It can be a good thing to reduce your debt load.
But, depending on the interest rate on the student loans, I'd increase my payments, without totally paying them off.
I'd suggest putting an extra thousand or so as additional principal payment on the student loans now, and SAVING like crazy.
The MORE you put down, the better your chance of loan approval. Putting down 20% avoids extra costs of PMI and increases your chances of loan approval. If your debt load is too high, you can pay off your student loans. The MORE you put as down payment, the larger your equity in your home, and the LESS you pay in interest over the life of the loan.
