MassHousing — a $2,500 Closing Credit, and Cover If You Lose Your Job
MassHousing lends to veterans, active-duty members, Guard and Reserve members and Gold Star families buying in Massachusetts, through its lender partners. A $2,500 closing-cost credit applies, down payment assistance runs up to $30,000, and MIPlus pays part of the mortgage for a period if the borrower loses their job. That last piece is the one that has no equivalent in a VA loan, so this is worth pricing alongside a VA loan rather than instead of it — and the two can sometimes be combined, since the down payment assistance is a second mortgage.
Verified August 27, 2026
What this benefit is
MassHousing lends to veterans, active-duty members, Guard and Reserve members and Gold Star families buying in Massachusetts, through its lender partners. A $2,500 closing-cost credit applies, down payment assistance runs up to $30,000, and MIPlus pays part of the mortgage for a period if the borrower loses their job. That last piece is the one that has no equivalent in a VA loan, so this is worth pricing alongside a VA loan rather than instead of it — and the two can sometimes be combined, since the down payment assistance is a second mortgage.
What it's worth: $2,500 closing-cost credit, with down payment help up to $30,000
- The $2,500 closing-cost credit is the figure MassHousing currently publishes.
- Down payment assistance is up to $30,000, structured as a second mortgage.
- MIPlus pays part of the monthly mortgage for a period if the borrower loses their job — a VA loan has no equivalent.
- Income and purchase price limits apply and vary by city and town. Check yours before assuming eligibility.
- Loans are made through MassHousing lender partners, not by MassHousing directly.
- Historic Operation Welcome Home terms, including 97% financing, are no longer the current offer. Price the programme as it stands today.
- The record is not veteran-specific: MassHousing lends to others as well, and the veteran terms sit on top.
Who is entitled to it
- You are in one of the groups the programme reaches.
- You are buying or refinancing a home.
- The home is in Massachusetts.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
- 1Find a MassHousing participating lender. MassHousing does not lend directly.
- 2Check the income and purchase price limits for the city or town you are buying in — they differ across the state.
- 3Ask the lender to quote this against a VA loan side by side, including the funding fee, the closing credit and MIPlus.
- 4Ask whether the down payment assistance second mortgage can sit behind a VA first mortgage, if you want both.
- 5Ask specifically about MIPlus and how long it pays. It is the reason to consider this over a VA loan, so get the term in writing.
- Form
- Application through a MassHousing lender partner
- File with
- A MassHousing lender partner
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- No renewal
- Once granted it does not need renewing.
Sources
- authority · published policyMassHousing — homebuyer loans
- operating · published policyExecutive Office of Housing and Livable Communities — state housing programmes
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.