We’ve written in-depth about The Community Reinvestment Act or CRA, which mandates that financial institutions serve their community with equality. Unfortunately, discrimination is far too common in the home-buying market, as many real estate agents discourage home purchases in disinvested communities. Many times this practice leaves borrowers of color and/or those living in low-to-moderate (LMI) income neighborhoods without the ability or desire to purchase a home. (Read more here.)

However, the right tools can go a long way toward socially-responsible real estate & lending practices. This is where HomeTraq comes in. It opens the door to discrimination-free marketing, downpayment assistance, and more.

Marketing

HomeTraq sets your marketing efforts up for success with co-branded resources, where buyers can shop for their new home and learn about the process. We also provide pre-packaged marketing collateral, such as digital assets, infographics, blogs, flyers, and more, which can be integrated into your internal marketing initiatives. If you need some assistance in this department, we help our partners run targeted marketing campaigns in underserved areas, to make sure they’re reaching the people who need them the most. By lightening the load on your marketing team, your employees will have more time and resources to dedicate to engaging underserved communities.

These assets also provide much-needed education to this demographic, including topics like Tips for Buying a House and Alternatives to In-Person Home Tours. For a first-generation home buyer, this information is invaluable.

Virtual Tours

Virtual tours are a great way to level the playing field for those who don’t have the means to travel to many showings in the long house-hunting process. Whether they suffer from chronic illness, have mobility issues, or don’t own a personal vehicle, their circumstances don’t have to prevent them from viewing potential homes.

HomeTraq incorporates live video tours, rather than pre-recorded and professionally edited videos. It creates a more honest viewing experience and allows buyers to direct the tour toward the things they’re most interested in or concerned about.

To top it off, real estate agents do not have access to the buyer’s age, race, gender, or ethnic background when a showing is booked, minimizing the possibility of discrimination based on these factors.

Down Payment Assistance (DPA)

The down payment is one of the biggest hurdles that LMI and underserved communities face when trying to purchase a home. Historically, financial institutions do a poor job of promoting DPA solutions and consumer advocacy groups report that 70% of all home buyers are still unaware of available funds. Buyers, especially those with limited resources and information, could be missing out on life-changing down payment assistance. Grants, deferred-payment loans, and low-interest loans are just a few examples.

HomeTraq makes sure these resources are readily available to app users. As soon as a tour is scheduled, the buyer is notified if the property qualifies for any financial assistance programs.  HomeTraq also integrates your financial institution’s digital mortgage application so the buyer may quickly begin the pre-approval process and discover their purchase power.  

Conclusion

Establishing your financial institution’s dedication to equality and inclusivity is not only the ethical thing to do and legally mandated, but it is also a differentiator when so many lenders are focused only on the money. This initiative promotes homeownership in all demographic areas and enables you to make a difference in the communities you serve. A partnership with HomeTraq connects you and your audience with the tools you need to provide socially-responsible real estate & lending practices.