Lower income members of the 221,000-member State EmployeesCredit Union of Maryland will now have access to programs which canhelp them buy their first homes.

The $2.4 billion credit union has announced it is participatingin two programs offered the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta whichoffer low- and moderate-income home buyers up to $7,500 in matchingfunds they can use toward down payment and closing costs.

“The First-Time Homebuyer program is available to any SECU member in Maryland, D.C. or Virginia with a maximum incomeof less than 80% of the HUD Median Income, adjusted for familysize,” Michael Gordy, SECU's senior vice president of lending.

SECU has also partnered with the FHLB's Community Stability Program, which provides up to $7,500in matching funds for the same SECU members to purchase and/orrehabilitate an existing home. “The difference here is that themember does not have to be a first-time home buyer and the homemust be located in a ZIP code that has been targeted forstabilization funds by the state or local government,” notesGordy.

Gordy emphasizes that SECU members do not have to repay fundsprovided through either the First-Time Homebuyer Program or theCommunity Stability Program so long as they stay in the homes forat least five years.

“These programs offer just one more example why SECU offers adifferent direction and a better way for people to manage theirfinances,” according to Gordy.

SECU recently processed its first mortgage for a member who willalso receive an FHLB grant to assist with the down payment andclosing costs.