Downpayment and Closing Cost Assistance - Live Where You Work

Joe Wright reports: The new Live Where You Work Loan Program administered by the MAR Foundation offers a 0% loan, up to $5,000, to provide down payment & closing cost assistance to homebuyers relocating closer to their employment and reducing/eliminating their daily commute. Money saved due to decreased commuting expenses can be used to re-pay the short-term, no-interest Live Where You Work Program loan.

Aside from the human costs of commuting, commutesolutions.com estimates that the cost of commuting 60 miles per day adds up to $421 per month, or more than $5,000 annually, and 78% of commuters ride alone to their destination. The commuting money saved more than pays for the 0% Live Where You Work loan.

Participating lenders in this program are: Androscoggin Bank – Donna Miller 729-1661; Gorham Savings Bank – Katherine Damon 595-1457; Kennebec Savings Bank - Bill Hill 662-5801; Machias Savings Bank – Scott Whitney 800-339-3347; The First – Stephen Sprague 800-564-3195 x3178.

The initial $50,000 for this new program was granted to the Maine Association of REALTORS Foundation by the National Association of REALTORS’ Ira Gribin Workforce Housing Grants program. Maine is one of the first states in the U.S. to implement a workforce housing program using these funds. Thank you NAR!

Get all the details on the Live Where You Work Loan Program at MAR Foundation website or contact the MAR Foundation’s Executive Director Suzanne Guild suzanne@mainerealtors.com

Joe Wright is the 2010 Chairman of the MAR Foundation; and owner of L.S.Robinson Co Real Estate, Southwest Harbor