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If you’re among the nearly 45 million people in the U.S. who owes some of the more than $1.71 trillion of student loan debt, you may feel that homeownership is out of reach.

But lenders can work with you to review your individual circumstances and possibly qualify you for a mortgage. Loan programs address student loan debt in different ways, so it’s important to work with a lender who can analyze a variety of financing options and someone who stays up to date on the latest changes to loan requirements.

Loans that are guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) have always been designed as a vehicle for homeownership for first-time buyers and those who lack cash for a large down payment, who have low-to-moderate incomes and who have credit challenges. In exchange, and to fund the program, borrowers pay mortgage insurance for the life of the loan.

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Recently the FHA adjusted its student loan rules about how to calculate monthly student loan payments, which may make it easier for those with education debt to qualify for a mortgage.

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“Previously, the FHA assumed borrowers with student loan debt were paying one percent of their loan balance every month,” Hope Morgan, a Mortgage Network branch manager in Salisbury, Md., wrote in an email. “The new FHA policy assumes they are paying 0.5 percent, which more closely reflects what borrowers actually pay each month.”

The new FHA rules are simpler, so that lenders now either use the actual payment reported on a credit report if above zero or the 0.5 percent calculation, Melissa Gasparek, a production resources engagement manager at Inlanta Mortgage in Milwaukee, wrote in an email.

“We anticipate being able to qualify more borrowers for FHA financing with the updated student loan guidelines,” wrote Gasparek. “Many borrowers do not have their student loans in fully amortizing payment plans and using one percent of their outstanding loan balances could negatively affect their ability to qualify for FHA financing. Being able to use the actual payment reporting on credit or a 0.5 percent calculated payment will have a substantial impact on some borrower’s debt ratios.”

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Debt ratios compare the monthly gross income of a household with the minimum payments on their recurring debt. A lower debt-to-income ratio increases your chances of a loan approval and the impacts the amount you can borrow. The typical debt-to-income ratio for an FHA borrower is anywhere from 40 to 50 percent, wrote Morgan.

Morgan provided the following example of the potential impact of the new FHA loans:

Let’s assume the borrower has a debt-to-income ratio of 43 percent and student loan debt of $150,000. Under the old rule, the FHA assumed the borrower’s monthly loan debt payment is $1,500. Under the new rule, the estimated payment would be $750. When purchasing a $400,000 home using FHA financing, the estimated mortgage payment would be $2,328 for principal and interest (PITI). Under the old rule, the annual income a borrower needed to qualify for the mortgage would have been $106,827. Under the new rule, it’s only $85,897.

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It pays for borrowers to ask their lender to evaluate multiple loan options. While the FHA’s adjustment offers extra leniency compared to its previous rules, the guidelines are now more closely aligned with conventional loan standards, according to Gasparek.

“Freddie Mac also has some additional flexibility for student loans subject to forgiveness programs,” wrote Gasparek.

Read more in Real Estate:

Borrowers with not-so-perfect credit may be eligible for FHA home loans

A guide to financing options for first-time home buyers

New apartments leasing in Arlington County’s Rosslyn-Ballston corridor

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