For mortgage lenders, approximately 1 out of every 10 clients will buy a home in the next year. But how do you know which ones they are?
“Is it the right time? Will it ever be the right time?” First Community Credit Union in Chesterfield, Missouri wrestled with this question for many years before deciding to take matters into their own hands. They created a full-service real estate company to streamline the homebuying process and connect members with a local a real estate agent.
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.)
First Mid Bancshares recently announced they would be acquiring the St. Louis-based Jefferson Bank in a merger. Since the announcement, First Mid, which is based in Mattoon, Illinois, has been under fire from a number of consumer advocacy groups for not lending to majority-Black neighborhoods.
