Latest news with #IllinoisHousingDevelopmentAuthority
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Illinois rental assistance program sees funding cut for 2026 budget in another blow to state, city housing programs
William Dalton had never faced eviction until a series of bad events struck last year: His mom died, his relationship with the mother of his now 5-year-old daughter ended and his car was totaled. He fell behind on the rent for his two-bedroom apartment in the New City neighborhood. It caused him 'anxiety every day,' he said, after receiving the eviction notice a couple of months later. He didn't know where he would go if he lost his apartment, the home where his daughter was born. 'It was a lot on me,' Dalton said, who works in education. 'It is very hard to concentrate on things you need to get done, especially when you have a little one depending on you.' In a move that has brought him 'great relief,' Dalton was able to keep the roof over his head, where he has lived for five years, thanks to $10,000 from Illinois' rental assistance program. 'Once everything was settled, it was like I could actually start living life again,' he said. 'And it is very important for my daughter to see. I tried my best to mask it, but I'm pretty sure she picked up on it.' After its inaugural year as a state-funded effort, Illinois' court-based rental assistance program for tenants like Dalton struggling to pay rent and their landlords will stop accepting applications Friday and will see a third of its funds wiped away in the 2026 fiscal year that begins July 1. The reduction comes after the state grappled with serious fiscal challenges when balancing its budget this year, issues exacerbated by a federal government focused on axing spending. State lawmakers cut spending in various areas beyond housing as well. Dalton is one of 7,129 renters who has received assistance this fiscal year from the state program. The state housing authority's goal was to assist 8,900 households through the new program but will likely see closer to 8,000 households supported, said Illinois Housing Development Authority Executive Director Kristin Faust in an interview with the Tribune. The state agency administers the rental assistance program. Faust said the 8,900 number was based on an authority projection. 'We had hoped it would take us to the very end of the fiscal year because we always want to be able to meet all the need,' Faust said. 'The need was even greater than we expected.' So far, Faust said about $58 million in aid has been distributed to tenants and landlords, with thousands more applications yet to be processed and a small portion of the funds kept for administrative fees. The state program was previously funded by federal aid distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic and focused on helping tenants experiencing COVID-19-related hardships and at risk of eviction. At its height, the program provided up to $25,000 in rental assistance to cover up to 15 months of past-due rent and up to three months of future rent. Rental assistance programs became widespread during the pandemic to aid the millions of renters who were struggling to pay their rent on time across the country after many lost their jobs and got sick. Illinois allocated $75 million in state funding to continue to provide rental assistance to tenants and their landlords for fiscal year 2025. Unlike many other states and municipalities, Illinois made a significant allocation of dollars to continue the program. For fiscal year 2026, the state has appropriated $50 million. The next iteration of the program is expected to begin accepting applications in August, Faust said. 'We think it is overall a positive sign that the state in a difficult budget climate is continuing to invest in the program,' said Bob Glaves, executive director of the Chicago Bar Foundation, which manages the state eviction diversion program. Faust agreed, calling the program 'a very positive lesson learned out of COVID.' The court-based rental assistance program is just one aspect of the state's eviction diversion program, known formally as the Early Resolution Program. Tenants and small landlords can also receive legal aid to help settle eviction cases before they go to trial. Under the state-funded rental assistance program for the 2025 fiscal year, households facing eviction can receive up to $15,000 in rental assistance, which can pay past-due rent, up to $500 in court costs and up to two months of future rent, according to the state housing authority. Next fiscal year's program will see the maximum amount of aid reduced to $10,000, with a raise to $700 for eligible court costs coverage. Faust said this decision was made based on data from this year's program and conversations with legal aid, tenants and landlords. The authority estimates about 6,500 households will be able to receive assistance. 