Bank of America announces new loan options for first-time homebuyers in Black and Hispanic communities nationwide

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August 31, 2022

By Rob Wile, NBC News

Residents in selected Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles and Miami neighborhoods will be offered the program first.

Bank of America is offering new perks to first-timers who buy in majority Black and Latino neighborhoods (Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels)

Bank of America said it is now offering first-time homebuyers in a select group of cities zero down payment, zero closing cost mortgages to help grow homeownership among Black and Hispanic/Latino communities.

The option will first become available in certain neighborhoods in Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles and Miami. The new mortgage, called the Community Affordable Loan Solution, aims to help eligible individuals and families obtain an affordable loan to purchase a home, the bank said.

Applicants do not have to be Black or Hispanic to qualify for the product, a bank representative said.

“Homeownership strengthens our communities and can help individuals and families to build wealth over time,” AJ Barkley, head of neighborhood and community lending for Bank of America, said in a release. “Our Community Affordable Loan Solution will help make the dream of sustained homeownership attainable for more Black and Hispanic families, and it is part of our broader commitment to the communities that we serve.”

Find out more about this program.

This is important because Black Americans are less likely to benefit from homeownership–when discrimination doesn’t prevent them from buying.

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