As New Mexico attracts more retirees, an online mortgage lender has announced plans to expand its alternative mortgage program for those with complex incomes in the state.
Los Angeles, Calif.-based Privlo is seeking retirees with significant assets who may be lacking in regular income. The company currently operates in 10 states, and plans to be active in 21 by the end of the year.
Privlo’s expansion into New Mexico will help the state’s borrowers who are categorically rejected by banks due to their financial histories have another chance at homeownership, the company says in a statement.
New Mexico’s retiree populations have surged over 30% since 2000, data show.
“That’s a huge increase of people who are being left out of the state’s housing market,” says Privlo CEO Michael Slavin. “Banks still use a very narrow lens. If you’re not a W2 employee or your tax returns don’t reflect steady income, you’re out of luck. But we look beyond that and consider a wide range of alternative documentation to find highly qualified borrowers that are slipping through the cracks.”
In addition to retiree borrowers, Privlo specializes in small business owners, entrepreneurs, and self-employed 1099 workers with “spiky” income, as well as “credit rebuilders,” among others, the company says.
“We know W2s and tax returns don’t always tell the whole story, and that’s why we dig a lot deeper to help people who deserve to be homeowners but are unfairly turned away,” says Privlo Chief Credit & Product Officer Saro Vasudevan. “Qualified borrowers like these have given up, and those are exactly the kinds of people we want to bring back into the housing market.”
Written by Cassandra Dowell
