I’m Kayla. I’m a first-time buyer with old student loans that felt like a second rent. I used Illinois’ SmartBuy program through IHDA to clear my loans and close on a small brick ranch in Berwyn. I’ll tell you what was great, what stung, and what I’d do again. Short version: it worked for me, but it was not simple. If you want the step-by-step blow-by-blow, I unpacked every twist and fee in a longer diary-style recap over at I used Illinois’ student debt help to buy a home — here’s my honest take.
Wait, what is this program?
Here’s the thing. Illinois had a program called SmartBuy under IHDA. It paired a 30-year fixed mortgage with help for student loans. It could pay up to $40,000 toward your loans, or 15% of the home price, whichever was lower. You had to:
- Be a first-time buyer (or not owned a home in three years)
- Use an IHDA partner lender
- Have a credit score around 640 or better
- Meet income and price caps by county
- Live in the home for three years
If you want to see the official details straight from the agency, check out the IHDA SmartBuy overview.
The loan help was a second lien. It gets forgiven over three years if you stay put. If you sell or refinance early, you pay back the part that’s left. Annoying? A little. Clear rules, though.
One more wrinkle: the program ran in rounds. Funds opened, then they ran out. Right now, money comes and goes, so you have to ask a lender who knows IHDA. I learned that the hard way.
My numbers, no fluff
I’ll give you my exact stuff, because that’s what I wanted to see when I was searching.
- Purchase price: $245,000 (Berwyn, brick ranch, tiny yard, big maple tree)
- My student loan balance: $31,487 (two loans from undergrad)
- SmartBuy paid: $31,487 at closing (they wiped all of it)
- Down payment and cash to close from me: about $9,100 (earnest money, escrows, fees)
- Rate: a hair higher than a basic conventional loan, but fixed
- Time from pre-approval to keys: 58 days (felt like 158)
The big catch: SmartBuy needed all my student loans paid off at closing. Not just a chunk. If your loans are bigger than what they’ll cover, you bring the rest. My loans fit under the cap, so I was lucky.
The good stuff nobody told me
- My DTI dropped on day one. Debt-to-income (DTI) is the lender’s big math. When the loans vanished, my monthly ratio got lean. That bumped my approval, so I didn’t have to cut the purchase price.
- My budget felt lighter. I went from paying $278 a month on loans to $0. That money now covers the water bill and a sinking fund for a new roof. Not cute, but adult.
- The stress lift was real. I cried after closing. My loan servicer email went quiet. Silence can be sweet. With a quieter inbox and a lighter mental load, I finally had time to reconnect with friends and reclaim a bit of playful dating energy, and I stumbled on this guide to discreet, LGBTQ-friendly Snapchat flirting at Gay Snapchat Sexting which breaks down safety tips, code-words, and screenshot warnings so you can keep things fun and private while you celebrate adulting wins like a new home. But if you’d rather ditch the apps altogether and meet people face-to-face, check out this local option for speed dating in St. Charles—the page lists upcoming event dates, pricing, and quick sign-up steps so you can meet a dozen singles in under an hour and see if sparks fly without committing to a full evening.
The hard parts that almost broke me
- The paperwork stack was wild. Pay stubs, W-2s, tax returns, student loan statements, payoff letters, graduation proof—then the same, again. If you hate scanning, brace yourself.
- You need a lender who lives this. My first lender said, “We can figure it out.” They didn’t. I switched to a lender on IHDA’s list. Things moved fast after that.
- Timelines stretch. The appraisal came back with a few repairs. The seller patched the handrail; we had to re-inspect. Every day, I watched rates twitch and my stomach did little flips.
- You must stay three years. I had to think hard about that. New job in another city? Tough. You can move, but you pay back the part that isn’t forgiven yet.
Real people, real outcomes
- My case (Berwyn): I brought about $9k to close and walked out with zero student loan balance. I still stare at my servicer app sometimes, like, “Is that real?”
- My friend Luis (Peoria): Teacher. Bought for $198,000. He had $12,900 in loans. SmartBuy paid it all. His close took 63 days because his servicer messed up the payoff letter twice. He says the three-year stay is fine because he loves his garage more than life.
- My cousin Jay (Rogers Park): He had $54k in loans. House target was $280k. The cap wasn’t enough to wipe it all, and he didn’t have the extra cash. He switched to IHDA Access Forgivable for down payment help instead, then set up auto-pay on his loans with the spare cash flow.
Not every story is a “yes.” But a clean “no” can still push you to the right door. For a brutally honest narrative of juggling a mortgage application while student debt still loomed large, read this messy, honest review of buying a home with student debt.
What I wish I knew sooner
- Start with a student loan payoff letter. Don’t wait. Some servicers take weeks to spit out an accurate number.
- Ask your lender these exact questions: Do you close IHDA loans often? How many SmartBuy files did you do last year? What’s your average timeline?
- Check the income and price caps by county before you fall in love with a house.
- Plan to live there at least three years. If you might move, run a scenario: “If I sell in year two, what do I owe back?”
- Keep a cushion. My sump pump died the first storm after I moved in. Of course it did. Homeownership has a sense of humor.
What about now?
Funding for SmartBuy has opened and paused over time. It’s not like a faucet that runs all year. If it’s paused, ask about:
- IHDA Access Forgivable, Deferred, or Repayable down payment help
- Local city or county grants (Chicago, Cook County, and some suburbs rotate programs)
- Employer homebuyer benefits (some hospitals and schools offer small grants)
You can browse the current menu of IHDA purchase assistance options on their site.
No, those don’t erase student loans like SmartBuy did. But they can lower cash to close, which helps you handle your loans without drowning.
For broader strategies beyond Illinois, you might bookmark Occupy Student Debt, a hub that tracks policy shifts and relief options nationwide.
And if you’re debating whether to throw every spare dollar at loans or start investing once the dust settles, I found this perspective-shifting breakdown helpful: Pay off student loans or invest? My honest take after doing both.
My verdict, plain and simple
Was it worth it? For me, yes. It cleared a weight I carried for a decade. The trade-off was time, paperwork, and a three-year promise. I can live with that. Literally.
Would I do it again? Yep. But I’d start with the right lender, set a longer closing timeline, and keep a folder labeled “Every Doc Ever.”
If you’re in Illinois, have real student debt, and can stay put for a bit, it’s a strong tool. Not magic. Not easy. But strong. And you know what? Hearing “paid in full” at closing feels better than any housewarming gift.