SaluteME & Salute Home Again
To show our appreciation for the commitment and sacrifices made by Maine’s veterans, MaineHousing is proud to offer qualified active duty, veterans, and retired military personnel a 0.50% discount to our already low First Home Loan 30-year fixed interest rate.
If you are not a first-time homebuyer, you may be eligible. MaineHousing is waiving the first-time homebuyer requirement for veterans who may have previously owned a home. We call it the Salute Home Again program.
Details
Mortgage loans are available with little or no down payment.
Household income and home purchase price limits apply; however most Maine households and homes are eligible for the program. Limits can vary depending on how many people live in your household and where the home you plan to buy is located.
Most types of homes qualify for a MaineHousing mortgage, including:
- New and existing single family homes.
- Owner-occupied, 2- to 4-unit apartment buildings.
- Condominiums
- Permanently attached mobile homes built within the last 20 years and located on owned or leased land.
A Salute ME or Salute Home Again mortgage cannot be used to refinance a home you already own.
Salute ME can be combined with all MaineHousing insurers:
- Federal Housing Authority (FHA)
- Rural Development (RD)
- Veteran’s Administration (VA)
- Mobile Home Self Insured (MHSI)
- Uninsured (Conventional 20% DP)
- United Guaranty Corp. (UG Pilot)* (*Limited to First-Time Homebuyers only.)
Salute Home Again can be combined with all insurers except for the United Guaranty Pilot.
Mortgage Options
- Advantage - down payment and closing cost assistance - can provide $5,000 toward the cash needed for closing. Applicants choosing Advantage must take a hoMEworks-approved homebuyer education class prior to closing and must make a minimum borrower contribution of 1% of the loan. The cost of the homebuyer education class will count toward the 1%.
- Purchase Plus Improvement - home improvements included in your loan amount - finances the purchase and repair of a home with one loan/one closing. If you are eligible, you may include between $500 and $35,000 for home improvements in your mortgage, as long as the cost of the home plus improvements does not exceed program purchase price limits.
- MaineHOPE – HomeOwnership Protection for unEmployment - all MaineHousingmortgages also come with payment protection for unemployment. If you are a MaineHousing borrower in good standing and become involuntarily unemployed,we may be able to help by making four mortgage payments, including taxes and homeowners insurance. The amount paid becomes a junior mortgage lien, with no interest, that is repaid when you sell the home, pay off your MaineHousing mortgage or stop using the home as your primary residence.
You may be eligible if you:
- Remain on active duty or have been honorably discharged from military service, or
- Served on active duty for 180 days or within a war zone. (National Guard members who meet this qualification are eligible.)