Get a fix on your future! Buy more house and save thousands with the SoftSecond Loan Program, a low-interest rate, low down payment mortgage for first-time homebuyers. Unlike other mortgage products that offer variable rates, SoftSecond offers a fixed rate that will save you thousands over the life of your loan.

SoftSecond is now available in every community in Massachusetts. More than 35 lenders throughout the state offer SoftSecond through a partnership with the Department of Housing and Community Development and MHP. SoftSecond Loan has been hailed as one of Massachusetts’s most affordable mortgage programs for low- to moderate-income homebuyers.

What is the Soft Second Loan Program?

Am I eligible?

What are the income limits?

What are the asset limits?

What are the benefits?

How do I apply?

Useful links

NOTE: Glossary words are highlighted. Click on any glossary word to see its definition.

What is the Soft Second Loan Program?

The Soft Second Loan Program is a special home loan program for low and moderate-income families in Massachusetts, developed by the Massachusetts Bankers Association, the State Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP).

Soft Second loans are available throughout Massachusetts.

Am I eligible?

• You must be a first-time homebuyer or qualify for an exception.
• You must complete an approved pre-purchase homebuyer education course.
• You must complete a post-purchase HomeSafe course within 1 year of closing.
• Your income must be within the Soft Second income limits.
• Your assets must be within the Soft Second asset limits.
• You must live in the home as your primary residence for the term of the loan.
• You must pay a minimum down payment of 3% of the purchase price (half can be a gift or grant).
• You must buy a condominium, single-family, two-family, or three-family home.

What are the income limits?

Your total household income must be no greater than 100% of the area median income in your community for your household size. Homebuyers with household incomes less than 80% of the area median income are eligible for interest subsidies.

Soft Second income limits, by household size, for Boston, Worcester, and Springfield, are shown in the table below:

For income limits in other Massachusetts communities, see the SoftSecond Income Limits on the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) web site (PDF).

For more information, call the MHP at 617-330-9955 (Boston), 413-253-7379 (Amherst), or toll-free at 1-877-MHP-FUND.

What are the asset limits?

Your total household assets cannot be greater than $75,000. Assets include: savings and checking accounts, stocks and bonds, other capital investments, and real property. Retirement accounts and college savings plans are not counted.

The money to be used for the down payment and reserves is included in countable assets.

What are the benefits?

The Soft Second Loan Program helps families qualify for mortgage loans by splitting the loan amount into two parts:

1. A regular first mortgage at market interest rates for up to 77% of the purchase price. The homebuyer must pay the principal and interest on this mortgage.
2. A second subsidized mortgage for 20% of the purchase price (or $20,000, whichever is greater). This mortgage is interest-only for the first ten years.

For qualifying homebuyers, interest payments are subsidized with public funds. The amount of the subsidy depends on household income and housing expenses. The subsidy is gradually decreased each year, and the homebuyer pays full interest in the 10th year.

After ten years, the homebuyer must pay the principal and interest on this mortgage.

The remaining 3% is the down payment. Half of the 3% down payment can be a gift or grant.

Other Soft Second benefits are:

• The buyer does not have to purchase private mortgage insurance.
• The homebuyer does not have to pay “points.” Points are fees that banks usually charge homebuyers when they give them a loan. Most homebuyers pay several thousands of dollars in points.

With a low down payment, a subsidized second mortgage, and no required mortgage insurance or points, many low and moderate-income families qualify for Soft Second loans.

How do I apply?

To apply for a Soft Second loan, you should contact a participating bank in your community. Participating banks are listed on the MHP‘s web site:

• Participating Banks

To find out more about the Soft Second program, you should call the Massachusetts Housing Partnership at 617-330-9955 (Boston), 413-253-7379 (Amherst), or toll-free at 1-800-752-7131.

Useful links

These links are external links to web sites that are not part of MassResources.org. When you click on these links, you will leave our site. Click “Back” on your browser to return.

