• Meet the income limits. Income limits vary depending on the type of MassHousing loan you obtain and where you purchase. Some loans have maximum income limits based on household size. Others are based on the income of the borrower(s). One of our Loan officers will work with you to determine what program is right for you and that way help you own your first home.
• Meet the minimum credit score requirements.
• Complete a certified first-time homebuyer class if you are a first-time buyer. Complete a pre-purchase multi family landlord training course, if you are purchasing a multi-family home (i.e. 2- 3- or 4-family property)
• Agree to live in the property as your primary residence. 
• Meet other underwriting criteria such as debt-to-income ratios and ability to repay debt. Call us, we will work with you to determine what program is right for you

Product Features

• Earn up to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) – Income Certification required by MassHousing for Total Household Income
• Purchase a single-family home, condominium, or two-family property in Massachusetts

Workforce Advantage includes:

• An affordable, fixed rate MassHousing Mortgage
• A 0% interest rate down payment assistance loan (0% annual percentage rate), on which payment is completely deferred until the earliest of: sale or transfer or your home, payoff or refinance of your first mortgage, OR maturity of the first mortgage, at which time the balance is due in full
• Mortgage Insurance with MI Plus job loss protection, paid by MassHousing

Expanded down payment assistance (DPA) gives Workforce Advantage borrowers more buying power!

• In the City of Boston (including neighborhoods), the 26 Gateway Cities*, Framingham and Randolph, DPA is the lesser of 10% of a home’s purchase price or $50,000
• In the remainder of the Commonwealth, DPA is the lesser of 10% of a home’s purchase price or $30,000

*The Gateway Cities are Attleboro, Barnstable, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Peabody, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Springfield, Taunton, Westfield, and Worcester.

Product Features

• Down payment assistance equal to 5% of the purchase price and applicable closing cost assistance as needed
  • Households earning less than 100% area median income (AMI) are eligible for a maximum of $50,000
  • Households earning between 101% and 135% of area median income (AMI) are eligible for a maximum of $35,000
• Assistance is structured as a grant

Eligibility

To qualify for MassDREAMS, buyers must:

• Be a first-time homebuyer
• Currently reside in one of these 29 communities within Massachusetts
• Meet the income guidelines for the MHP ONE Mortgage or MassHousing first mortgage product that you intend to use
• Use the property as their primary residence 
• Complete an approved homebuyer education course
• Use an MHP or MassHousing first-mortgage product