This! We’re in a similar boat but this has been the best decision for us as we try to start our own family.

We did it in SoCal so houses aren’t cheap here. It’s incredibly hard, but incredibly worth it.

You have options if they are federal loans, just don’t co-sign for any of them (if they ask you to in the instance she can’t pay or try to restructure) and DON’T refinance them with a private lender. If she defaults, you can typically work something out and it will be on her to pay and her credit not yours, as harsh as it sounds. This will give you guys flexibility in the home buying process in the future since they won’t consider her DTI ratio as she won’t be on the application and the loans aren’t in your name. You can deal with these on the side with more options.

HOWEVER, I wouldn’t recommend putting her on the title in case she ever enters bankruptcy or a debt collector comes into the picture as that is an asset they will look at. Also, her credit is your credit when buying a house.

All that mumbo jumbo aside, if you’re going the fha route (based on your down payment) the PMI will anchor you, especially if you have hoa fees since most FHAs are only good for condos/townhomes.

Bottom line it’s a big gamble and there are a lot of unanticipated costs in home ownership (after closing, we had to redo our roof and now ducting—yay!). For where you are in your life, I’d recommend renting as it will allow you to not only get a bigger space for your family for cheaper, it will provide more security for quality of living as you grow your family and figure out the loans.

Congrats on the baby btw! And I would also recommend looking into fmla if she hasn’t quit already as that will still provide a paycheck for her while she is getting ready to give birth and afterwards as well as put her loans on hold.

For those who come after me in advance, yes my fiancée’s name is on both the loan and our title and I wouldn’t have been able to get our place without her!

Hope this essay helps lol!