Member Stories

Union Plus puts AFT member at ease during homebuying

Union Plus Content Team

January 14, 2022

Sara Zubroff, an AFT member and an English teacher at a Philadelphia high school, finds teaching very rewarding.

"It's great," she says. "If you can get kids interested and figure out how to convey the info you need to convey, then you see progress."

When Zubroff and her partner decided to buy a house recently, they looked within a 30-minute commute zone of Zubroff’s high school. They finally found a gem: an old stone colonial house built in 1934. Remodeled in 2014, it boasted a new addition, too.

"You go into the process and quickly find yourself asking, 'Who can I trust?'" she notes. "My sister is [also] a teacher and she suggested I go through my union as a starting point. I called my union rep and two other union members. They all said, 'Go with Union Plus.'"

The Union Plus Mortgage Program, with financing available through Union Plus Mortgage Company, is available for all eligible union members. The Union Plus Mortgage Company is union-owned and staffed by knowledgeable loan officers.

For qualifying members, there are special benefits for first-time homebuyers as well as:

• A $500 gift card after closing for purchasing or refinancing a home
• Special hardship mortgage assistance from Union Plus in the event of income loss due to disability, unemployment or strike/lockout.

"They were really responsive and got [our home purchase] completed very quickly," she remembers. "Union Plus was with me every step of the way. And through financing with them, I also received a $500 gift card. I'm so glad I received the recommendation to go with the Union Plus Mortgage Program."

Whether she's teaching in her classroom or virtually from home, Zubroff's new house has become a haven.

"Everyone should have access to this," says Zubroff. "And with Union Plus, they are putting that access in reach for AFT members."