“There’s definitely a big gap in the percentage of Black versus white homeownership rates and I wanted to be part of fixing that gap,” she said.
One of the keys in addressing the issue, Egerson said, is giving people access to the information and resources they need when navigating the homebuying process.
“A lot of people think it’s more difficult to purchase a home than it really is,” Egerson said. “So many people believe you have to have 20 percent down to buy a home, and that’s not the case. Folks also feel that if they have the slightest blemish on their credit score, they won’t qualify for a loan, or they won’t qualify if they’ve ever filed bankruptcy, and those aren’t true, either.”
As part of the training program, Egerson and others are working with community organizations to help address those misconceptions and let potential homebuyers know about tools and programs that can help them become homeowners.
“We are learning how to guide folks on how to be prepared for a mortgage and show them that we are valued partners they can count on to dispel the myths around credit score and down payment assistance,” she said.
Egerson said it’s very meaningful to her and her peers in the mortgage loan officer development program that they can help create sustainable homeownership, which can be key in building wealth and legacies, for the communities they represent.
“It’s so great to see people’s faces when they start to realize that they can buy a home with as little as 3 percent down, and that they may be able to receive down payment assistance,” she said. “It starts to sink in that homeownership may be in their reach.”
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U.S. Bancorp published this content on 17 February 2023 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 18 February 2023 07:09:05 UTC.
Source: marketscreener.com