'We are feeling that we will be able to meet the majority of needs with this new dollar amount,' Faust said, 'and then also try to keep the program going for as long as possible for the next fiscal year.' Some of the data considered was the average amount of assistance doled out so far this fiscal year, which has been around $8,260, or eight months of rent. And 39% of aided households are extremely low income, earning less than $36,000 a year for a household of four, the state said. Eligible tenants have to make 80% or less of the area median income and do not have to be facing a COVID-19-related hardship. For a household of four, the area median income for much of the last fiscal year in Chicago was $89,700, according to the Chicago Department of Housing. For the next round of assistance, the state said tenants will be ineligible if they have received aid in the last 18 months. Renters do not have to prove their citizenship status and must have an active eviction case due to nonpayment of rent to qualify. Housing providers are not allowed to evict tenants during the grant's coverage period for nonpayment of rent. And for tenants whose landlords are unwilling to participate in the program, the state offers up to two months of future rent payments to help them find a new place to live. Renters in Chicago and Cook County maintain the right to stay in their homes if they pay their debts in full to their landlord at any time before an official eviction order is filed. Illinois lawmakers pass budget with tax hikes on tobacco, gambling — but adjourn without transit, Bears stadium Cook County housing authority facing potential multimillion-dollar budget shortfall as agencies brace for funding cuts Chicago housing nonprofit providing rental subsidies for very low-income renters facing a $10M budget shortfall After lawmakers pass budget with cuts and tax hikes, Gov. JB Pritzker blames state's fiscal challenges on Trump Lawmakers send flurry of bills to governor's desk in final days of spring session As Johnson administration touts 'Cut the Tape,' affordable housing developers want faster progress While Gov. JB Pritzker scored wins during legislative session, cellphone ban, other initiatives fell short There will be less money available for those in need of rental assistance, but Chicago's rent prices are showing no signs of easing. In May, rents in Chicago increased 2% compared to .4% nationally, which was the second fastest month-over-month rent growth of the nation's largest 100 cities, according to Apartment List. The city's year-over-year rent growth stands at 5%, landing it in fourth place for fastest growth among the nation's largest 100 cities. The rental assistance program dollars are a piece of the state's roughly $263.7 million Home Illinois budget — an initiative aimed at preventing and ending homelessness — for the coming fiscal year. The Home Illinois budget saw an overall decrease in its pot of funds of approximately $26.6 million, according to state budget documents. The same documents show that the Home Illinois funds were significantly underused in the 2024 fiscal year, but the Illinois Department of Human Services said this is because it was a 'start-up' year for multiple programs. There are also separate rental assistance dollars allocated to other state programs, the state said, with $89.5 million total (including the $50 million court-based program) earmarked to support those efforts this coming fiscal year. For the 2025 fiscal year, the number spent is estimated at $130 million. The reduction in funds this coming fiscal year hit as area housing groups who rely on city, state and federal dollars are already struggling to provide subsidized housing to some of the lowest income residents in the state as they are facing multimillion dollar budget shortfalls. Gov. JB Pritzker highlighted housing affordability as a key issue in his State of the State speech in February. Still, some of the most ambitious proposals that legislators introduced on the topic didn't pass out of the General Assembly. Bob Palmer, policy director for Housing Action Illinois, a group advocating for an increase in affordable housing in the state, said that while he is thankful to see the state committing serious dollars to Home Illinois even in challenging budget times, the government has to find a way to increase funding for the initiative every year if it wants to accomplish the initiative's goal. 'Ending homelessness and making sure everyone has a safe and decent place to live should be one of the highest priorities, and the budget that passed doesn't reflect that,' Palmer said. Through April of this year, about 8,280 residential evictions were filed, according to the most recently available data from the Circuit Court of Cook County. Eviction filings in Cook County have been at pre-pandemic levels since 2022. Enforced evictions — those carried out by the sheriff's office under a court order — at residential rental properties caught up to 2019 levels for the first year in 2023. Most evictions in the city typically take place on the South and West sides in majority Black and Latino communities, trends that line up with national data showing racial minorities are more likely to face eviction. The pandemic disproportionately affected racial minorities, who were more likely to experience hardships such as job loss and illness. Landlords and their attorneys have said that sometimes rental assistance ends up being a Band-Aid fix, with housing providers having to evict their residents even after they have received aid. As an owner of five buildings with a total of 17 apartments, primarily in Washington Park, Gene Lee has received rental assistance for two tenants when the program was federally funded. In those cases, Lee said the renters had worked for Chicago Public Schools and their work hours were cut during the pandemic. For tenants who are communicative and experiencing short-term financial hardships such as those two CPS workers, the rental assistance program is effective, Lee said. Now, as the program faces a funding cut and rising rent costs are eating into households' budgets, Lee said housing providers like himself will be put in a tough position if there is not enough assistance available for some tenants in need. 'If those (rental assistance) resources become a little bit limited, it puts pressure on us,' said Lee, who runs TLG Development and works at LinkedIn. 'Do we make an economic decision to try to evict this tenant and find someone else, or do you try to have a heart for someone who just needs a place and falls on hard times?' To apply for the Illinois Court-Based Rental Assistance Program, go to Tribune reporter Olivia Olander contributed. ekane@
