You may think the following is a strange topic for the Real Estate Corner, but Student loans are a huge obstacle to people wanting to buy a home. Here are some tips.

Student Loans: How Much to Borrow?
by Farnoosh Torabi on 12/06/2010

My recent post on student loan bankruptcy continues to evoke comments from numerous borrowers fighting to make ends meet. Sophia Vackimes writes in that her $250,000 student loan is proving difficult to manage in a stagnant job market, even with her Ph.D. Another reader, Mike, responds that he has more than $80,000 in debt, while earning $30,000 a year.

Those loan figures are above average, but not uncommon in a time where college costs have practically tripled since the 1980s (inflation-adjusted). According to a new report by Pew Research, students who graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2008 borrowed roughly $15,000 (adjusted for inflation), which is a far cry from the numbers above, but still 50 percent more money than what graduating students borrowed in 1996.

What lender in its right mind gives a teenager (figuring you're 18 or 19 when you assume student loans) up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans? And what borrower in his or her right mind accepts?

While we can't exactly control lenders' decisions, we can control what we, as borrowers take on. Just like you wouldn't (or shouldn't) accept a $500,000 mortgage if you're only making $50,000 a year (though banks granted those types of mortgages a few years ago), students should not take on more than they can feasibly carry. The average graduating salary offer for a bachelor's degree student is $47,673, according to NACE's Salary Survey.

For aspiring college students weighing their financing options, consider the following ballpark math for a manageable amount of student loan debt. Consider federal loans first, private loans never.

1. Consider your first year salary. Figure you'll make the average $47,673 the first year you graduate. That's close to $36,000 after taxes, assuming a 25% tax bracket.

2. Consider your budget. If your student loans were to make up 5% to 10% of your monthly budget, which is reasonable, considering you will have rent, car payments, some credit card debt, food and utilities, among other expenses, then you want a loan that requires a payment of no more than $360 a month - maximum. At the federal lending rate of 6.8% and a repayment term of 10 years, that's approximately $60,000 in student loans, which still even sounds a bit high to me. Yes, you will boost your earnings potential and can afford to pay more years down the line, but best to stay conservative here, since, again the banks certainly won't be. And not to be cynical, but who knows if you'll be able to get a job right away? It may take several months to land a job, as many current college graduates will tell you.

Bottom line: There are many ways to obtain an education in this country. Drowning in debt should not be one of them. Financial institutions won't likely tell you this. It's tough to accept the advice, since we all want to go to the best schools and get the best educations and that all comes at a price - far more than $60,000 - but like anything else in this world, if you can't afford it, figure out other ways to make it happen. In the financial world you often need to step in and be your own financial advocate. After all, no one cares more about your money than you.

my email address is george.margrave@migonline.com