Hi Mangard,

Others have given good advice when they say the best way to handle a person who is approaching home ownership unrealistically is to gently & objectively give that person all the unpleasant facts!

FWIW, though, my perspective is a little different. I think people shouldn't totally rule out the idea of buying while still paying off debt. When I finally got a tenure track job 3 years ago, I thought I would have to pay off all my 13K credit card debt before even thinking about buying a home. I didn't manage the repayment plan very well (only saw the true Fool light six months ago!) so I still have just under 10K in debt and only 3K in the bank, but I am closing on a house come June if all goes smoothly.

As it turns out this is the best possible time for me to be buying, so I'm not too upset that I didn't buy sooner (except for the fact that real estate in this area has appreciated some 50% in the last 3 years!). But I really could have started thinking about it much sooner. I am happy that I took my brother in law's advice to go ahead & talk with a realtor about my options instead of waiting another 3 years (which is how long it will take to pay off my debt).

In my case, I have always kept current with all payments & have good credit, and I've finally learned how to budget properly and LBMM, so I think I am in good shape. (I'll tell you in 6 months if this was a terrible idea or not!) Also, I have all my debt at rates from 4-7%, so carrying the debt while paying on a mortgage is not such a burden. I hope I will be able to maintain my discipline as a homeowner.

I would encourage anyone who has debt but wants a home to do some serious research & number crunching -- it might just be more doable than you think.

Tanaquil