Labor Union To Expand Mortgage Program

The AFL-CIO labor union is now projecting that its "HitHome" mortgage program, which it has been piloting with withCountrywide Home Loans, will generate $1.2 billion in loans (10,000 mortgages) over the next three years. Countrywide has already made more than 4,000 mortgages, worth more than $500million, through the program, which was launched in November 2000 as a 20-city pilot.The program offers up-front loan approvals, credits toward closing costs, and seminars on the homebuying process. It was meant to simplify homebuyingfor the 13-million members of theAFL-CIO's 68 affiliated unions. Meanwhile, the 300,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers, which represents workers who have numerous credit unions available to them, has endorsed the program for its members.