[46493168]

> Someone who graduates from college in their early 20s with six figures in debt could file for bankruptcy immediately and have it be off their credit history by the time they've saved up a down payment and want to get a mortgage.

So change the bankruptcy law? It’s a pretty easy fix. Create a whole new chapter if that’s what it takes. Make it dischargeable only after 7 years of nonpayment, do means testing… bankruptcy law already has these kinds of nuances built in.

[AnthonyMouse]

> Make it dischargeable only after 7 years of nonpayment

You don't really want to give people an incentive for nonpayment.

> do means testing

Bankruptcy already does that. But what are your "means" the day you graduate from college and haven't yet found a job, or temporarily take a low-paying one on purpose to meet the eligibility requirements?

You would need something like, deferred payments while you're unemployed but if you subsequently find a job then you have to pay, instead of one-time permanently discharging the loans. Except that's how it already works.

[46493168]

The questions you have are best put to a judge. The law is not meant to cover every possible permutation of circumstances and motivations.

If student loans are dischargeable in bankruptcy, lenders will price it in or refuse to lend without a gurantor.