Building community by sustaining homeownership and stabilizing neighborhoods

At ESAC, we understand that home is where families grow and memories are stored. It is the place where family members learn to live with one another and interact with their neighbors. When you care for your home, you are caring for yourself, your family and your community.

Our goal is to promote healthy, stable and integrated neighborhoods and communities by helping eligible homeowners buy, keep and improve their homes. We collaborate with a number of Boston's city agencies and community-based organizations to meet this goal.

We try to find integrated solutions to your homeownership problems by offering an array of services to promote homeownership. We also offer information and referral services to help you find an alternate housing program for which you might be eligible.

"ESAC has assisted me with the funding to de-lead my house, making it a safer haven and restoring its natural beauty. This enhances the value of my home as well as my neighborhood."

Lead paint abatement and home improvement loan assistance

If you are a homeowner experiencing lead paint problems, you can turn to ESAC specialists who will offer education, advice and assistance. ESAC can help you obtain a no interest loan through the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency's (MHFA) "Get the Lead Out" Program.

lead poisoning occurs most often among children 6 months to 6 years old who live in homes or apartments built before 1978 (when lead paint was outlawed). Lead poisoning is most common among children living in homes where window sills and other surfaces are covered with lead paint, particularly if the paint is flaking or peeling. Lead poisoning can cause anemia and/or learning disabilities.

If your child has been diagnosed with lead paint poisoning (through a blood test), you are legally required to have the lead paint removed from a home you own and occupy. If you are a landlord renting to a family with children under 6, you are also required to provide a lead-free environment.

In addition to lead paint abatement, ESAC helps eligible homeowners obtain low-interest home improvement loans through MHFA.

Get Informed ...

    
 

-Get a report about lead in your home & community

-Learn how lead affects your health

-Find out what laws apply to you

-See what actions you can take

  
   

...Help end childhood lead poisoning

For more information on how to make your home lead safe, visit www.leadsafehomes.info.

Service area: City of Boston

"I've lived here 25 years as a tenant and 20 years as a homeowner. ESAC helped me obtain a no-interest loan to pay for new porches. They put in new faucets and a hot water heater."

Senior Homeowner Services

When an ESAC carpenter repairs a rickety porch for en elderly client, he is doing more than improving a building. He is helping to build stronger neighborhoods and communities.

If you are over 62 and/or disabled, and live on a low to moderate income, we can assist you with minor repair and home rehabilitation projects that promote independent living. Our goal is to protect your health and safety. We have our own carpenters on staff who handle minor repairs or general maintenance, such as cleaning out gutters.

If you are in need of more extensive repairs, ESAC will guide you through the City's application process for home rehabilitation projects.

Our services are provided free to eligible homeowners, while others pay a small annual fee.

Service area: City of Boston

"We owe ESAC our lives. They helped us obtain loan with deferred payments to put our house back in shape, and they are still helping us repair roof"


WiseBuys Home purchase assistance program

If you are buying your first home, WiseBuys can guide you through the maze of decisions involved in your purchase. Specifically, we provide in-depth services during the actual purchase process. We collaborate with pre-purchase and post-purchase counseling programs.

WiseBuys offers counseling, legal services and technical assistance. We offer financial assistance to cover housing inspections and legal services. We also offer special services to assist you with a property that requires rehabilitation.

Other services include:

  • Providing you with information about market values
  • Obtaining legal assistance when you make an offer, sign the purchase and sale agreement and attend the closing
  • Helping you negotiate a final purchase price
  • Helping you select an affordable mortgage

WiseBuys also works in partnership with the City of Boston to promote homeownership, reach out to people who may not see themselves as potential homebuyers (such as female heads of household or new immigrants) and provide eligibility information for certain programs that offer financial assistance.

Service area: Eastern Massachusetts

Court Advocacy

Court Advocacy helps homeowners who cannot afford legal assistance resolve issues in Boston housing and land courts. For example, ESAC's advocates can educate and advise you on laws pertaining to lead paint and sanitary codes. We can prepare you to represent yourself in court, if necessary, and accompany you on your court date. We make referrals to an attorney who will provide pro bono or reduced rate representation.

If you are a landlord and are experiencing difficulties with tenants, we can review the rights and responsibilities of both parties, and help resolve disputes. Our program is unique because we offer assistance to landlords and serve as a liaison with the housing court to resolve landlord/tenant disputes.

Service area City of Boston

"We cannot be grateful enough to ESAC's foreclosure prevention program for their success in rewriting our mortgage and saving our home."


Preventing foreclosure

If you are a homeowner threatened with the loss of your home, you can turn to ESAC for intervention assistance. We believe that it is in your best interest, and in the best interest of investors, lenders and the community, to prevent foreclosure. We will work with your lender to negotiate mutually agreeable workout terms that will allow you to keep your home. We may also refer you to an attorney and try to secure financial assistance.

We understand that a host of problems contribute to the threat of foreclosure, and that these problems must be solved in an integrated way. It may be difficult for you to make mortgage payments because you lost your job, sustained an injury or went through a divorce. Perhaps your tenants are not paying their rent on time. You may be unfamiliar with the terms of your loan. Perhaps your home requires costly, unexpected repairs. We provide financial and budget counseling and consumer education, and help secure more affordable loans from a variety of lenders.

Our services include:

  • Negotiating a variety of options with your lender
  • Referral to an attorney when appropriate
  • Consumer education and budget counseling
  • Helping to secure financial assistance
  • Helping to obtain a more affordable loan with another lender

Service area: Eastern Massachusetts

Information and Referral
ESAC works closely with many housing and social service agencies and is an important resource for homeowners seeking services which we may not provide. If you have a question related to homeownership, we can offer information or a referral to an appropriate resource.