Several states are offering homeownership assistance programs to recent college grads that may help them receive thousands of dollars toward the purchase of a home. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced the “Graduate to Homeownership” program, which provides assistance to first-time buyers who have graduated in the past two years from an accredited college or university with an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree. Program participants may be eligible for up to $15,000 in down-payment assistance or a reduced-rate mortgage—but they have to agree to live in one of eight upstate New York communities in order to be eligible.
“Upstate colleges and universities have world-class programs that produce highly skilled graduates, who then leave for opportunities elsewhere,” Cuomo said in a statement. “This program will incentivize recent graduates to put down roots.”
Nearly half of states offer some form of housing assistance to student-loan borrowers, according to an analysis by Credible.com. Ohio offers Grants for Grads, which, like the New York program, offers down-payment assistance or lower-rate mortgages to people who have graduated from college in the past four years. Rhode Island’s Ocean State Grad Grant program offers up to $7,000 in down-payment assistance to college graduates who earned a degree in the past three years.
Many of these state programs, however, require college grads to live in certain cities within the state, similar to New York’s program. “It can certainly help people who are dealing with high student debt burdens,” says David Reiss, research director for the Center for Urban Business Entrepreneurship at Brooklyn Law School. “But programs like this have to deal with a fundamental issue: Do these communities have enough jobs for recent college graduates? Time will tell.”
Source: “College Grads Can Get Home Grants – But There’s a Catch,” realtor.com® (May 5, 2017)
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