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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.
