“I understand that some of that has to do with risk and being able to sell that loan on the secondary market. But I think there is a solution: if we really looked at it, we could sharpen those programs and see where we’re missing.”
Many downpayment assistance programs at present are “missing the mark” for plenty of communities and individuals, according to Kempfer – and she also emphasized the importance of working with legislators to ensure the broker community has access to federal funds earmarked for reducing the homeownership gap and helping increase homeownership in minority communities.
“Right now, if you have federal dollars, those dollars go to a servicer that then writes the guidelines for how you receive the money – and a lot of times, that [cuts] out the broker community,” she said. “And so I, as a minority broker, don’t have access to a lot of that. It’s really something that I think the mortgage industry can fight for.”
Shadi Bushra, of the website Today’s Homeowner, spoke to Mortgage Professional America to discuss his recent findings on the borrowing gap between Black and White borrowers.https://t.co/8TBahfApGb#mortgageinsights #blakchomeownership #borrowers #homeownership
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) February 8, 2023
Clear and constant communication with legislators key
Nikema Williams, representative for Georgia’s 5th congressional district, attended a Black homeownership roundtable last week where those issues were discussed. For Kempfer, it’s up to the mortgage industry to educate legislators on where gaps currently exist.
“We need to open that line of communication and make sure that our legislators are not afraid of working with the broker community,” she said, “because we serve more minorities than the retail side.