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Illinois rental assistance program sees funding cut for 2026 budget in another blow to state, city housing programs
William Dalton had never faced eviction until a series of bad events struck last year: His mom died, his relationship with the mother of his now 5-year-old daughter ended and his car was totaled. He fell behind on the rent for his two-bedroom apartment in the New City neighborhood. It caused him 'anxiety every day,' he said, after receiving the eviction notice a couple of months later. He didn't know where he would go if he lost his apartment, the home where his daughter was born. 'It was a lot on me,' Dalton said, who works in education. 'It is very hard to concentrate on things you need to get done, especially when you have a little one depending on you.' In a move that has brought him 'great relief,' Dalton was able to keep the roof over his head, where he has lived for five years, thanks to $10,000 from Illinois' rental assistance program. 'Once everything was settled, it was like I could actually start living life again,' he said. 'And it is very important for my daughter to see. I tried my best to mask it, but I'm pretty sure she picked up on it.' After its inaugural year as a state-funded effort, Illinois' court-based rental assistance program for tenants like Dalton struggling to pay rent and their landlords will stop accepting applications Friday and will see a third of its funds wiped away in the 2026 fiscal year that begins July 1. The reduction comes after the state grappled with serious fiscal challenges when balancing its budget this year, issues exacerbated by a federal government focused on axing spending. State lawmakers cut spending in various areas beyond housing as well. Dalton is one of 7,129 renters who has received assistance this fiscal year from the state program. The state housing authority's goal was to assist 8,900 households through the new program but will likely see closer to 8,000 households supported, said Illinois Housing Development Authority Executive Director Kristin Faust in an interview with the Tribune. The state agency administers the rental assistance program. Faust said the 8,900 number was based on an authority projection. 'We had hoped it would take us to the very end of the fiscal year because we always want to be able to meet all the need,' Faust said. 'The need was even greater than we expected.' So far, Faust said about $58 million in aid has been distributed to tenants and landlords, with thousands more applications yet to be processed and a small portion of the funds kept for administrative fees. The state program was previously funded by federal aid distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic and focused on helping tenants experiencing COVID-19-related hardships and at risk of eviction. At its height, the program provided up to $25,000 in rental assistance to cover up to 15 months of past-due rent and up to three months of future rent. Rental assistance programs became widespread during the pandemic to aid the millions of renters who were struggling to pay their rent on time across the country after many lost their jobs and got sick. Illinois allocated $75 million in state funding to continue to provide rental assistance to tenants and their landlords for fiscal year 2025. Unlike many other states and municipalities, Illinois made a significant allocation of dollars to continue the program. For fiscal year 2026, the state has appropriated $50 million. The next iteration of the program is expected to begin accepting applications in August, Faust said. 'We think it is overall a positive sign that the state in a difficult budget climate is continuing to invest in the program,' said Bob Glaves, executive director of the Chicago Bar Foundation, which manages the state eviction diversion program. Faust agreed, calling the program 'a very positive lesson learned out of COVID.' The court-based rental assistance program is just one aspect of the state's eviction diversion program, known formally as the Early Resolution Program. Tenants and small landlords can also receive legal aid to help settle eviction cases before they go to trial. Under the state-funded rental assistance program for the 2025 fiscal year, households facing eviction can receive up to $15,000 in rental assistance, which can pay past-due rent, up to $500 in court costs and up to two months of future rent, according to the state housing authority. Next fiscal year's program will see the maximum amount of aid reduced to $10,000, with a raise to $700 for eligible court costs coverage. Faust said this decision was made based on data from this year's program and conversations with legal aid, tenants and landlords. The authority estimates about 6,500 households will be able to receive assistance. 