FHA Loan and Income Based Repayment plan student loans

I recently graduated from Long Beach State and landed a fairly high paying job in the biotech industry. However, I also have considerable federal student debt which if I repay on the standard 10 yr repayment plan will prevent me from qualifying for a mortgage because of my high debt-to-income ratio. I am currently using the IBR program to lower my student loan payments and improve my Debt-to-Income ratio. IBR repayment is calculated each year, showing 12 small monthly payments followed by several years of standard payments. Each year it is recalculated so I will never have to pay more unless I actually start earning more money. I'm concerned that if I apply for an FHA loan, the underwriter will look at the larger payments that it says I will have to make next year (on paper only) and I will not qualify for a mortgage loan. Has anyone found a way around this problem? by J.Miller from Long Beach, California. Mar 20th 2013 Reply