Guaranteed Rate and CrossCountry Mortgage have their eyes fixed on serving more Hispanic borrowers, who are expected to make up 70% of homeownership growth in the U.S. over the next 20 years.
Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate this week rolled out an expanded Language Access Program, which has applications and loan servicing in Spanish for consumers in all 50 states. A Spanish website and mortgage applications tool to help Hispanics overcome language barriers went live this week by CrossCountry Mortgage.
Details on loan documents can have a big impact on homebuyers especially when it comes to making one of the most significant financial decisions, Arlyn Kalinski, vice president of LEP compliance at Guaranteed Rate said.
“Let’s take loan disclosures as a prime example. These documents reveal critical details on loan terms, projected monthly payments, and how much the consumer will pay in fees and other costs to get their mortgage (closing costs),” Kalinski said.
With the new mortgage program, customers receive loan estimates and closing disclosures in Spanish as well as a real-time digital version they can save.
CrossCountry, which it claims to have “hundreds of Spanish-speaking loan officers,” will be partnering with organizations focused on “advancing sustainable Hispanic homeownership and are embedding ourselves within this community,” Laura Soave, chief brand officer at the Brecksville, Ohio-headquartered firm.
How To Increase Production and Help Customers Achieve Wealth Through Homeownership
This case study explores how Fulton Mortgage Company achieved its goal of delivering a more personalized, digital mortgage experience for borrowers, while also increasing production and return on assets.
Presented by: Mortgage Coach
The new program and tool launches come as potential Hispanic home buyers face a tight housing market with historic low level of supply for affordable homes. Areas of high Hispanic concentration are suffering the most severe impacts of this housing underproduction, and thus, seeing higher home prices, according to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professional (NAHREP).
The U.S. Mortgage Insurers points out that Hispanics are the youngest of any ethnic or racial demographic in the United States to purchase a home. In a survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors in 2021, 34% of new Hispanic homeowners “purchased a home between the ages of 18 and 24, as opposed to only 17% of the general population.”
In 2021, Guaranteed Rate originated more than $116 billion in purchase loans and refinances. Inside Mortgage Finance pegged the firm as the eighth largest mortgage lender in the country in the first six months of 2022, originating $33.3 billion in loans.
CrossCountry, founded in 2003 by Ronald Leonhardt, has more than 8,000 employees with nearly 600 branches across 50 states. The Ohio firm ranked 18th on the list of top 50 mortgage lenders, originating $16.9 billion in the second quarter or 2022, according to Inside Mortgage Finance.
