Keeping her home was not a battle Karen Rebaza had to wage on her own

When Karen Rebaza was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of nasal cancer in 2022, while getting medical treatment, she feared she’d lose her home. As she worked to keep up with her hospital bills, she got behind on her mortgage by two years. “Of course, cancer doesn’t come by itself,” she said. “You have financial strains.”

Rebaza purchased the 2,800-square-foot East Boston house in 2005 with a Soft Second loan, now known as ONE Mortgage. She made upgrades and expanded the house as the family grew. “When we first bought the house, there were only two kids. Now we have four.”

The house became a gathering place for extended family and friends, especially in the summer, she said. Her 30-year-old daughter lives on one floor with her family.

During her health and financial crises, she was relieved to find out that keeping her home was not a battle she had to wage on her own. “MAHA (Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance), MHP, and my lender really fought for me. We were able to do a payment plan. I caught up on my mortgage, which was great.”

Not long after purchasing the house, Rebaza felt compelled to make a career change. At the time, she was an assistant bursar at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

“I said to my husband, ‘listen, my heart is in homeownership. I want to help families. It’s not about the money. I want to be part of social change. I want to open the door to low- and moderate-income families to make their dreams come true.”

She left her job and became an assistant loan officer at Citizens’ Bank, worked her way up to loan officer, and then went to Rockland Trust in the same capacity and was later appointed vice president, residential community development officer. She said at both institutions, she was the top loan officer for ONE Mortgage loans.

Her pursuit of social change later brought her to her current role as the Director of the Boston Home Center, where she  helped launch ONE+ Boston, which combines City of Boston funds with the affordable features of ONE Mortgage to increase the buying power for income-eligible, first-time Boston homebuyers purchasing a home within the city.

Rebaza describes her home as a sanctuary, very warm, inside and out. “We have several shade trees. We love cookouts. My husband loves to grill. We built our own brick patio at the back of the house. That’s where we spend most of our time.”

One day Rebaza was entertaining thoughts of selling the house and moving to the North Shore. “My 21-year-old said, ‘No. Ma. You cannot sell this home! I grew up in this home. This is our home. We love it. This home is perfect.’ I said, to myself, ‘I know how attached they are to the home. We’re not going anywhere.’”