In November 2016, the state of Maryland announced a revolutionary new program to help homeowners with student loan debt. When did the Maryland SmartBuy program start?
You must also plan to occupy the home as your primary residence for five years to receive the full student loan repayment benefit. So, you can’t apply Maryland SmartBuy benefits to that dream home you found on Zillow or Redfin.Īdditionally, you must have a credit score of 720 and not have owned a home for at least the previous three years, among other eligibility criteria ( See below ).
If that sounds too good to be true, keep in mind that there’s some fine print: Under the Maryland SmartBuy 3.0 program rules, the home you buy must be a state-owned property. You would have a 5% down payment prepared for the home, and the state government would fork over as much as 15% of the home’s purchase price to pay off your outstanding education loans.Īs for your new mortgage, Maryland SmartBuy-approved lenders quote eligible borrowers 30-year home loans with a fixed interest rate. The Maryland SmartBuy program allows state residents to buy a home while simultaneously wiping out their student loan debt (up to $30,000).