Over the next several months, the --> --> --> (OHFA) will begin implementation of the Grants for Grads program, designed to help keep Ohio's college graduates from leaving the state.

Introduced by Senator Stephen Buehrer (R-Fremont) and included in this year's biennial budget bill, Grants for Grads will provide graduates with down payment and closing cost assistance in exchange for their promise to remain in Ohio for at least five years.

Graduates receiving any kind of degree are eligible and must obtain a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage through OHFA's First-Time Homebuyer Program within 18 months of graduating.

A recent Thomas B. Fordham Institute study of 800 students at seven Ohio colleges found that 51 percent of native Ohioans plan to leave the state after graduation, and 79 percent of non-natives said that they plan on leaving.

Tax incentives and mortgage assistance were cited by students as one of the best ways to get them to remain in the state.

Ohio ranks 38th nationally in the number of residents with college degrees – just 24 percent have bachelor's degrees, compared to the national average of 27.5 percent.

Image courtesy of Independent Icelandic News.

Previous reading on BC:
Two Cincinnati projects win federal tax credits (7/7/09)
Cincinnati supports tax credits for Evanston rental project (3/18/09)
$10.2M St. Leger Place rental project seeks tax credits (3/10/09)
Affordable housing projects win federal tax credits (8/9/07)
Model Property Development seeking federal funds for fourteen-building rehab (7/3/07)