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AmCham Member News: First Mortgage Company
Habitat for Humanity international announced it will launch a new national organization in Armenia, starting with a US$3.7 million home-improvement loan program expected to serve nearly 1,200 families in its first two years.
Habitat for Humanity is partnering with DIGH, the Netherlands-based housing aid organization, and the First Mortgage Company, a private mortgage finance company in Armenia, to offer the program, which will provide home loans to eligible families who earn 20 percent to 65 percent of the median income in Armenia. Habitat makes no profit from the loans.
The Habitat for Humanity-DIGH-First Mortgage partnership will offer loans up to five years for house renovations and up to 10 years for completion of half-finished houses. It will serve an estimated 455 low-income households in its first year, and another 710 the following year. The lending program’s hallmark is its sustainability: As one loan is paid, it is loaned out again for a similar home-improvement project. DIGH is making available $2.6 million of the capital, and First Mortgage $1.1 million.
The lending partnership is one of several innovative programs the new Habitat for Humanity Armenia organization will employ to fight poverty housing. 
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