Leominster Credit Union will distribute a $110,000 grant to low-income homebuyers in Massachusetts who are buying a home for the first time or are a displaced homemaker.
Eligible homebuyers can receive up to $11,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance. The awards will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis to first-time buyers and homemakers who have had to return to the workforce because of the loss of economic support from a spouse.
“For many first time buyers, this assistance can mean the difference of fulfilling their dream of homeownership,” said Julie Bergstrand, real estate underwriting manager for the credit union, which is based in Leominster, Mass., about 43 miles west of Boston.
This is the fourth year in a row that Leominster ($642.6 million in assets, 53,037 members) has participated in the Equity Builder Program of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, a wholesale bank cooperatively owned by more than 440 New England credit unions and other financial institutions.
Since 2003, the Equity Builder Program has awarded more than $32 million in funds assisting 2,867 income-eligible households throughout New England to purchase a home. Households must have incomes at or below 80% of the area median income.
“The maximum income limit for a family of four in Worcester is $68,000, which is less restrictive than many would expect,” Bergstrand said.
