BostonLending in Greater Boston since 2004
Home loans made clear, close to home
Local loan officers, in-house underwriting and honest rate quotes for buyers and homeowners across Massachusetts.
What are you looking to do?
4.9 from 1,284 reviewsPrefer to talk? (617) 555-0112
- Licensed lenderMassachusetts Division of Banks
- NMLS #XXXXXXXConsumer Access verified
- Equal Housing OpportunityFair Housing and ECOA
- Underwritten in BostonNo off-shore review desk
Loan programs
Ten ways home, one team to guide you
From a first condo in Somerville to a reverse mortgage in Hingham, choose your goal and see the programs that fit.
Purchase loans for first homes, move-up homes, condos and multi-families.
- Conventional loanFannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans with as little as 3% down and mortgage insurance that drops off as you build equity.
- FHA loanInsured by the Federal Housing Administration, FHA loans make ownership reachable with lower scores and smaller savings.
- VA loanGuaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for eligible veterans, service members and surviving spouses.
- USDA loanUSDA Rural Development loans help moderate-income buyers purchase in eligible towns across central and western Massachusetts.
- Jumbo loanPortfolio and investor jumbo loans for Back Bay condos, Brookline colonials and Cape Cod second homes.
- First-time buyer programsMassHousing, ONE Mortgage and down payment assistance options, plus a loan officer who walks you through every step.
Replace your current mortgage with better terms or pull out cash.
- Rate-and-term refinanceReplace your current mortgage with one that fits where you are now, with a break-even analysis before you commit.
- Cash-out refinanceRefinance for more than you owe and take the difference for renovations, tuition or paying off high-interest debt.
- VA loanGuaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for eligible veterans, service members and surviving spouses.
Borrow against the value you have built without giving up your home.
- Home equity line of creditA revolving line of credit secured by your home, ideal for phased renovations and tuition paid over time.
- Cash-out refinanceRefinance for more than you owe and take the difference for renovations, tuition or paying off high-interest debt.
- Reverse mortgageAn FHA-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage for homeowners 62 and older, with no required monthly mortgage payment.
Run the numbers
What would your monthly payment be?
Slide the price and down payment. We include Massachusetts-style taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance, not just principal and interest.
Estimated monthly payment
$3,721
- Principal and interest
- $3,159
- Property tax
- $596
- Homeowners insurance
- $150
- Mortgage insurance
- $0
- HOA or condo fee
- $0
Estimate for illustration. Insurance assumed at 0.28% of price per year; PMI at 0.5% of the loan when down payment is under 20%.
Need more? Try the affordability, refinance savings or rent vs buy calculators.
Escrow, not guesswork
The analysis that moves a fixed payment
Massachusetts towns bill quarterly, hazard premiums renew annually, and once a year your servicer reprojects the account. Find the low point before the letter arrives.
Your escrow year
$
$
$
The balance your servicer is holding at the start of the computation year.
$
Sample figures. Your servicer runs this analysis once a year and must send you the statement at least 30 days before the new payment starts.
Payment after the analysis
$3,879.50
Up $157.50 a month
- Monthly escrow deposit
- $875.00
- Disbursed over the year
- $10,500
- Allowed cushion (2 months)
- $1,750.00
- Projected low point
- -$140.00
- Shortage spread over 12 months
- $1,890.00
The account dips to -$140.00 in its lowest month against a $1,750.00 cushion, so the servicer collects the $1,890.00 shortage in twelve instalments of $157.50.
A surplus over $50 must be refunded within 30 days of the analysis. A surplus under $50 may be refunded or credited against the next deposits.
A lump sum, two routes
Re-amortize the note, or replace it
A recast keeps your rate and costs about $250. A refinance buys a new rate and costs a full closing. Both are judged over the payments you have left.
Your note today
$
318 payments is a 30 year note with three and a half years already paid.
$
$
Sample figures. A recast keeps your rate, your term and your escrow account, and costs a flat servicer fee of about $250. A refinance is a new loan: new credit pull, new appraisal, new title work, new note date.
Recast
$2,411.57
$410.48 less each month
Refinance
$2,274.88
$547.17 less each month
- Payment today
- $2,822.05
- Balance after the lump sum
- $352,500
- Amount refinanced (costs financed)
- $357,400
- Interest left after recasting
- $414,379
- Interest left after refinancing
- $366,011
- Break-even on the closing costs
- 36 months
Refinancing costs $43,718 less than recasting over the remaining 318 payments, once the $4,900 in closing costs is counted.
Not every note can be recast. Government loans (FHA, VA, USDA) cannot; most conventional loans can after a minimum curtailment, usually $10,000 or 10% of the balance.
Interested party contributions
How much the seller may legally pay for you
Three percent under 10% down, six percent from 10% to 25%, nine percent above that, two percent on an investment purchase. Write the offer to the cap, not past it.
Your contract
$
The conventional cap steps at 10% and again at 25% down. The other programmes use a flat cap.
Sample figures. The closing package is estimated at 2.4% of the price, a typical Greater Boston range once title, recording, transfer stamps and prepaids are counted.
Most the seller may legally contribute
$41,100
6% of the contract price · LTV 75.01% to 90%
- Estimated closing package
- $16,440
- Down payment required
- $68,500
- Left for you to bring
- $0
The cap covers the whole estimated closing package with $24,660 to spare, which can fund a temporary buydown or discount points rather than being left on the table.