1. Homebuyer: Soft Second Loan Program
   Eligibility, benefits, and contact information for the Soft Second Loan Program, including SoftSecond Program Guidelines, from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP).

Boston Shines Community Cleanup Day, Apr. 30

For the past nine years, over 5,000 volunteers have come together for two days in the spring to participate in a citywide clean up event. This year’s community cleanup day will be Saturday, April 30th. The city provides the tools and trash bags; you provide the effort and community pride! Locations through out the Dorchester community are after the break.

April 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. : Fields Corner
Fields Corner Main Street once again will be coordinating with the Mayor’s Office to clean Fields Corner. Join FCMS (and the Dorchester House Multi-Service Center) to make the district spotless! Meet at Town Field, across from 1560 Dorchester Avenue, between 8:30 and 9 a.m. After checking in, community members will be spread out throughout the district.

April 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. : Dorchester Park
Meet at the tennis courts at 8:30 for a community clean up. Gloves, pruning shears and pruning saws along with rakes and pitch forks are all appropriate gear.

April 30 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. : Ronan Park
Join your neighbors for the annual Boston Shines Ronan Park Cleanup and Neighborhood Barbecue from 12 to 1 p.m. The Friends of Ronan Park will provide t-shirts, gloves, and tools for cleaning and beautifying the park. Each volunteer will receive a free raffle ticket for a brand new iPod shuffle! Meet at the flagpole at 9 a.m. to receive your assignment and free raffle ticket. Raffle winner will be announced at the Barbecue! For directions to Ronan Park, visit Friends of Ronan Park. You may email info@friendsofronanpark.org with questions.

April 30 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. : 81 Brent Street, Codman Square
Join residents from the Codman Square Community with BOLD Teens, Land Escapes and 81 Brent Street in greening out neighborhood! 81 Brent Street is being developed with material, energy and water efficiency, and a green landscape. Work with Land Escapes and take part in the installation of the rainwater harvesting system. Learn more about LEED certification the importance of the design, types of plants, and surfaces used.

April 30 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. : Ashmont Hill
Bring your family and neighbors for the annual Ashmont Hill neighborhood photo on April 30, before pitching in with the Neighborhood Cleanup. Meet at 42 Ocean Street at 9 a.m. sharp for the photo, and enjoy coffee & donuts! Pick up tools provided by Public Works or bring your own. The cleanup will focus on the Library lot (with friends of the Codman Square Library), the sidewalk extensions at Alban/Welles and Ashmont/Ocean/Burt, and any other locations needing attention.

April 30 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. : Dorchester Ave, St. Mark’s Area
St. Mark’s Area Main Streets is inviting all who are working with neighborhood associations to come out to Dorchester Ave when they finish their neighborhoods. They will be working on two sections of Dorchester Ave – Peabody Square, and Edwin Street to King Street. The groups will finish by noon and have hot dogs and drinks for all volunteers at Ashmont Station plaza (Peabody Square)! If anyone wants to work directly with SMAMS, they can call the office at 617-825-3846.

April 30 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. : Geneva Cliffs Urban Wild
Friend of Geneva Cliffs, Great Four Corners Action Coalition, Bowdoin-Street Health Center, Pine Street Inn and Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Service brings to you a spring clean up and after-party BBQ at Bowdoin & Geneva!

Other locations participating in Boston Shines:
Savin Hill Park
Garvey Park
Hemenway Park
King St/Adams St. Park Toohig Park
Ashmont Hill Neighborhood
Codman Square Library and surrounding area

Ashmont Station
Henderson School
Columbia Point/Harbor Point
Ashmont/Adams/Gallivan Blvd Area
Murphy School
Stone Terrace Neighborhood

For more information please contact Christopher English, Neighborhood Coordinator for Dorchester, at 617-635-3485

I recently submitted a successful offer on a foreclosure on behalf of one of my buyers and was told by the Listing agent that our offer was one of 8 total offers. It’s a very competitive market out here so it’s important that buyers understand their market.

