<prompt> Human: My GF and I are 3031 and looking to buy a house, but have no clue on how to start the process, other than going to our bank and talk about what we could do. So I was hoping some of you guys could point us in the right direction so that we are not completely lost. It just sucks that we are paying more in rent than a 300-400k mortgage based off Zillow and that we are likely unable to buy a house despite never missing a rental payment of that amount in the 6 years weve been together.About us:- We live in Alexandria, Virginia.- We make 120k combined before taxes.- We have 30k in savings, which we were able to pull together in 3 years. I am sure we can save 20kyr.- We have a LOT of debt. 300k in education combined the vast majority of which is mine due to law school. I have another 200k in a house which is about to be paid off completely a sort of long story. Does this mean I wont get a first time homeowners credit?- Our credit scores are pretty bad. I think hers is low 600s and I am at 700. - Is home ownership within reach for us in the next 5 years?- What kind of loans are we looking at and how could marriage affect them?Thanks for any helpinsights.Edit: About the 1st house - My parents got caught up in the housing bubble and asked me to stand in as the person to buy the house which I was approved for. They paid mortgage and all taxes for the house. I was 19-20 at the time and didnt think much about it. My father just passed away and from the life insurance proceeds, my mom is going to pay off the house in full within the next few months. To my knowledge she has never missed a mortgage payment.  <response>: Its not an adult thing to do to buy a house. Especially not if you already have 300k in debt as it is without buying a house and with this other thing hanging around for another 200k.I would say it would be more adult-like to get rid of that 500k debt hanging around before thinking about adding another 300k to the mix.A more adult-like debt to yearly income figure would be something like 2 or 2.5 to 1. I am not currently paying anything in interest and I am still worried about going 3 to 1 by getting a mortgage and my household income isnt much short of yours. 