How First-Time Buyers Are Entering the Market

The Washington Post writes about five couples/homebuyers and how they became first-time buyers.

In addition to getting a loan from family, living with parents or in spartan apartments to save money, these buyers made it happen by watching You Tube videos about home improvement, applying for a mortgage program that also helps pay student debt, grant assistance, and even a lottery.

For example, with $67,000 in student loan debt and $50,000 in savings, Rija Tofeeq, a 27-year-old nurse, was torn between wanting to buy a home and paying off her loans. A co-worker told her about the Maryland SmartBuy program, which allows buyers to pay off their student loans with a zero-interest second loan when they use the Maryland Mortgage Program to purchase a home.

“I contacted a lender and learned that if we could qualify for a $275,000 loan we might also qualify to borrow 15 percent of the home value, up to a maximum of $40,000, to pay off my student loans,”

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