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Student loans do not stop a Colorado home purchase; the monthly payment the lender counts is what sets the price. A buyer with $60,000 in federal loans on a $250 income-driven payment qualifies for about $40,000 more house than the same buyer whose lender has to count 1 percent of the balance, and the loan program decides which number is used.
This guide is for Front Range buyers carrying student debt, from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs with the Denver metro as the base case. It covers how each loan type counts the payment, what CHFA adds, what the 2026 changes to federal repayment plans mean for underwriting, and what Denver metro prices look like against a real income. The Kenna Real Estate Group works these numbers with buyers before the first showing.
How each loan type counts the payment
Lenders put your student loan payment into your debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The rule for finding that payment differs by program, and the difference is the whole game.
| Loan type | Payment counted when the credit report shows one | Payment counted when it shows $0 or nothing |
|---|---|---|
| FHA | The reported payment, or the documented payment from the servicer | 0.5 percent of the outstanding balance per month |
| Conventional, Fannie Mae | The reported payment; a documented $0 income-driven payment counts as $0 | 1 percent of the balance, or a fully amortizing payment documented by the servicer |
| Conventional, Freddie Mac | The reported payment | 0.5 percent of the balance |
| VA | The documented payment | 5 percent of the balance divided by 12; loans deferred more than 12 months past closing are excluded |
On a $60,000 balance that is $300 a month under FHA or Freddie Mac, $600 under the Fannie Mae fallback, and $250 under VA. Each $100 of monthly debt removed from DTI adds about $15,000 of purchase price at a 6.5 percent example rate, so the program choice on one student loan is worth $15,000 to $50,000 of house. Confirm the current rule with the lender at application; the guides get revised. For financing, the Kenna Real Estate Group works with Mike Oswald, VP of Mortgage Lending at Rate, NMLS 261003, Equal Housing Lender. You are free to use any lender. The Colorado home financing guide compares the programs.
Income-driven plans and the 2026 changes
Federal repayment plans changed under 2025 legislation: the Repayment Assistance Plan opened in July 2026 and the older income-driven plans are being phased out over the following two years. For a mortgage, what matters is the payment on your credit report and on the servicer's letter on the day the lender pulls the file. Before a pre-approval, log in at studentaid.gov, confirm your current plan and payment, and download the statement. A buyer whose payment is about to move from $0 to $400 when a plan ends needs the lender to know before the underwriter finds out.
Deferment and forbearance do not remove the loan from DTI on FHA or conventional loans; the fallback percentages above apply. Only VA excludes a loan deferred more than 12 months past the closing date.
CHFA and down payment help with student debt
The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) offers first mortgages paired with down payment assistance as a grant or a second mortgage, with income limits by county, a 620 minimum credit score at the program level, and a homebuyer education class. Student debt does not disqualify a CHFA buyer; the payment simply counts in the DTI the same way it does on the underlying FHA or conventional loan. Current assistance percentages and income limits are on CHFA's site and change yearly.
City and county programs layer on top: metroDPA across the Denver metro, and city programs in Aurora, Denver, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs. The Kenna posts on first-time homebuyer programs in Denver and expanded CHFA down payment assistance list them by name.
The Denver metro price reality
Denver metro detached homes close at a median above $600,000 in 2026; attached homes (condos and townhomes) close in the $380,000 to $450,000 band; Colorado Springs, Greeley and Pueblo run $80,000 to $200,000 lower than Denver on a like-for-like home. Here is what a $90,000 single income with a $300 student loan payment and a $350 car payment supports, at a 6.5 percent example rate, 5 percent down, taxes and insurance included:
- At a 43 percent back-end DTI: $3,225 a month of total debt, $2,575 for housing, a price near $350,000 to $370,000.
- Remove the car payment: housing rises to $2,925, price near $400,000 to $420,000.
- Add a second income of $60,000 with no debt: total household $150,000, price near $600,000 to $650,000.
A single buyer with student debt at $90,000 is a condo or townhome buyer in the Denver metro, or a detached-home buyer in Greeley, Pueblo, Colorado Springs or the eastern Adams County suburbs. The Kenna post on the income needed for a $400,000 mortgage in Colorado runs the payment math, and the Colorado condos for sale page and the Denver condos, townhomes and lofts guide show what that budget buys.
Pay off the loans first, or buy now?
Run the two numbers, not the feeling.
- Buy now when the counted payment leaves you under 43 percent DTI, you have the down payment plus two months of reserves, and rent in your Denver neighborhood is within $300 of the full house payment. Denver metro rents for a two-bedroom sit at $1,800 to $2,400 in 2026; a $380,000 condo payment with dues lands in the same band.
- Pay down first when one loan's payoff moves you under a DTI ceiling or into a better pricing tier, and the payoff takes under 12 months. Paying a $6,000 loan with a $180 payment adds about $27,000 of price at a 6.5 percent example rate.
- Never drain the down payment to pay student loans. Federal loans carry income-driven and deferment options; a mortgage down payment has none.
Programs for specific Colorado professions
Teachers, nurses, first responders and physicians on the Front Range have profession-based programs with student debt in mind. Physician loans ignore deferred student debt or count the income-driven payment, with no PMI and low down payments on Denver metro homes; the Kenna post on physician loan programs in Denver covers them. Teachers and other education employees have Colorado down payment programs listed in the post on teacher homebuying programs in Colorado. Recent graduates start with the Colorado student homebuyer guide.
House hacking with student debt
A buyer with student loans and a 43 percent DTI ceiling gets more house by buying a Denver duplex or a home with a basement apartment and counting the rent. FHA and conventional loans count 75 percent of the documented rent on a 2-to-4-unit property toward qualifying income when the buyer lives in one unit. That $1,400 of counted rent offsets a $300 student loan payment four times over. The Denver house hacking guide explains the rules and the neighborhoods where duplexes exist.
Steps for a Colorado buyer with student loans
- Pull the servicer statement and the credit report; make sure the payment on each matches.
- Fix credit 90 days out through the Kenna Credit Care mortgage readiness program; student loan late payments in the last 12 months are the one item that stalls FHA files.
- Get a full pre-approval, not a pre-qualification, from a lender who runs FHA, conventional and CHFA side by side; the Colorado mortgage pre-approval guide lists the documents.
- Pick the program by the counted payment, then pick the price band, then pick the home.
- Ask for seller concessions to cover closing costs; FHA allows up to 6 percent, conventional 3 percent at 5 percent down.
The first-time home buyer guide for Colorado and the Colorado home buyer's guide cover the rest of the process, and the buyer services page explains what the Kenna Real Estate Group does at each step.
Where to go next
- Colorado home financing guide
- Colorado mortgage pre-approval guide
- Government-backed home buying guide: FHA and VA
- Mortgage options for first-time homebuyers in Colorado
- Search every home for sale in Colorado
- Meet the Kenna Real Estate Group agents
Talk to the Kenna Real Estate Group
The Kenna Real Estate Group, Keller Williams DTC in Centennial, runs the student loan math across FHA, conventional, VA and CHFA for every buyer, sets the price band that holds, and finds the Front Range home inside it. Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. Or search every home for sale in Colorado by price and send us the ones you want to qualify for.