Here’s where you can get paid to buy (or build) a house

Some places are attracting residents by paying college debts and offering forgivable loans

Curtis, Nebraska (Credit: iStock)
Curtis, Nebraska (Credit: iStock)

Home prices in the nation’s top real estate markets like Los Angeles and New York have hit record highs this year. But in some places in the country local governments will practically pay people to move there.

Towns like Curtis, Nebraska, and Marne, Iowa, will give people who build homes the land beneath them for free. Both towns require you to meet certain conditions, of course, like a minimum amount of square footage, according to Zillow.

The state of Kansas runs a Rural Opportunity Zones program that offers state income tax exemptions for up to five years to people who move to a select 77 counties around the state. The program also offers student loan forgiveness up to $15,000 to college grads. It’s helped attract college grads to Greely County.

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“We’re the least populated county — we’re 105th in population for counties in Kansas, and now we’re eighth in college degrees per capita,” said Christy Hopkins, Greely’s community development manager. “There’s a correlation to draw.”

Baltimore, Maryland, offers a $5,000 forgivable loan to people buying homes in the city. New Haven has incentives for new homebuyers totaling around $80,000, including a $10,000 forgivable loan and up to $40,000 for college tuition, according to Zillow.
[Zillow] – Dennis Lynch