Removing barriers to homeownership
Lou Marcus (third from right) assisted ONE Mortgage borrower Rina Tenore (center) during her journey to first-time homeownership. Together with Eastern Bank representatives (pictured here), they celebrated ONE's milestone of 25,000 borrowers in June 2024.
One of Eastern Bank’s top loan officers, Lou Marcus has been working alongside MHP to help close the state’s racial homeownership gap for more than 30 years. “And I’ve been smiling the whole time,” he tells MHP’s Callie Clark.
Lou understands that the homebuying process can be an anxiety-inducing situation — he even admits to butterflies in his stomach when he closed on his own home years ago — but it’s especially so for first-time buyers. “I can empathize,” he says, “and homebuyers understand that I’m here to work with them. It’s a joint process. They’ve been taking steps toward this, taken a class, saved the money, and built their credit, and I’m here to help put the pieces together.”
Specifically, Lou works with borrowers to offer the ONE Mortgage and ONE+ Boston loans to households under 80% of the area median income (AMI). Unlike conventional mortgage lending, which might elicit two to three touchpoints with the borrower, Lou’s work looks a little different. If a client doesn’t have technical familiarity, he invites them into his office and sits alongside them as they navigate an application portal or other website. He remains in close contact every step of the way, both in person and over email and phone calls. If the loan applicant has a section 8 voucher, he works closely with staff at the housing authority, putting together the puzzle pieces unique to those applications. The number of touchpoints, in other words, is much higher, something Lou says is necessary “if you’re committed to making a difference in the community.”
And committed he is. Lou understands that homeownership, for so many first-time buyers, is a crucial step toward creating generational wealth. He acknowledges that the process is about shelter, yes, but also about a deeper form of security: financial and emotional. “It’s immensely gratifying,” he explains, to walk with them every step of the way, from seeing their eyes light up when they hear about MHP’s offerings, to when they get the keys to their new home.
Lou chose to work at Eastern Bank because of their shared commitment to first-time homebuyers, and their practice of not only supporting but advocating for programs that remove historic barriers to homeownership. Not all banks offer the ONE+ program, but Eastern Bank does because, according to Lou, it makes “such a tangible difference from an affordability and accessibility standpoint,” particularly in historically underserved communities. “We advocate for making a difference just like MHP does,” he says.
One of MHP’s longtime lenders, Eastern Bank has closed on more than 750 ONE Mortgage loans and 50 ONE+ Boston loans, and they’ve awarded more than $2 million of down-payment assistance to households through MassDREAMS. Of that accomplishment Lou declares, “What a home run!”
We recognized Eastern Bank’s commitment to expanding homeownership in Massachusetts at our Unlocking Homeownership event in June 2024. The event celebrated the ONE Mortgage partnership reaching the milestone of 25,000 homebuyers fulfilling their dream of homeownership. One of several lenders honored, Eastern received our Top Producer, Silver award.
“We advocate for making a difference just like MHP does.”
-Lou Marcus