BOSTON
- Monday, June 15, 2020 - Building on his commitment to increasing
homeownership in Boston, Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced a new
mortgage and down payment program, ONE+Boston,
which gives income-qualified first-time Boston homebuyers greater ability
to purchase a home in Boston by combining a discount on a low-interest rate
mortgage product with down payment assistance. The ONE+Boston program is
the City's first affordable mortgage program to be created specifically for
low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers, and the first to be
developed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the last 30 years.
"The
ONE+Boston program is a great new resource that will help make the dream of
owning a home a reality for more residents," said Mayor Walsh.
"Creating pathways to homeownership means giving people the
opportunity for equity and wealth building for themselves and their family.
One of the most important ways to close the wealth gap is by providing the
ability for wealth to be passed on from generation to generation, and
homeownership is a key part of that."
The
ONE+Boston program was designed to supplement one of the state's existing
affordable mortgage programs (the ONE Mortgage) by providing qualified
buyers, based on area median income, additional discounts on interest
rates. With the new ONE+Boston program, qualified Boston residents who earn
between 80% and 100% area median income will receive a half percent (0.5%)
discount rate off the already low-interest rate offered through the ONE
Mortgage product (currently about 3%). In addition, Boston residents who
earn below 80% of area median income will receive up to one percent (1%)
off of the current ONE Mortgage rate. Qualified buyers will also be
eligible for downpayment and closing cost assistance through the Boston
Home Center.
For
example, a family of four making 100% of area median income of $119,000,
could afford a $410,000 single-family house in Boston with a conventional
loan. With the ONE+Boston program, the same family could afford a $539,000
single-family house in Boston.
The
ONE+Boston Program is an enhancement of the ONE mortgage program and the
City of Boston's first time homebuyer downpayment assistance program. The
City of Boston, through the Boston Home Center, has provided downpayment
assistance to over 700 homebuyers since 2014, 70 percent of whom are people
of color. Administered by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP), the
ONE Mortgage program is offered by lenders across Massachusetts to
first-time buyers earning at or below 100 percent of area median income.
Created in 1990, the ONE Mortgage program has financed over 5,800 loans in
Boston, 57 percent of which were for people of color.
"Thanks
to the City of Boston's commitment, ONE+Boston will expand our ability to
help moderate-income households and people of color," said Elliot
Schmiedl, MHP's homeownership director. "We've always had great
support from the Baker-Polito Administration and we're thrilled to partner
with Mayor Walsh and the Boston Home Center to help more people build
wealth through homeownership in Boston."
Increasing
homeownership opportunities, particularly for low- and moderate-income
residents, people of color, immigrants and first-generation homebuyers, is
one of Mayor Walsh's top housing priorities, as reflected in his Housing
A Changing City: Boston 2030 Plan. This new program was developed by
Mayor Walsh's Barriers to Homeownership Working Group, which is comprised
of representatives from varying housing groups, including business,
realtors, local lends, and advocacy groups such as the Massachusetts
Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA) and the Greater Boston Interfaith
Organization (GBIO).
"Thousands
of Boston families, including mine, have benefited from the ONE program,
which was originally developed 30 years ago to address racial disparities
in lending," said Symone Crawford, Director of Homeownership Education
for MAHA. "Today, we are excited to build on that program and launch
ONE+Boston with Mayor Walsh, MHP, and participating banks which will help
Boston residents buy in Boston and will help us make progress in closing
the racial homeownership gap. Some of the 1,000 plus residents who attended
the MAHA event last summer with the Mayor will hopefully be among the first
to buy a home with this new program."
Four
lenders are offering the ONE+Boston product and were instrumental in the
development of the program: Boston Private Bank, Cambridge Trust, Citizens,
and Santander banks. Boston Private and Santander are currently offering
the ONE+Mortgage product; Cambridge Trust will join on July 1st and
Citizens later this summer. For homebuyers interested in the new program,
please visit the Boston Home Center's page here or
MHP's webpage here for
more information.
The
ONE+Boston program is made possible thanks to $7.8 million in Community
Preservation funds supported by Mayor Walsh and the Community Preservation
Committee. In his proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budget, Mayor Walsh is
recommending an additional $1 million to support the program so that more
potential homebuyers will have the opportunity to take advantage of the
program when buying a home.
The
ONE+Boston program is one of several city resources available to first time
homebuyers in Boston. Through the Boston Home Center, the City's one-stop
shop for homebuyers and homeowners, residents are able to receive
assistance in purchasing, improving and keeping their home through a suite
of resources including training, financial help and counseling to
first-time homebuyers, guidance and funding for homeowners for home
improvements, and counseling to help families avoid foreclosure.The Home
Center also markets homes developed for income-eligible, first-time
homebuyers.
For
more information about how to apply for the ONE+Boston program, please
visit here.
|
沒有留言:
發佈留言