Hoping to ease restraints on conventional mortgages for certainborrowers, the $600 million Michigan First Credit Union said thisweek it is debuting the Turning Point Home Loan Program.

The product is designed to help those who may have run intoroadblocks to owning a home but still have the financial capacityto qualify for traditional mortgages, said Chris Maynard, vicepresident of lending for the CU located in the Detroit suburb ofLathrop Village. Under the program, participants “can make a lowerdown payment – typically about 10% – than conventional mortgagerequirements” with private mortgage insurance “usually waived,”said Maynard.

Loan terms – 10-, 15-, 20-year loans or a seven-year-yearballoon loan – “are flexible to fit the needs of borrowers,” saidMichigan First.

In addition, noted the CU, “the typical home buyer for this typeof loan would be someone who has the financial capacity torepay the loan but might have lost a job in the past several yearsand had their credit score drop because of it.”

That credit score might be 590 with a 12% down payment, forinstance. Under the Michigan First scenario, those “down paymentfunds aren't seasoned – moved from one account to another withoutsitting for a specified period of time,” the credit union said.

Loans made under the Turning Point plan do not fault theborrower, considering “traditional practices would deny the loan orpenalize the homeowner with a much higher interest rate,” the CUsaid.