A credit written above the cap is reduced to the cap at underwriting. The excess is not refunded to you, so negotiate to the cap, not past it.
What a concession may pay for
- Origination and discount points
- Appraisal, credit and flood fees
- Title insurance and settlement fees
- Recording and transfer stamps
- Prepaid interest, taxes and hazard
- Funding the escrow account
- A 2-1 temporary rate buydown
- FHA upfront MIP or the VA funding fee
What it may never pay for
- Any part of the required down payment on a conventional, FHA or USDA loan
- Cash back to the buyer at the closing table
- Repairs paid outside closing and left off the settlement statement
- Anything above the programme cap, which is cut to the cap and the rest is lost
Three days before you sign
Which numbers are allowed to move
Every fee on a Closing Disclosure sits in one of three tolerance buckets. Knowing which is which is the difference between an honest change and a cure you are owed.
Zero tolerance
These cannot rise at all between the Loan Estimate and closing unless a valid changed circumstance is documented.
- Origination charges
- Discount points you locked
- Fees paid to the lender, the broker or an affiliate
- Fees for services you were not allowed to shop for
- Transfer taxes
10% cumulative
These may move individually, but the total of the group may not exceed the Loan Estimate total by more than 10%.
- Recording fees
- Services you could shop for, taken from the lender's written provider list
- Third-party fees where the provider came from that list
No tolerance
These are outside the lender's control and may change without any cure being owed.
- Prepaid interest to the end of the month
- Homeowner's insurance premium
- Initial escrow deposit
- Property taxes
- Services you shopped for outside the lender's written list
The three business day rule
You must receive the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before you sign. Saturdays count, Sundays and federal holidays do not. Three changes restart the clock from zero:
- The APR becomes inaccurateMore than 0.125% off on a fixed-rate loan, or 0.25% on an adjustable rate.
- The loan product changesFixed to adjustable, a different term, or an interest-only feature added.
- A prepayment penalty is addedAny prepayment penalty introduced after the Closing Disclosure was issued.
Everything else, a corrected fee, a new seller credit, a changed loan amount, is fixed with a corrected disclosure at or before the table and does not delay your closing.
Published every business morning
Sample rates, no email required
Your actual rate depends on credit, down payment and property, and your loan officer will price it to the eighth.
- Rate and APR shown together
- Free rate alerts at your target
- Locks from 30 to 90 days
As of September 15, 2026Sample figures
| Product | Rate | APR | Payment* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-year fixed | 6.125% | 6.284% | $3,038 |
| 20-year fixed | 5.990% | 6.172% | $3,580 |
| 15-year fixed | 5.500% | 5.721% | $4,085 |
| 30-year FHA | 5.875% | 6.812% | $2,958 |
| 30-year VA | 5.750% | 5.968% | $2,918 |
Scroll for more columns
*Principal and interest on a $500,000 loan. Every rate, APR and payment here is a sample figure for illustration only and is not a commitment to lend. See the rates page for full assumptions.
From first question to keys
Four steps, one named loan officer
- 10 minutes
Tell us your goal
Answer a few questions online or by phone. Soft credit check, no obligation.
- Same day
Get your options
Your loan officer compares programs, rates and cash to close on one page.
- About 48 hours
Underwrite early
Our Boston underwriters review your file so your approval reads like cash.
- 24 days on average
Close with confidence
We coordinate with your agent and attorney, and you sign with no surprises.
Why Harborview
A lender that still knows your street
“We underwrite in Boston, so a question about your income gets answered down the hall, not in three days.”Thomas Brennan, Branch Manager
- Loans funded since 2004
- $4.2B
- Families financed
- 11,600+
- Average days to close
- 24
The person who pre-approves you is the person who calls on closing day. Fees go in writing before you apply, and the Loan Estimate matches them. Help is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Bengali and Arabic across our six Massachusetts offices.
How we work
Salaried, licensed and local
Meet the people behind your loan
Boston
Cambridge
Quincy
Newton
Worcester
Boston
Quincy
North ShoreRated 4.9 by 1,284 Massachusetts homeowners
Lena explained every line of our Loan Estimate and our offer beat two others because her approval was fully underwritten. We closed in 23 days.
My income is mostly RSUs and bonus. Tom's underwriter understood it the first time, which two big banks did not.
Hannah Weiss · Brookline · JumboWe were nervous about our credit. Aisha gave us a 90-day plan, our score went up 41 points and we bought our triple-decker in the spring.
Joseph and Linh Tran · Dorchester · FHAKevin told me to wait three months, set an alert, then called when rates dropped. Saving $412 a month now.
Siobhan Murphy · Salem · Refinance
Learning Center
Plain-English guides from our loan officers
Where we stand
A mortgage is the largest contract most people ever sign, and it is usually explained the least. We think that is a choice, not a constraint.
So we publish the rate sheet without asking for your email. We show the escrow arithmetic, the concession caps and the tolerance buckets on the open website, because a borrower who understands the file is a borrower who closes on time. We underwrite in Boston, we answer our own phones until seven, and we put every fee in writing before you apply.
No teaser rate that evaporates at lock. No fee that appears at the table. No number on this site that is not labelled for what it is.