Down payment assistance program plays big role for broker
Amid the challenges that have beset the mortgage industry this year, brokers in Florida have been offered something of a reprieve in the form of the Hometown Heroes program.
Mortgage Professional America recently asked Satanya Palmer-Lodge (pictured), broker-owner at SentriPoint Lending Solutions Inc., to name some positive trends she had seen amid the downturn. Without hesitation, the Coral Springs, Fla-based broker-owner cited Hometown Heroes – a state program offering down payment assistance to a select group of borrowers that ushered in something of a cottage industry of similar programs as other lenders tried to keep up.
“One of the biggest things that came out this year among all the struggles that have been happening is the Hometown Heroes program,” she said. “There are so many assistance programs that came out this year that truly benefited buyers so much. When they pushed out Hometown Heroes, it just trickled down to every other lender pushing out a better program. This was a lender competition with who came out with the best down payment assistance program. To me, this is one of the strongest pushes that came out that really benefited our community.”
The program is more relevant than ever
Offered by the Florida Housing Finance Corp., the Hometown Heroes program provides down payment and closing cost assistance to first-time, income-qualified homebuyers to enable them to buy a primary residence in the communities in which they work and serve.
Now in its second year of funding, the program primarily targeting first responders and teachers reached $20 million in applications within the first week – including $11 million in applications on the first day alone, as reported by the governor’s office. Last year, the program provided more than $100 million for down payment assistance.
“It was there, but not as relevant,” she said of the program, now used in earnest amid a time of high mortgage rates, soaring property values and inflation. “It ended up benefiting the buyers so much.”
Market slowdown offers chance to educate
Palmer-Lodge took time out to speak with MPA during the recent FUSE conference organized by the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) in Las Vegas. Staged from Oct. 4-7, the sixth annual gathering featuring more than 65 speakers and 50-plus exhibitors was attended by thousands of industry professionals.
The market slowdown yields an opportunity to focus on certain aspects of the business often overlooked, she said. Key among those, Palmer-Lodge added, is education.
“Education literacy for everyone,” she said when asked for an area ripe for focus. “I think that’s something that, as a broker community, we could definitely push more for and do more to educate buyers. And definitely there are so many programs out there that as brokers what we may not know.”
She offered her own experience as an example: “I was learning so much today about the VA,” she said after attending a panel discussing covering the topic. “We do VA loans, but, to me, we’ve just scratched the surface. There’s so much to it that we’re not tapping into. Once we are able to tap into it, we can offer so much more and that comes from education, literacy, learning and seeing what is there that is going to benefit buyers in general – homeowners.”
Another thing she thinks brokers should do more of – particularly amid a market slowed down by high mortgage rates and inflation – is stage seminars for would-be homeowners. “It’s educating the public and putting ourselves out there,” she said.
In praise of AIME
Palmer-Lodge praised AIME for its role in helping her business grow – something that starts with the infectious enthusiasm of its members: “When you have an organization like AIME behind you, they are showing you other people who have gone through the struggles and elevated themselves. It makes you feel good, like, ‘I can do this!’”
She noted the sheer breadth of panel discussions had helped educate her, particularly since becoming a broker-owner. “I have learned so much just by coming to these events on how to scale my business, how to grow my business, how to make me better for my clients and my realtor partners. I gain so much just by listening to others who have done it and continue to do it. Coming to these events year after year is such a rewarding feeling for me because I gain so much. It’s always something new.”
In short, she suggested, AIME has brokers’ backs: “AIME takes brokers to heart, and they make us shine,” Palmer-Lodge said.
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