MHP News

BOSTON, Feb. 27, 2009 --- Beginning April 1, 2009, a new enhanced version of SoftSecond can be used by qualified homebuyers looking to purchase foreclosed condominiums, single-family, two-family and three-family homes in neighborhoods hardest-hit by foreclosure. 

SoftSecond has and can always be used to buy a foreclosed property anywhere in Massachusetts. This new enhanced version waives SoftSecond’s first-time homebuyer requirement and raises the household income limit to under 120 percent of area median in designated census tracts in 39 communities that are eligible for federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funding.

In addition, designated neighborhoods in 17 of the 39 communities are also eligible for NSP rehabilitation grants when the homebuyer purchases a foreclosed property with a SoftSecond loan.  Grant awards will range from up to $20,000 for single-family homes and up to $40,000 for two- and three-family homes in neighborhoods that are eligible for NSP rehabilitation grants.

The 17 communities eligible for enhanced SoftSecond and NSP rehabilitation grants are: Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Revere, Somerville, Springfield and Worcester. Eligibility was determined based on census block neighborhood groups in which the poverty level is above the state average and where owner occupancy rates are below the state average.

The 22 communities with NSP-eligible census tracts that can use enhanced SoftSecond are: Attleborough, Barnstable, Billerica, Dracut, Everett, Falmouth, Framingham, Marlborough, Marshfield, Methuen, Milford, Peabody, Plymouth, Quincy, Randolph, Salem, Saugus, Stoughton, Taunton, Wareham, Weymouth and Yarmouth.

Enhancing SoftSecond and combining it with federal NSP rehabilitation grants in especially hard-hit neighborhoods is part of the Patrick Administration's comprehensive foreclosure initiative to assist homeowners and stabilize neighborhoods across the Commonwealth. SoftSecond can also be used in combination with any rehabilitation financing offered by lenders.

MHP has posted materials on its web site that explains the SoftSecond enhancement and where it can be used in more detail.   For more information, email MHP.