Posted on June 14, 2017
BOSTON --- June is National Homeownership Month and MHP’s ONE Mortgage Program is celebrating it by highlighting the efforts of key lenders and nonprofit partners.
Today’s spotlight is on the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, more affectionately known as MAHA.
Homebuyer education is a key part of the ONE Mortgage Program. It helps first-time buyers understand what they can afford, and what mortgage program is the best fit for them.
In Greater Boston, there is no organization more effective, experienced and dedicated at educating and advocating for first-time homebuyers than MAHA.
Together with MHP, the state, City of Boston and lenders, MAHA helped create the ONE Mortgage Program (then called SoftSecond) back in 1990.
MAHA was part of a group that was formed to address discriminatory lending practices and provide greater opportunity for low-income and minority homebuyers in all of Boston’s neighborhoods.
The loan product MAHA helped create has stood the test of time. SoftSecond and ONE Mortgage have combined to help over 20,000 low- and moderate-income homebuyers across Massachusetts purchase their first home. The very first home buyer was the late Florence Hagins, who went on to work for MAHA as a beloved homebuyer counselor who helped hundreds of buyers purchase their first home.
“MHP and the ONE Mortgage Program couldn’t do what it does to help first-time homebuyers without the outstanding support of MAHA,” said Clark Ziegler, MHP’s executive director.
Under the leadership of Executive Director Tom Callahan and his staff, MAHA has helped MHP get more than 35 banks to offer the ONE Mortgage Program.
Based in Dorchester, MAHA has also played strong, guiding role in developing the homebuyer education curriculum which is now the cornerstone of all affordable mortgage programs like ONE Mortgage.
Recently, MAHA celebrated its 30th anniversary and the milestone of having had 25,000 graduate from its homebuyer education and post-purchase programs.
In FY 2017, 50 households that have gone through the MAHA homebuyer education classes have wound up buying their homes with ONE Mortgage. The median income of these buyers is $64,909 per year.
These days, buying a home in Massachusetts and the Greater Boston area 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 MAHA for its continuing dedication to helping low- and moderate-income first-time buyers make the right choice so they stay in their homes for the long run and build wealth that they can pass onto future generations.
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.
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.