'We are feeling that we will be able to meet the majority of needs with this new dollar amount,' Faust said, 'and then also try to keep the program going for as long as possible for the next fiscal year.' Some of the data considered was the average amount of assistance doled out so far this fiscal year, which has been around $8,260, or eight months of rent. And 39% of aided households are extremely low income, earning less than $36,000 a year for a household of four, the state said. Eligible tenants have to make 80% or less of the area median income and do not have to be facing a COVID-19-related hardship. For a household of four, the area median income for much of the last fiscal year in Chicago was $89,700, according to the Chicago Department of Housing. For the next round of assistance, the state said tenants will be ineligible if they have received aid in the last 18 months. Renters do not have to prove their citizenship status and must have an active eviction case due to nonpayment of rent to qualify. Housing providers are not allowed to evict tenants during the grant's coverage period for nonpayment of rent. And for tenants whose landlords are unwilling to participate in the program, the state offers up to two months of future rent payments to help them find a new place to live. Renters in Chicago and Cook County maintain the right to stay in their homes if they pay their debts in full to their landlord at any time before an official eviction order is filed. There will be less money available for those in need of rental assistance, but Chicago's rent prices are showing no signs of easing. In May, rents in Chicago increased 2% compared to .4% nationally, which was the second fastest month-over-month rent growth of the nation's largest 100 cities, according to Apartment List. The city's year-over-year rent growth stands at 5%, landing it in fourth place for fastest growth among the nation's largest 100 cities. The rental assistance program dollars are a piece of the state's roughly $263.7 million Home Illinois budget — an initiative aimed at preventing and ending homelessness — for the coming fiscal year. The Home Illinois budget saw an overall decrease in its pot of funds of approximately $26.6 million, according to state budget documents. The same documents show that the Home Illinois funds were significantly underused in the 2024 fiscal year, but the Illinois Department of Human Services said this is because it was a 'start-up' year for multiple programs. There are also separate rental assistance dollars allocated to other state programs, the state said, with $89.5 million total (including the $50 million court-based program) earmarked to support those efforts this coming fiscal year. For the 2025 fiscal year, the number spent is estimated at $130 million. The reduction in funds this coming fiscal year hit as area housing groups who rely on city, state and federal dollars are already struggling to provide subsidized housing to some of the lowest income residents in the state as they are facing multimillion dollar budget shortfalls. Gov. JB Pritzker highlighted housing affordability as a key issue in his State of the State speech in February. Still, some of the most ambitious proposals that legislators introduced on the topic didn't pass out of the General Assembly. Bob Palmer, policy director for Housing Action Illinois, a group advocating for an increase in affordable housing in the state, said that while he is thankful to see the state committing serious dollars to Home Illinois even in challenging budget times, the government has to find a way to increase funding for the initiative every year if it wants to accomplish the initiative's goal. 'Ending homelessness and making sure everyone has a safe and decent place to live should be one of the highest priorities, and the budget that passed doesn't reflect that,' Palmer said. Through April of this year, about 8,280 residential evictions were filed, according to the most recently available data from the Circuit Court of Cook County. Eviction filings in Cook County have been at pre-pandemic levels since 2022. Enforced evictions — those carried out by the sheriff's office under a court order — at residential rental properties caught up to 2019 levels for the first year in 2023. Most evictions in the city typically take place on the South and West sides in majority Black and Latino communities, trends that line up with national data showing racial minorities are more likely to face eviction. The pandemic disproportionately affected racial minorities, who were more likely to experience hardships such as job loss and illness. Landlords and their attorneys have said that sometimes rental assistance ends up being a Band-Aid fix, with housing providers having to evict their residents even after they have received aid. As an owner of five buildings with a total of 17 apartments, primarily in Washington Park, Gene Lee has received rental assistance for two tenants when the program was federally funded. In those cases, Lee said the renters had worked for Chicago Public Schools and their work hours were cut during the pandemic. For tenants who are communicative and experiencing short-term financial hardships such as those two CPS workers, the rental assistance program is effective, Lee said. Now, as the program faces a funding cut and rising rent costs are eating into households' budgets, Lee said housing providers like himself will be put in a tough position if there is not enough assistance available for some tenants in need. 'If those (rental assistance) resources become a little bit limited, it puts pressure on us,' said Lee, who runs TLG Development and works at LinkedIn. 'Do we make an economic decision to try to evict this tenant and find someone else, or do you try to have a heart for someone who just needs a place and falls on hard times?' To apply for the Illinois Court-Based Rental Assistance Program, go to Tribune reporter Olivia Olander contributed. ekane@
