a year starting off but when I got out of college not only did I not get any job placement assistance but I had to start from ground 0 making 11 an hour. Worked all the way up to $115k a year but by the time that happened I owed so much interest in my loans that my balance is nearly double that so it's still difficult for me to buy a house.

It's ridiculous how much money is made off of student loans. My income after graduating is really pushing me to consider finance over accounting because I hear the former earns more.



This bubble could cause another recession. Our government is suppose to be looking out for us but I guarantee you students will never get bailed out. They will bail the banks out before they do students. People need to know about Iceland and how they dealt with their recession. It's something that tends to be kept hush hush.