Eagle Times Staff
Newport – Sugar River Bank is participating in a federal pilot program to make owning a home more affordable for minority first-time buyers.
Through The Lift Up Homeownership program, FHLBank Boston member banks can access grant funding to provides a down-payment and closing-cost assistance.
The program is available to customers applying for mortgages who are people of color earning up to 120% of the area median income. Buyers are eligible to receive up to $50,000 through the program. Borrowers must be first-time homebuyers purchasing a home in New England and are required to complete a homebuyer counseling program prior to receiving a grant.
FHLBank Boston defines a person of color as Black, American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic, Asian and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. Lift Up Homeownership was developed after FHLBank Boston conducted research about racial inequities in housing, including racial homeownership and wealth gaps in New England.
In a prepared statement, Sugar River Bank said, “as your hometown bank,” it is “proud to be a part of this pilot program that offers upward mobility and wealth building opportunities that help overcome homeownership barriers for people of color.”
In addition to Sugar River Bank, Mascoma Bank, Members First Credit Union of New Hampshire, Salem Co-Operative Bank and Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank, Heritage Family Federal Credit Union, National Bank of Middlebury NorthCountry Federal Credit Union, Northfield Savings Bank, Opportunities Credit Union, The Brattleboro Savings & Loan Association and Union Bank are participating in the program in New Hampshire and Vermont.
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