Local financial service program helping homebuyers in underserved communities
Buying a home is typically the American dream, but there is a big gap when it comes to the demographics of homeownership.
“That’s the million-dollar question, why is there a gap?” said LaMarcus Thurman who’s the vice president of Community Lending at Howard Hanna Financial Services.
When looking at the statistics from the US Census, in 2022 74.6% of white households owned their homes compared to 45.3% of Black households.
That gap is now wider than it was in 1960 when housing discrimination was rampant and legal.
“Just hearing the feedback from some of these residents that just don’t know where to start or don’t know where to begin, I think that’s why there is a big gap in this the education,” Thurman said.
That’s where a new program called United Purpose Mortgage comes into play.
“We are giving hope and guidance to first time home buyers in the underserved communities and when I say underserved it’s really anyone who wants to understand the process,” Thurman said.
This division operating under Howard Hanna Financial Services is targeting zip codes, including Wilkinsburg and the Hill District. The goal is to help educate the buyer whether that’s helping to fix credit or get them to a down payment point in order to buy a home and stay in that home.
“That’s the biggest stigma out there. You get them in the house then the HVAC goes or something else and they don’t know where to go. So, we are going to help them in that process,” Thurman said.
The program is just getting off the ground with three lenders in Pittsburgh, but with more growth comes more programs and more opportunity to get more people in the door of a new home.
“One of the programs we are trying to bring on would help remove some of the blight in the buildings and projects we have, and I believe that will bring more inventory to the area if we do it right,” Thurman said.
Since the program is still in its infancy stages, it hasn’t yet moved into its new home. But in the coming months, the headquarters for United Purpose Mortgage will move into the Howard Hanna Office in the Southside.
If you want more information, https://www.unitedpurposemortgage.com/
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