CU Promise

10/30/2026

Happy Halloween from the CUSO team.

Somewhere between the costume run and the candy count, take a second for the quieter stuff tonight — the porch light on for trick-or-treaters, the neighbor you only really catch up with in October, the parts of a home that never show up on a mortgage statement.

Have a safe one, Maine and New Hampshire.

10/28/2026

Your mortgage payment doesn't always stay exactly the same, and a jump after your annual escrow review isn't a sign anything went wrong. Here's an explanation of what an escrow shortage actually is and what happens next.

10/26/2026

Building a house isn't financed the same way as buying one that's already standing, and sometimes the difference can catch people off guard.

A construction loan pays your builder in stages as work gets done. Foundation poured, funds released. Framing up, funds released. It isn't one lump sum sitting in your account on day one.

Most construction loans convert into a regular mortgage once the home is finished, so you're not juggling two separate loans and two closings. That one-time close is the detail worth asking about up front, because not every lender structures it that way.

If you're picking a lot before you've picked a builder, or a builder before you've talked to a lender, it's worth flipping that order.

The financing shapes what's actually possible to build.

10/22/2026

Going live on a new loan origination system looks like a project plan on paper. But in practice, its a room full of dedicated people who feel like they have worked together forever.

The ICE Mortgage Technology team spent a week with us as we went live on Encompass. After years of working alongside them on the servicing side, it meant something to have them here for this one, shoulder to shoulder with our team through a milestone that touches every part of what we do.

For the credit unions we serve and their members, it means a more connected process from the first application all the way through servicing, with fewer handoffs in between.

New systems are only as good as the people standing behind them.

Thank you to Plotts and the entire ICE team for a great week!

10/20/2026

Most people hear "USDA loan" and picture a farmhouse an hour past the last gas station. Then they find out how much of Maine actually qualifies.

We broke down how USDA loans really work here: where the eligibility map draws its lines (hint: it's the population centers that fall outside it), what changed in the program for 2026, and what stayed exactly the same. We also put it next to CU Promise on down payment and credit flexibility, because the right fit depends on where you're buying and what your income looks like.

If you've written off a zero-down option because you assumed you were in the wrong part of the state, this one's worth a few minutes.

Read the full breakdown.

🔗 https://cusohl.com/usda-loans-in-maine-whats-changed-and-what-hasnt/

A lot of buyers in Maine hear "USDA loan" and picture a farmhouse ten miles past the nearest gas station. That assumption keeps otherwise qualified buyers

10/16/2026

Most borrowers don't think much about who services their mortgage until a payment gets hard to make. When that happens, the servicing team looks at the options available and works through them with you.

Jennifer Dugan now oversees that work at CUSO. She joined us on September 21 as Director of Risk and Loss Mitigation, a new role covering risk management, regulatory compliance and loss mitigation across the company.

Jennifer brings 30 years of financial industry experience, including default servicing, delinquent portfolio management and compliance. She's known for identifying risks, including the ones just starting to emerge, and building practical strategies that balance regulatory requirements, investor guidelines and borrower needs.

"Jennifer's experience in risk, compliance, servicing and loss mitigation will strengthen our organization and the service we provide to credit union partners and borrowers," said Lori Michaud, President and CEO.

Please join us in welcoming Jennifer to the CUSO team! 🙌

10/15/2026

International Credit Union Day turns 78 this year, and 2026's theme is "Cooperative Finance: A Steady Signal in a Noisy World."

CUSO exists because Maine credit unions decided in 1993 that their members deserved a mortgage partner built on the same principle credit unions were founded on: the people who use the institution are the ones it answers to. Every closing on our calendar traces back to that idea, whether the buyer knows it or not.

Today's a good day to say it plainly. If you bank at a credit union, you're not just a customer somewhere. You're part of why it exists.

Happy International Credit Union Day!

10/12/2026

CU Kind Day is Maine's credit union community's answer to a simple question: what does "people helping people" look like on a Monday?

The Maine Credit Union League built the day around volunteering, small acts of kindness, and community give-back, and our credit union partners across Maine and New Hampshire are the ones doing the work. Ours is a supporting role and we're proud to be in a network where this kind of day isn't a stretch. It's a Monday, with better PR!

If your credit union is doing something for CU Kind Day, tag us. We'd love to help share it.

10/08/2026

Meet Bobbi Deroche, an Insurance Specialist who's been with CUSO for two years.

Bobbi came to CUSO with years of insurance experience behind her, and she puts it to work in the part of a mortgage that tends to get explained the least. What she enjoys most is talking with borrowers about their homeowners insurance and "sharing a little knowledge to help demystify the insurance world."

Ask her about a moment that stuck with her and she points to the work of transferring insurance servicing back here to Hampden, a challenge she says "only could've been accomplished with team effort."

Bobbi grew up in Washington County before her family moved to Brewer, where she graduated from Brewer High School. During the summer, she and her husband are at Fields Pond in Orrington as often as the weather permits. In the winter, she goes treasure hunting at Salvation Army and local thrift stores.

Her favorite thing about Maine? "The strong sense of neighbors and community we have."

Thank you for everything you do for our borrowers and our team, Bobbi!

10/06/2026

The County Federal Credit Union turns 70 this year. And they marked it by giving money away.

The credit union launched a Community Mini-Grant initiative for the anniversary, and the first grant went to Bridge to Hope, a nonprofit that supports Southern Aroostook families going through cancer treatment. Less than 1% of what Bridge to Hope raises goes to overhead. The rest goes directly to people who need it.

"We want all of the funds to go to people who are battling cancer of any type in our area," said Kim Folsom, a Bridge to Hope board member.

Seventy years in, and The County FCU is still finding new ways to put "people helping people" into practice. CUSO is proud to work alongside a credit union that spends its anniversary funding cancer support in Aroostook County.

Congratulations to the whole team at The County FCU.