When you are shopping for a mortgage, it is important to look at your overall debt before speaking with your mortgage provider. Although student loan debt is generally considered "good debt," it will still affect your mortgage rate and your overall ability to get a mortgage approved. Here's what you need to know about student loans before walking into the bank.

Your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is one of the most important calculations when you are buying a home. This means that you need to add all of your debt, including your student loans, and compare it to your income. Most mortgage companies won't approve a mortgage if your DTI ratio is above 45%. Essentially, mortgage companies want to make sure that you are capable of making the payments on your mortgage. If you have a significant amount of debt, they know that you have to make payments on all of this on top of your mortgage payment.

Your credit score is going to have a major impact on your mortgage rate. The better your credit score, the easier it will be to get a lower mortgage rate. This is because you have already proven that you are financially responsible.

If you have student loan debt, you want to make sure that you get it under control. Mortgage companies ask for a significant amount of financial paperwork and will see the total value of your debt, and what you pay towards the debt on a monthly basis.

photo by American Advisors Group / CC BY-SA

There may not be much that you can do to significantly change your student loan debt situation. However, you do have control over your credit score. Although there really isn't anything that can be done as a quick fix, you want to make sure that you have a strong history with lenders and that you pay on time. You also want to try and keep all of your credit card balances below the 30% threshold of the available credit. This means that if you have a credit card with a max available credit of $1000, you don't want to maintain a balance of more than $300.

If you are concerned about your student loan debt and how it may impact your mortgage rate, it may be advantageous to talk to a mortgage lender, even before you start the pre-approval process. They may make recommendations on refinancing your student loans to reduce the monthly payment obligation. They may also ask about your credit score and make recommendations on how to raise it.

There are also different loan types to explore. Conventional, FHA, and NBA are just some of the many options that are available to you. Talk with the mortgage lender and get their opinion on what you can do in order to be able to afford your mortgage when your student loans are still stubbornly in the picture.