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In 2024, the Mascoma Bank mortgage lending team worked together with customers and community partners to break a record with $151,724 in grant money secured for customers’ down payments, ensuring that five first-time homebuyers in Vermont and New Hampshire could move into their new homes.
The grant programs are quite competitive, but make homeownership a possibility for New England residents, which is why Sarah Powell, Janet Costa, and Cody Dana worked hard to support their customers throughout the process.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston offers two first-time homebuyer grants: Housing Our Workforce and Equity Builder Program. Both are based on a household’s earnings vs. area median income, have strict timelines and qualifications, and require buyers, lenders, and partners to work together to be successful. Plus, customers need to be under contract with a home to be considered. It is a complex Venn diagram for buyers, lenders, and real estate agents!
In the North Country of New Hampshire, AHEAD (Affordable Housing, Education, and Development) provides additional grant resources in the Pathways to Homeownership program, partnering with the Neil & Louise Tillotson Fund. To receive grant funds through the Pathways program, buyers must live and work in an eligible community in northern New Hampshire, complete a homeownership workshop and counseling, and meet the income requirements with a home under contract.
This year, grant recipients moved into homes in Lancaster, New Hampshire, and Chester, South Newfane, Hartford, and Lyndon, Vermont. While all customers had being a first-time homebuyer in common, they also included:
- A husband and wife in their 60s who found their home after two years of hard work
- A four-person family with young kids, including a parent who helps local college students get internships and apprenticeships
- A young single mom who purchased a family member’s home to have a place of their own
- A grocery store clerk with a partner in school and a newborn who narrowly missed a previous round of grant funding
“People are working hard to save money. I get so excited when I see that there is a person who might be able to get these grant funds. I hold my breath that everything with my buyers would go as planned. This kind of impact spreads beyond one family to the communities where they work and live,” said Janet Costa, MLS #445842. One of her homebuyers had prequalified for a loan; she remembered them and sought them out to share the possibility of grant funding. Janet is based in our Littleton, New Hampshire, office and volunteers with AHEAD to provide homebuyer education.
Mortgage lenders participate in these programs voluntarily, as the time commitment is significant. Janet, Sarah, and Cody note that taking the extra steps aligns with their values, and those values are part of why they work at Mascoma Bank. “This is why I’m in this business, to put roofs over heads in my community,” shared Cody Dana, MLS #1791451. “I always caution my customers that this isn’t a magic solution because there are many factors involved, but it is truly rewarding when the process works out and I get to see someone move into their new home.” Cody is based in our Woodstock, Vermont, office and is an active member of the Windsor, Vermont, community.
Sarah Powell’s customer knew about the program through the Windham and Windsor Housing Trust; this organization offers in-person homeowner education that Sarah supports through volunteer time. “To work with my homebuyer on applying for this grant was a natural fit—I know and work with the folks at the housing trust because I want all members of my community to be able to achieve their homeownership dreams,” said Sarah, MLS #446222. Sarah is based in our Claremont office, focusing on customers in Sullivan County of New Hampshire and Windsor County of Vermont.
Congratulations to the new homeowners who purchased their first homes. The housing market in 2024 is challenging, but the Mascoma Bank mortgage team is pleased to be part of the network that can make homeownership a reality for our neighbors.
Mascoma Bank is a Member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.