Chicago Tribune
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Rep. Chris Miller: Gov. JB Pritzker's policies are responsible for high rent costs
If the residents of the Land of Lincoln have become accustomed to anything, it is their political leaders consistently pushing for more government interference, even when governmental policies have caused disastrous outcomes in the first place. Let's consider housing as an example. Illinoisans are undoubtedly facing a housing affordability crisis. One-third of state residents are considered 'housing-burdened,' which refers to households that spend too much of their income on housing. According to Zillow, rental prices have increased 35% since the COVID-19 pandemic, and rents in Illinois are expected to grow 5% this year alone. Moreover, from 2019 to 2024, Illinois experienced a 67% decrease in the inventory of homes for sale, putting further upward pressure on rents. In response to this, Gov. JB Pritzker issued an executive order late last year that created a 'director of housing solution' to work with existing government agencies, including the Illinois Housing Development Authority, to plan and implement housing solutions. Of course, anyone with a hatful of common sense doesn't need a newly appointed bureaucrat to explain the housing crises in Illinois. Out-of-control government spending at the state and national levels and stifling regulations have made Illinois an unwelcome place to do business. Over the last four years, the federal government has driven up inflation and interest rates, making homeownership very difficult. Entrenched bureaucrats and political interests in Washington, D.C., and Springfield went on a spending free-for-all, and the bill is finally coming due. This reckless governance has fueled a housing affordability crisis. Yet rather than address their own failures, state leaders are pointing their fingers elsewhere. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is cut from the same cloth as most in Springfield. He recently joined a lawsuit initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice targeting landlords' pricing software. The complaint alleges that the software is driving up housing and rent prices. This lawsuit does what politicians do best — look for a scapegoat to blame when their destructive policies are at fault. Multiple factors influence property values, and no one can assert that a property owner's use of algorithmic software is a driving factor. This software provides valuation estimations through aggregating and analyzing current market trends. It doesn't raise rents; it reports what they are. Ironically, the state of Illinois employs a similar algorithmic pricing model for its tolls, in which rates fluctuate based on demand. During peak hours, tolls are higher, while lower demand at night brings reduced prices. Lyft and Uber use comparable pricing systems, as do Chicago hotels and airlines at O'Hare International Airport. This dynamic pricing ensures optimal use of infrastructure and generates revenue to maintain services while encouraging off-peak usage. If Illinois state government believes algorithmic pricing is efficient and equitable for tolls, why does it not apply the same logic to housing? Illinois' housing affordability crisis does not stem from computer algorithms, but rather from housing shortages driven by overly restrictive regulations and mandates that slow and restrict construction. And the hits just keep on coming. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Department of Housing have introduced a new ordinance establishing ' Green Social Housing,' which prioritizes eco-friendly housing experiments when nearly 20,000 residents — including almost a third who are children — remain unhoused, desperately needing shelter rather than trendy, government-driven sustainability projects. Other regulations, such as the Affordable Requirements Ordinance, aim to enhance housing affordability by requiring developers to allocate a percentage of units as affordable for lower-income households. However, instead of solving the issue, it has stifled development, particularly in high-demand areas, leading to increased costs citywide. Enough is enough. We need to encourage development, reduce zoning restrictions and enact tax incentives for builders, while also confronting the 'not in my backyard' crowd. Consider the residents of Santa Barbara, California, where prices have dropped 15% since the pandemic, or Austin, Texas, where prices have decreased significantly following these reforms. If Illinois can adopt policies that encourage and expedite construction, renters in the Land of Lincoln will see similar tangible benefits. While joining politically motivated lawsuits over rent pricing software might make politicians feel good about themselves, they will do little to reduce the cost of rent. If our leaders were serious, they would focus instead on removing barriers such as restrictive zoning, excessive red tape, high taxes and outdated housing policies. By encouraging investment and free market solutions, Illinois can ensure that all families can afford a roof over their heads.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Illinois' SmartBuy Program Forgives Student Loans To Help Potential Homeowners Buy Real Estate