Here are a few tips to help you with your home search:

1. Choose a Good Agent
Working with the right agent is critical to finding and securing your dream home. You need an agent who knows the market, knows property and knows how to draft an Offer that is competitive.

2. Do Your Homework
Understand what the market is doing where you are looking.
The national market is an average of all the markets, each of which may be doing something every different. It’s easy to get bad information from the news about your local real estate market.

3. Look at a Lot of Houses
Finding the right house isn’t as easy as it looks especially when it’s competitive. Sometimes you will have to look at a lot of houses before you find the right one.

4. Get Pre-Approved
Be ready to make an offer on the home you like, to make an offer you must be pre-approved.

5. Be Ready to Make an Offer
There’s an old saying, if you sleep on t tonight you may not sleep in it tomorrow night. Thinking about making an Offer may take you out of the game. Be ready to make an Offer if the house it right.

April 11, 2011

Washington, DC — Fannie Mae announced today that people purchasing a Fannie Mae-owned HomePath property will receive up to 3.5 percent in closing cost assistance. The initial offer must be submitted on or after April 11, 2011; and the sale must close on or before June 30, 2011 to be eligible for the incentive. Additionally, buyers must reside in the home as their primary residence (sales to investors are excluded).

“Attracting qualified buyers to the market and reducing the inventory of vacant homes remains essential to stabilizing neighborhoods and helping the market recover,” said Terry Edwards, Executive Vice President of Credit Portfolio Management. “Since interest rates remain low, the incentive will go a long way toward helping even more families buy a new home so this is a great time for Fannie Mae to offer some assistance.”

All Fannie Mae-owned HomePath properties are listed on HomePath.com and most listings include detailed property descriptions, photographs, community and school information, and more. In addition, many Fannie Mae-owned properties are eligible for special HomePath Mortgage and HomePath Renovation Mortgage financing, which offers homebuyers an opportunity to purchase with as little as 3 percent down.

HUD really wants to be in the business of increasing the numbers of home owners and providing opportunities for Americans. They don’t have a use for an escalating quantity of foreclosed properties. It’s in the best interest of the organization and the American economy that they find new owners for these homes and continue to feed the economy through sound financial practices. If you have done your homework and are confident that you really can afford to own your own home, you are in a great position to take advantage of these market conditions and find the right home for you personally in Virginia at a cost you can afford. Using the Alex Nova Team and the power of Re/Max, the #1 real estate agency worldwide, you’ll find a great new home to call your own and get in on this strong buyer’s market while helping the nation while it strives toward economic recovery. For those who have always wanted to own a home and also have been waiting for the right opportunity, now is the time to get started.

What I love more is that they had a hard time Selling it but decided to Stage it to add context to the space. Staging is a must in certain circumstances this being on of them.

More Pictures…

This really seems like a great opportunity for the many families adversely affected by the terrible job market. I hope the it’s implementation will be swift, thorough and without bureaucratic red tape.

By August 1, all mortgage services participating in the Making Home Affordable Program will offer extra help for homeowners struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments because of unemployment. The Unemployment Program will offer homeowners a forbearance period to temporarily reduce or suspend their monthly mortgage payments while they seek re-employment.

The minimum forbearance period is three months, although a mortgage servicer may extend it depending on the investor and regulator guidelines. If a homeowner becomes re-employed in that time, the forbearance period will end and the homeowner will be evaluated for a mortgage modification under the Making Home Affordable Program. Unemployment benefits will no longer qualify as income for the mortgage modification program.

During the forbearance period, a homeowner’s monthly mortgage payment must be reduced to no more than 31 percent (or less) of their gross monthly income. The servicer can decide to temporarily suspend payments in full. The payment amount and due dates will be decided by the servicer depending on investor and regulator guidelines.

More…

“In September of 2008, the City of Boston was allocated to receive $4.23 million in federal funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), which Congress approved last July with the passage of the “Economic and Housing Recovery Act of 2008.” In the spring of 2009, Boston applied for and received a matching grant of approximately $4 million from the state’s $43 million” More…