When you were searching for your first home in the Greater Toronto Area, didn't you wish that sellers and real estate agents would spend more time courting you and helping homes fit your budget than giving tax breaks and incentives that pushed Toronto luxury homes for sale to those who are already wealthy? Well if you're moving to Worcester, Massachusetts, prepare to have your dream come true. The city of Worcester and its private partners have instituted a program called Buy Worcester Now to entice people like you to buy into their fair city.

What it involves

Buy Worcester Now is an incentive program designed to get more people to choose Worcester real estate rather than Brampton real estate or homes in another city. Prospective buyers are matched with homes for sale in Worcester that meet their specific needs and with a lender who can provide them with a mortgage they can afford. You will not get this type of service looking at a house for sale in Scarborough because it is such a popular area.

Programs

There are a number of different ways you can benefit if you sell your Oshawa real estate and move to Worcester. You can get tax credits to help with your down payment, a mortgage with no down payment, interest rates below market value, fixer upper and foreclosure rehabilitation funds, grants to cover closing costs, and loans to help with home improvements. There's even a program where your employer (if your company is participating) will help you find and finance a home.

Who qualifies?

Only people who are able to secure a loan with one of the participating lenders will be able to apply for the program. An additional caveat is that the buyer must be living in the house themselves after closing, not installing tenants and using the profits to buy Mississauga homes for sale. Applicants moving into the area and earning below $104,000 will be more likely to qualify. You also have to be able to buy the home without help, as the funds come as a post-sale rebate.

Partners

Most of the major mortgage lenders in Worcester are participating in the program. These include Prospect Mortgage, Worcester Credit Union, Bank of America, Fidelity Bank, Southbridge Savings Bank, and the First Eastern Mortgage Corporation. Participating employers include Assumption and Holy Cross Colleges, Clark University, several other schools, and UMass Health Care.