Mission-driven Nonprofits Like BlueHub SUN Can Continue to Offer Innovative Foreclosure Relief to Families Facing Imminent Danger of Losing Their Homes
Governor Maura Healey today approved vital legislation that will allow for mission-driven nonprofit programs like BlueHub SUN to continue to help families facing imminent danger of losing their homes. The provision, An Act protecting homeowners from unnecessary foreclosures, was included as part of the Mass Leads Act, economic development legislation that was passed by the House and Senate last week and signed by Governor Healey today.
“The passage of this new law will mean that families in Massachusetts facing foreclosure will continue to have the chance of saving their homes and building long term equity and generational wealth,” said Elyse Cherry, CEO of BlueHub Capital. “We appreciate the Governor’s support and the hard work of the legislative sponsors that resulted in its inclusion in the final version of the economic development legislation. Thanks to this new law, BlueHub SUN can continue its work helping our neighbors retain and regain homeownership.”
“I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to Governor Healey for approving this critical initiative for families like mine that find themselves in the grips of foreclosure,” said Rose Webster-Smith, Director at Springfield No One Leaves, a housing advocate and a BlueHub SUN client. “I could not have saved my home without the team at BlueHub SUN. I’m thrilled that because of this legislation I will be able to continue to refer homeowners to SUN - a reputable, mission-driven mortgage lender that completely understands the difficulties families face during foreclosure.”
About BlueHub SUN
BlueHub SUN, an affiliate of BlueHub Capital, refinances or buys homes in foreclosure and sells them back to their original homeowners with mortgages they can afford. Homeowners in foreclosure have a near impossible time getting a new mortgage because they are seen as risky borrowers by traditional lenders. BlueHub SUN offers this service to eligible homeowners, despite the huge financial risk, because it is a mission-based lender.
BlueHub SUN homeowners are significantly better off through their participation in the program. First, they get to keep the home they would have otherwise lost to foreclosure. Second, they now have more equity than their neighbors who did not participate in the SUN program. Those neighbors, if they were able to keep their homes by taking on second jobs or other means, have much less equity today than SUN homeowners.
More than 400 families—42% of SUN clients—have successfully exited the program with an average of $150,000 in home equity. Almost all of those 400 families had zero or negative equity in their homes when they entered the SUN program. At a time when affordable housing is scarce, homeownership retention should be paramount. In Massachusetts alone, BlueHub SUN has provided 558 loans to families across the state, enabling them to stay in their homes, with a concentration of borrowers in Boston, Brockton, Lynn and Springfield. On average, Massachusetts SUN homeowners save $734 per month on their mortgage payment (about 30%) and their mortgage principals are reduced by an average of $91,000, or 31%.
Overall, BlueHub SUN has put more than $65 million in home equity back into homeowners' pockets, $45 million in Massachusetts alone. That personal wealth would have otherwise been lost to foreclosure.
BlueHub Capital is a Roxbury-based nonprofit with a four-decade record of helping make neighborhoods healthier and more resilient by financing the construction of affordable housing, health centers, and other community assets; by boosting climate resiliency efforts; and by preventing foreclosures and evictions. BlueHub operates in 42 states and Washington, DC. BlueHub has invested over $3 billion in projects from Boston to Los Angeles and leveraged over $15 billion in public and private investment.
About BlueHub Capital
BlueHub Capital is a mission-driven, nonprofit community development finance organization focused on building healthy communities where low-income people live and work. BlueHub uses innovative financial tools to support projects that make communities more vibrant places to live through four distinct programs: BlueHub Loan Fund (community development financing), BlueHub SUN (foreclosure relief), BlueHub Energy (clean energy access) and One Percent for America (citizenship financing).