These States Will Pay Off Student Loan Arrears for Moving There
This is a new idea for any state looking to attract skilled professionals – in exchange for a move, they will pay you back your student loan debt. Illinois is doing just that because they recently joined Maryland in launching the SmartBuy program, which pays off your student loans if you get a mortgage in their state. Here’s how it works and how it compares to similar debt relief offerings in other states.
How SmartBuy Illinois Works
According to Forbes , the state will pay off student loans up to $ 40,000 or a student loan balance of 15% of the purchase price of a home, whichever is the lower.
- The purchase price of a home is capped, with an upper cap ranging from $ 325,000 to over $ 500,000, depending on geographic location and other factors.
- Eligible prospective homeowners in the Chicago area must have a household income of $ 109,200 or less.
- The program can also provide $ 5,000 if you need it to cover your home down payment or to close a deal.
- There is one big caveat: $ 40,000 in debt cancellation should help you pay off your entire student debt. Partial payments are not allowed.
Other public debt payment programs
Maryland has its own version of SmartBuy, which provides student loan repayments of up to 15% of the purchase price of a home (you can find more information here ). In addition, there are other debt relief programs generally available to those in high-demand professions such as doctors, dentists, healthcare professionals and lawyers. College Investor provides a complete list of programs for each state here. Some notable mentions based on the proposed debt forgiveness amount include:
Michigan
The Michigan Loan Repayment Program will cover student loans up to $ 200,000 for primary health care, dental and mental health providers in exchange for full-time work at nonprofit medical clinics for two. years. More information can be found here .
Delaware
The Delaware Loan Repayment Program will cover student loans of up to $ 100,000 for primary health care, dental and mental health providers in exchange for full-time employment in areas of shortage of health professionals (HPSA). More information can be found here .
Georgia
The Rural Physician Assistance Program will pay off $ 25,000 of your student loans each year, for a total of $ 100,000 if you are a physician who agrees to practice full-time medicine in a rural district in Georgia. You will have to work 40 clinical hours per week in Georgia’s county (s) with a population of 35,000 or less. More information can be found here .
California
The California Loan Repayment Program will cover student loans of up to $ 50,000 for healthcare professionals who commit to work for government or nonprofit organizations in underserved areas for a minimum of two and a maximum of four years. More information can be found here .
Texas
As part of the recruitment and retention initiative, the Educational Loan Repayment Program will cover student loans for attorneys working in the Attorney General’s Office of up to $ 18,000 . More information can be found here .