Increase your buying power with loan forgiveness

When a mortgage officer calculates a first-time home buyer's buying power. The officer calculates how much buying power based on the buyers current debt load.

Teachers can increase their home buying power by reducing their debt load with student loan forgiveness. Learn about teacher Stafford and Perkins loan forgiveness.

See the difference when a teacher reduces his or her debt level by having a 17,500 Stafford loan forgiven and a 6,000 PLUS loan forgiven.

Good Neighbor Next Door Homes available in Waukegan and Rockford, IL

These homes are available at 50% discount off the mortgage.

Iowa has a home listed for the Good Neighbor Next Door Program

Follow this link to see the home that is available at a 50% discount for teachers.

Will the tax credit continue?

The $8,000 tax credit for first-time home owners helps many more than just teachers, but will it continue in 2010? Many think it will. Realty and home builder lobbies love it, and it could be the sole reason housing prices bottomed this summer. Without it, home prices might start testing new lows.

But time is running out on the credit, and there will likely be a hangover effect on housing prices after the November rush is processed.

Arkansas offers forgiveable loans and rental stipends to teachers

Arkansas offers loans that are forgivable up to %10 of the purchase price of a new home to teachers who agree to teach in specified schools for five years. Those teachers who do not choose to buy can still take advantage of the program through a rental stipend worth $2,000.

Mississippi offers $6,000 for closing costs

Mississippi offers up to $6,000 to help with closing costs on a home purchased in a rural district designated in this program. The state requires that teachers remain in that district for at least 3 years.

Bank of America Offers a Loan to All Teachers

This loan called specialized profession loan is available to teachers, police officers, firefighters and medical personnel. The website does not give specifics on what interest rates or discounts they offer to teachers, but BoA does offer "free" life insurance as part of the package.

South Carolina offers special interest rates and money for down payments

The Palmetto Heroes Program is nearly a year old now. It may be in need of a new infusion of cash, but nevertheless, it is worth monitoring. South Carolina offers teacher help with down payment and, during 2008, offered what was a good rate. New initiatives to lower interest rates now make that special rate less attractive.

If you are looking in the Greenville area, read this post on where to live in Greenville.

Los Angeles Teacher Mortgage Assistance Program

Conveniently shortened to LATMAP, the Los Angeles Teacher Mortgage Assistance Program has a veritable warehouse of resources and links for teachers who are interested in owning their own home in Los Angeles County. This unique public-private partnership provides some of the best mortgage deals for teachers out there.

NYC give housing support to critical needs-area teachers

Only Mathematics, Science, and Special Education teachers are eligible for this program, but the benefits are huge. To start, teachers receive $5,000 in housing support money in the first few weeks of teaching. The money can be used to cover everything from moving expenses to a down payment on a mortgage. Then, after two years of teaching, there is another $10,000 available.

Texas Classroom Teacher's Association Reports Mortgage Assistance

The assistance comes in the best form–a grant. That means it does not have to be repaid, but it seems that the money is by application only and is first come, first serve. They offer %5 toward closing costs and down payment up to $5,000.

Chicago Public School Teachers Enjoy Special Status with Lenders

Chicago Public Schools has arranged a variety of deals for teachers with different lenders including one that offers 55% off lender fees and another that offers a $4,000 grant for CPS employees. Read more about it here.

Connecticut Offers Special Rates on a 30-year Mortgage

For all of those teachers who spent hours teaching children to spell the state's name, Connect-I-Cut is offering fixed rate 30-year mortgages at a special rate. You can see this week's rate by following this link. It changes every week. The page also has information about down payment assistance.

California's Extra Credit Program Gives Down Payment Help

For teachers who teach in certain schools, the California offers assistance of up to $7,500 for a down payment. Here's the link.

Ohio offers a lower mortgage rate for teachers

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency offers a .25% cut in their lending rate and down payment assistance for teachers, police, and firefighters.

San Francisco Offers $20,000 Loan to Teachers

This program may have fallen victim to the budget crisis in California, but I would expect it to revive. With housing as expensive as it is in San Fran, teachers need this kind of help. The program gives a $20,000 loan that slowly disappears. Even if you move in a year or two, only the principle is due back to the city, making it an interest free loan.

St. Paul Offers $15,000 to Buy a Home

The city of St. Paul, Minnesota is offering a $15,000 loan for teachers to purchase a home within the city limits.

The loan is interest free! And you don't have to pay it back until you sell the home.

Buy a Home for Half-Price

Teachers can buy a home for 50% of the home's appraised value through a program called the Good Neighbor Next Door Program. The Department of Housing and Urban Development offers homes in predetermined areas to teachers, firefighters, police officers, and EMTs before offering them to the general public.

Is there a catch? Yes. The catch is that you have live in the home for three years and students at your school must come from that neighborhood. For this reason it is much easier to qualify for this program (or to find an eligible house) if you teach at a private or a charter school.

At the end of the three years, though, the house is yours. You can turn around and sell it. Even selling it at the original appraisal price would mean a handsome profit.

The Pay May Not Be Much But the Benefits are Nice

We all know that teachers are over-worked and under-paid. I know first hand. When I went to buy my first home, I didn't have a lot of income (comparable to my student loan debt), but one asset proved valuable–my career choice.

Teachers, there are deals out there that, properly utilized, can help you reap huge rewards. This site culls some of the data for you.