Posted on June 15, 2017
BOSTON --- June is National Homeownership Month and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership’s ONE Mortgage Program is celebrating it by highlighting the efforts of key lenders and nonprofit partners. Today’s lender spotlight is on Eastern Bank.
So far in FY2017, Eastern has made 47 ONE Mortgage loans and provided over $11.5 million in financing to first-time homebuyers. Eastern is the No. 4 ONE lender in the state. More impressive, the median household income of families buying homes with a ONE Mortgage from Eastern Bank is $54,473.
Eastern Bank has been a longtime support of the ONE Mortgage Program. To understand how Eastern has used ONE to help families, read the 2014 MHP annual report essay on how Eastern helped Marco and Edulia Soto buy their first time and how this also helped the City of Revere turn a problem property into owner-occupied housing that helped strengthen the neighborhood.
These days, buying a home in Massachusetts isn’t easy. Statewide, inventory is down 34 percent, prices are up 6 percent and sales are down 3.5 percent.
In this market, ONE Mortgage is more important than ever and we thank Eastern Bank for its continuing commitment to helping low- and moderate-income Massachusetts first-time homebuyers through the ONE Mortgage Program.
ABOUT ONE MORTGAGE: Prosperous families. Stable and secure neighborhoods. Sound, private-sector loans that get repaid. That’s what ONE Mortgage delivers.
Since 1990, ONE Mortgage and its predecessor – the SoftSecond Loan Program – have helped more than 20,000 low- and moderate-income families purchase their first and home and has delivered $3.5 billion in below-market, private mortgage financing.
ONE Mortgage is a 30-year, fixed-rate loan with a minimum 3 percent down payment (5 percent for three-family properties). ONE homebuyers save more each month because they do not have to pay for costly private mortgage insurance. Thirty-eight lenders now offer the program.
State interest subsidies are used to reduce monthly payments in the early years of homeownership and then public funds are repaid by borrowers when they successfully sell their home or refinance out of the program.
For more information about ONE Mortgage, go to www.mhp.net/onemortgage.