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. If you want to eliminate your student loans, move to Illinois. That's what happened to James Ekstrom, who was able to purchase his first home through Illinois Housing Development Authority's Smart Buy Program after having $37,000 of student loan debt forgiven, Fox 39 WTVO reported. 'So all of that, the whole $37,000, got paid off,' Ekstrom said. 'I actually just checked on my accounts a couple of days ago, and I saw it, and I was like, Wow, it doesn't even feel real at the moment.' Don't Miss:This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to . The program was designed to help homebuyers with student loans enter the housing market. According to a 2024 report from the National Association of Realtors Research Group, 23% of all homebuyers had student loan debt, with a median debt of $30,000. 'With the additional money that I don't have to pay towards student loans anymore,' Ekstrom said, 'I plan to continue reinvesting that money definitely into this property and also plan on actually creating another account to set some capital aside to eventually, in the near future, probably very soon to acquire another property, possibly.' Trending: CEO of Integris gathered a team of senior investment managers who have $34.22 billion in combined owned and managed assets in the West Coast — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker launched the SmartBuy program to enable access to affordable homes in the state despite buyers' financial burdens. It achieves this by providing financial assistance and debt relief. 'Fifteen years ago the average age of a first-time home buyer was 29. Today, it's 38,' Northwest Illinois Alliance of Realtors CEO Conor Brown said. 'It's really kind of sounding the alarm bells that the student loan debt is not sustainable. So, we need to think of ways that help alleviate some of that stress.' Although applications to the SmartBuy program are currently closed as funding has been exhausted, a few other states offer similar programs. These include:Kansas has more than 90 counties designated as Rural Opportunity Zones. According to the Kansas Office of Rural Prosperity, potential homebuyers in the state who move into one of those counties can receive student loan repayment assistance and/or a 100% state income tax credit. The student loan reimbursement assistance offers up to $15,000 in aid over five years. Maine's Student Loan Repayment Credit is administered by the Maine Revenue Service. The program offers a refundable tax credit of up to $2,500 annually.. Maryland offers the SmartBuy 3.0 program. It provides homebuyers with $6,000 in down payment assistance and student loan repayment assistance. The program will pay off a student loan equal to 15 percent of the home cost, with a maximum payoff of $20,000. Borrowers must also qualify for the Maryland Mortgage program. Michigan offers up to $300,000 in tax-free student loan repayment assistance for health workers who agree to work in the Health Professional Shortage Area. To qualify for the full repayment assistance amount, participants must apply through the Michigan State Loan Repayment Program and participate in the program for at least two years. Real estate is a great way to diversify your portfolio and earn high returns, but it can also be a big hassle. Luckily, there are other ways to tap into the power of real estate without owning property. Arrived Home's Private Credit Fund's has historically paid an annualized dividend yield of 8.1%*, which provides access to a pool of short-term loans backed by residential real estate. The best part? Unlike other private credit funds, Looking for fractional real estate investment opportunities? The features the latest offerings. This article Illinois' SmartBuy Program Forgives Student Loans To Help Potential Homeowners Buy Real Estate originally appeared on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Illinois program helps first-time homebuyer overcome student loan debt
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A Rockford resident bought his first home thanks to an Illinois program that helps former students pay student loan debt. James Ekstrom said he would have been looking to buy a home earlier on in his life, but thousands of dollars of student loan debt was in his way. '15 years ago the average age of a first-time home buyer was 29. Today, it's 38,' said Northwest Illinois Alliance of Realtors' Conor Brown. 'It's really kind of sounding the alarm bells that the student loan debt is not sustainable. So, we need to think of ways that help alleviate some of that stress.' Last month, Ekstrom was able to become a first-time homebuyer, thanks to the Illinois Housing Development Authority's program for student loan debt. The SmartBuy program relieved him of $37,000 of debt. 'So all of that, the whole $37,000 got paid off,' said Ekstrom. 'I actually just checked on my accounts a couple of days ago and I saw it and I was like, Wow, it doesn't even feel real at the moment.' Nearly one in five non-homeowners said debt is their main reason for not purchasing a home, according to a . As a result, more programs are becoming available to aid buyers. 'With the additional money that I don't have to pay towards student loans anymore,' said Ekstrom. 'I plan to continue reinvesting that money definitely into this property and also plan on actually creating another account to set some capital aside to eventually, in the near future, probably very soon to acquire another property, possibly.' While applications for the program are currently closed, the Illinois Housing Development Authority has other programs to help homebuyers. Anyone interested can visit the organization's . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
