{"id":9504,"date":"2018-07-16T15:59:59","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T19:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/?p=9504"},"modified":"2018-07-16T15:59:59","modified_gmt":"2018-07-16T19:59:59","slug":"hogan-administration-announces-3-million-expansion-of-maryland-smartbuy-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/2018\/07\/16\/hogan-administration-announces-3-million-expansion-of-maryland-smartbuy-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Hogan Administration Announces $3 Million Expansion of Maryland SmartBuy Program"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><b>Hogan Administration Announces $3 Million Expansion of Maryland SmartBuy Program<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Will Offer More Opportunities for Homebuyers With Student Debt<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Shady Grove, Md. (July 16, 2018)<\/strong> \u2013 The Hogan administration today announced that Maryland SmartBuy, a nationally-recognized program that assists first-time homebuyers burdened with student debt, will expand in August 2018. The expansion will allow participants to purchase any eligible home in the state while eliminating up to $30,000 in student debt. Currently, SmartBuy requires buyers to purchase select homes designated by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe are proud that Maryland continues to be home to one of the most highly educated populations in America, but the harsh reality many face today is that earning a college education often goes hand-in-hand with crippling college debt,\u201d said Governor Larry Hogan. \u201cThis new $3 million expansion of SmartBuy will help young people buy a home, removing the student debt roadblock to homeownership and allowing for financial security.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In his Fiscal Year 2019 budget, Governor Hogan approved a $3 million state appropriation for the program. This additional funding is expected to assist more than 100 homebuyers. Since its inception in late 2016, the Maryland SmartBuy program has helped homebuyers retire $1 million in student debt.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe\u2019ve already seen tremendous interest in the program, and buyers who want to participate in SmartBuy should get ready now,\u201d said DHCD Secretary Kenneth C. Holt. \u201cMake sure to talk to one of our certified SmartBuy lenders to get your documents in order and get prequalified for a loan, and visit our website to learn about eligibility requirements, such as homebuyer education and income limits.\u201d<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mortgage loans will be provided through DHCD\u2019s Maryland Mortgage Program, the state\u2019s flagship homeownership assistance program for over 30 years. Traditionally, the program provides fixed-term mortgages, primarily to first-time homebuyers, along with downpayment and closing cost incentives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Maryland SmartBuy program has been profiled on the NBC Nightly News and in the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wall Street Journal<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Washington Post,<\/span><\/i> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Baltimore Sun<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and other major media outlets.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For more information, visit the Maryland SmartBuy website at <a href=\"http:\/\/mmp.maryland.gov\/SmartBuy\">http:\/\/mmp.maryland.gov\/SmartBuy<\/a>. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"># # #<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>MEDIA\u00a0<\/strong><strong>CONTACT:<\/strong>\u00a0Sara Luell, Director of Communications,\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:sara.luell@maryland.gov\">sara.luell@maryland.gov<\/a>, 301-429-7803<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hogan Administration Announces $3 Million Expansion of Maryland SmartBuy Program Will Offer More Opportunities for Homebuyers With Student Debt Shady Grove, Md. (July 16, 2018) \u2013 The Hogan administration today announced that Maryland SmartBuy, a nationally-recognized program that assists first-time homebuyers burdened with student debt, will expand in August 2018. The expansion will allow participants<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/2018\/07\/16\/hogan-administration-announces-3-million-expansion-of-maryland-smartbuy-program\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,33,166],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-maryland-mortgage-program","category-press-releases","category-smartbuy-maryland-mortgage-program"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9504"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9507,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9504\/revisions\/9507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}