Happy Halloween Eve!

Not sure if you’re personally concerned about eating through your Halloween candy before tossing it out the door to socially distanced mini witches, ghosts, and goblins, but the treats keep calling to us around here!

We are excited to announce we’ve received a $500,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Helping to House New England program! This funding will help us provide $3,500 in down payment and closing cost assistance to first time homebuyers through our First Home Loan Advantage program. Thank you Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston!

We’ve had a great response to our Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) applications and Housing Trust Fund (HTF) pre-applications. We have 15 LIHTC applications for 704 units (657 of them affordable) and 8 HTF pre-applications for 66 units. LIHTC scoring is underway. The HTF pre-applications have been reviewed for site suitability, and full applications are due in December. We are looking forward to next steps for each in the coming months.

We continue to work on a number of COVID response programs, including contracting with  hotels and support services to provide shelter for those who need to quarantine or isolate due to COVID-19. We are grateful to work alongside such great state and municipal partners who are working hard every day to keep Mainers safe in the pandemic.

As always if you have questions or comments about our work, please let us know! We’re happy to hear how we can improve and if you think you’ll have some extra Halloween candy come Monday.  
Happy Halloween!
The MaineHousing Team

We Won!
This week, MaineHousing was recognized with the Special Event Marketing award by the National Council of State Housing Agencies for initiatives that effectively address affordable housing challenges. 

The award recognized our 50th anniversary events, which included a partnership with UMaine Augusta’s architecture program, an art project with Maine Head Start students on what home means to them, a book looking back on our accomplishments over the last 50 years, and a smash success affordable housing conference that drew over 500 people to Augusta. You can find our entry with details about each event here. 
Stephen B. Mooers Village Ribbon Cutting
This month, MaineHousing Director Dan Brennan attended the ribbon cutting of Penquis Housing Development’s Stephen B. Mooers Village. The village will provide 39 safe and affordable apartments to people 55 and over in Bangor.
Stephen B. Mooers was known for his passion to create affordable housing and for his ability to bring people together in friendship and in partnership to achieve that goal. We’re honored to finance such a great housing community and to help Penquis continue the work of Stephen
57 Chestnut Street: "Perfect for me."
This month, Bath Housing welcomed Julie to her new home on Chestnut Street in Bath. As Bath Housing noted in their Facebook post: “It took a village to make this happen -- the project was a partnership between Bath Regional Career and Technical Center, Rotary Club of Bath Maine, USA, and Bath Housing Development Corporation, with a land acquisition grant from MaineHousing and a whole lot of finish work from Vaillancourt Builders.” 

Julie has made the Midcoast her home since 1979 and has rented in Bath for 10 years. She’s excited to have a home to retire in that doesn’t need work and is easy to care for. She said, "It's perfect for me! To be able to find a home that meets my needs and is affordable is amazing."

Welcome home, Julie! Thank you Bath Housing for your leadership and to all the partners who made it happen!

Brrrr..!
Did you know that today is Weatherization Day?

In addition to saving low-income families an average of $514 a year, our Weatherization Assistance Program helps save energy and makes homes safer too. There are a few things you can do to help weatherize your own home – and you don’t need to know how to install insulation!

    - Install weather stripping on exterior doors to stop cold air from leaking in and nipping your toes.

    - Use a door sweep to stop drafts from entering your home under an exterior door.

    - Close the damper on cooled fireplaces to keep prevent the heat from escaping up the chimney.

    - Install a programmable thermostat.

    - Set the temperature and leave it (set it and forget it!).

    - Replace furnace filters regularly (more if you have pets).

    - Close your curtains, drapes, and shades at night and when you’re away to conserve heat.

MaineHousing is Hiring!
MaineHousing is hiring for a few different positions:
  • Director of Government Relations, Director's Office
  • Homeless Initiatives Program Manager, Homeless Initiatives
  • Financial Officer II, Asset Management
Find links to more information about each position here!
MaineHousing's Board of Commissioners will meet on November 17, 2020 at 9 am via teleconference. For more information about how to listen in on the meeting, please contact us.
MaineHousing Homeownership:
As of October 15, 2020:

Purchases: 759
The total value of the loans purchased so far in 2020 is $110,884,492.

There are 339 units in the pipeline at $49,027,272 in value.

HEAP (as of 10/30/2020):
Total applications: 17,023
Pending: 9,634
Confirmed eligible: 6,148
Find out more information about the program here - and forward to your networks and people who may need help!

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