First-time homebuyer assistance in Boston expands up to $40,000, Kim Janey announces

First-time homebuyers in Boston can get a boost in assistance of up to $40,000 in down payment and closing costs, a significant increase compared to previous funding, Acting Mayor Kim Janey announced.

She added Thursday that comes along with an executive order that will guarantee city contractors state prevailing wages.

“Homeownership provides economic stability and a chance for working families to build wealth that can be passed from generation to generation,” Janey said in a statement. “Increasing opportunities for Boston families to buy their own homes is essential to closing the racial wealth gap in our city.”

Janey said she used an assistance program to buy her own home, adding, “I know how important home ownership is to maintaining economic stability and breaking the cycle of poverty. Owning a home is part of the American dream.”

The expansion of the first-time homebuyer program will help income-eligible buyers, who will also be informed earlier in the process about the amount of financing they can get from the Department of Neighborhood Development’s Boston Home Center.

Condominiums and one-, two- and three-family properties are eligible for assistance. In the past, the average financial assistance awarded to a first-time homebuyer had been about $10,000, according to Janey.

In a separate measure, Janey announced an executive order that guarantees city contractors will earn state prevailing wages of $14.85 to $20 per hour, with an additional $6.26 to $6.70 in health and pension benefits.

The order will go into effect for cleaning and security services out to bid after July 1.

“This executive order recognizes the importance of family-sustaining wages and benefits as well as maintaining high quality services in our public buildings,” Janey said. “The City of Boston is setting a standard for other employers to follow that supports the well-being of Boston’s working families and promotes a more equitable recovery for our economy.”

The order targets city contractors, but Janey said she will extend the prevailing wages to city of Boston employees via collective bargaining.

“When workers can earn enough to save, they can save enough to buy a home, building inter-generational wealth,” Janey said at a Thursday press conference.

She added, “These new steps to strengthen wages and expand the path to homeownership help ensure the equitable recovery for our residents from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3g8Ze26