Iraq vet wins state's first Home for the Brave loan
An Army sergeant who has logged three tours of duty in Iraq is the first person to receive a loan through the state's new "A Home for the Brave" mortgage program, MassHousing said today.
MassHousing, the state's affordable housing bank, played a role in developing the program unveiled last month by Governor Deval L. Patrick.
Among other benefits, the program provides loans with discounted interest rates to veterans of the US Armed Forces who live in Massachusetts.
The program's first loan went to Sgt. Joshua Brett and his wife, Tracy, who will use the money to purchase their first home, MassHousing said; the home is in Freetown, where Tracy Brett and the couple's two children had been living with her parents.
Joshua Brett is scheduled to be honorably discharged from the Army in January, and "the couple had difficulty finding a conventional mortgage because it looked to lenders like he did not have steady employment," MassHousing said.
Supplied by MassHousing, the photo above shows, from left, real estate agent Dawn Devlin; Joshua Brett; his wife, Tracy Brett. To the couple's right is Peter Muise, president and chief executive of First Citizens' Federal Credit Union, which originated the loan; and attorney Joseph Michaud, MassHousing said.
In order to fund the loan program, MassHousing said it sought lending commitments from Massachusetts banks and credit unions. More than 50 lending institutions have so far committed approximately $216 million in private funding. No taxpayer funds or MassHousing bond funds will be used for the program, MassHousing said.
"Brave men and women from Massachusetts are serving their country overseas to fight for our freedom and to protect our way of life," Patrick said in a statement. "They deserve every opportunity to live the American Dream, and this program will help deserving veterans do just that."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
