Patrick-Murray administration announces home loan program for Massachusetts veteransMortgagePress.comHome for the Brave, Patrick-Murray Administration, veterans, Massachusetts, Fannie Mae, MassHousing
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray
have announced "Home for the Brave," a new mortgage program that
will offer safe, affordable home loans for Massachusetts veterans.
The program will include mortgage insurance that will pay a
veteran's monthly mortgage payment for up to six months in the
event he or she becomes unemployed or is deployed on active duty.
Closing cost assistance will be provided through a grant by Fannie
Mae.
"Brave men and women from Massachusetts are serving their
country overseas to fight for our freedom and to protect our way of
life," said Gov. Patrick. "They deserve every opportunity to live
the American Dream, and this program will help deserving veterans
do just that."
"For all the sacrifices they make on our behalf, it is critical
that we do everything we can to help Massachusetts' veterans reach
the dream of home ownership," said Lt. Gov. Murray, who chairs the
Governor's Advisory Committee on Veterans Services. "The Home for
the Brave mortgage shows our appreciation to our veterans while
also providing them with the peace of mind of knowing they will
have assistance if they are redeployed."
The "Home for the Brave" program was developed by MassHousing,
the state's affordable housing bank, in consultation with the
Veterans Housing Sub-Committee of the Governor's Advisory Committee
on Veterans Services.
Veterans will have access to a low- or no-down payment mortgages
from participating banks and credit unions. So far 42 lending
institutions have committed $187 million in private funding to the
program. Fannie Mae has provided a $300,000 grant to assist with
closing costs for the first 200 veterans who take advantage of the
program.
The "Home for the Brave" program mortgage offers qualified
veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces living in Massachusetts:
• 100-percent financing with no down payment required for
single-family homes or condominiums, 97-percent financing for two,
three and four-family properties. Discounted interest rates fixed
for a minimum of 10 years.
• Loans come with MassHousing's MI Plus mortgage
insurance, which will pay the principal and interest on a veterans
mortgage for up to six months in the event of a job loss or
deployment.
• Disabled veterans can access funds from the U.S.
Veterans Administration for accessibility upgrades to their
homes.
• Borrowers can earn up to 135 percent of the median
income for the city or town in which they are purchasing a home.
Income limits vary, but may be as high as $111,240.
• MassHousing will also insure veterans loans with its MI
Plus mortgage insurance, which will allow veterans to receive
100-percent financing with no down payment for single-family homes
and condominiums. MI Plus will also pay the principal and interest
on a veterans mortgage for up to six months in the event of a job
loss or deployment.
To be eligible for a Home for the Brave mortgage, one must be a
veteran as defined under M.G.L. c. 4, sec. 7, cl. 43rd as amended
by the Acts of 2005, ch. 130. Borrowers must also have good credit
and meet other underwriting standards. There are an estimated
400,000 veterans in Massachusetts, according to the Department of
Veterans Services.
"Taking the burden of worry from the shoulders of the service
men and women who are serving this great nation of ours is the
right thing to do. We've read about military families losing their
homes because they can't make their mortgage payments. This program
will lessen the chance that it will happen here in Massachusetts.
We welcome the Home for the Brave mortgage program as another state
benefit in this great Commonwealth," said Secretary Tom Kelley of
the Department of Veterans' Services.
The MassHousing-approved lenders participating in the "Home for
the Brave" program are:
Avidia Bank
Bank of Canton
BankFive of Fall River
BayStateSavings
Bank Belmont Savings Bank
Cape Ann Savings Bank
Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank
Chicopee Savings Bank
Community Bank
Country Bank for Savings
Crescent Credit Union
Danvers Bank
Dedham Savings Bank
East Boston Savings Bank
Fall River Five Cents Savings Bank
Fidelity Cooperative Bank
First Citizens Federal Credit Union
Greenfield Cooperative Bank
Greylock Federal Credit Union
Haverhill Bank
Hoosiac Bank
Meetinghouse Cooperative Bank
Metropolitan Credit Union
Middlesex Savings Bank
Milford National Bank
MilfordFederal
Monson Savings Bank
Mt. Washington Bank
North Easton Savings Bank
Norwood Cooperative Bank
Peoples Bank of Holyoke
Randolph Savings Bank
Rollstone Bank and Trust
Saugus Bank
Scituate Federal Savings Bank
South Shore Bank
St. Mary's Credit Union
Stoneham Bank
Watertown Savings Bank
Webster Five Cents Saving Bank
Weymouth Bank
Winter Hill Federal Savings Bank
"Our veterans are the backbone of our state and our nation,"
said MassHousing Executive Director Thomas R. Gleason. "We commend
Governor Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Murray for their
dedication in creating quality affordable housing for our veterans
and commend the numerous lending institutions that immediately
stepped forward to commit their private funding to make this very
important program a reality for the hundreds of thousands of
Massachusetts men and women who have served on our behalf."
For more information, visit www.masshousing.com.
