Seattle-based residential lender HomeStreet Inc. has brought a program here that's aimed at making homeownership more accessible to workforces of participating employers by reducing mortgage-related costs and fees, says Andy Slipper, Spokane-area manager for the bank's Affinity lending division.

The bank's Hometown Home Loan Program also is working with Spokane-based nonprofit Community Frameworks, which provides access to down-payment assistance and financial education.

Through the loan program, HomeStreet reduces its loan fees by 50 percent, and participating escrow companies provide a 50 percent discount, Slipper says. The bank also works with real estate agents that provide some concessions, including reduced commissions.

All the incentives add up to help buyers make purchases, Slipper says.

Through the program, qualified borrowers typically save between $1,300 and $1,700 in closing costs and fees, depending on the loan amount, he says.

Slipper says HomeStreet recently began introducing the loan program through employers here.

The role of employers in the program is to advise their employees of the program incentives and to schedule occasional workshops on homeownership and financing to be led here by Community Frame-works.

"Our relationship is a working relationship that helps employers provide access to educational offerings, such as understanding credit, mortgage basics, and financial fitness," he says.

In addition to providing a host of affordable-housing support services, Community Frameworks is one of the first Spokane-area employers to promote the program to its own employees.

The 18-year-old program is well established in other HomeStreet markets, Slipper says. So far, more than 50 public and private employers and labor organizations in Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii are participating, including the University of Washington, Harborview Medical Center, and the cities of Seattle and Portland.

While Slipper says he deals mostly with entry-level homebuyers, there's no maximum price limit for homes purchased under the program.

"For a $200,000 home loan, the savings in concessions is about $3,600, which, in many cases, could be the deciding factor as to whether somebody could move ahead with the purchase," he says.

Slipper currently works out of HomeStreet's Affinity office at 1313 N. Washington, in the Rock Pointe Corporate Center, although he usually meets with employers and employee groups at workplaces. HomeStreet plans to move the Affinity office to its branch at 111 W. North River Drive, in September.

Slipper says 10 to 15 percent of HomeStreet's loans bankwide are issued through its Affinity division, which is supported by salaried employees rather than commissioned loan staff.

Nearly 10,000 borrowers have used the program to buy or refinance a home since 1994, saving participants more than $12 million in costs and fees. Of those borrowers, 40 percent were first-time home buyers, the bank says.

HomeStreet, which was founded in 1921, specializes in residential lending. It has more than 30 branches in three states, and expanded its Spokane-area presence earlier this year as it opened branches in two locations—one on North River Drive, and the other at 16114 E. Indiana—formerly occupied by MetLife Home Loans outlets.