Celebrate Homeownership Month With Us!

The Minnesota Homeownership Center and the Homeownership Advisors Network are partnering with Minnesota Housing, MN Association of Realtors®, USDA Rural Development and the Minnesota Department of Commerce to promote homeownership and stabilize Minnesota’s neighborhoods by sponsoring homebuyer education in June.

In celebration of Homeownership Month in June, the Center is pleased to announce the availability of free homebuyer education.   This opportunity is available thanks to the generous support of several public and industry partners.

Quality homebuyer education is the foundation of successful homeownership and is key to stabilizing Minnesota’s neighborhoods.  A recent study conducted by Neil Mayer & Associates and the credit bureau Experian found that homeowners that receive pre-purchase education and counseling services are 30% less likely to become seriously delinquent on their mortgage in the first two years after closing.

In Minnesota, homebuyer education is available online and in-person.  Both courses include an in-depth understanding of the homebuying process, how to choose the right home, the importance of credit and good financial management, how a lender determines how much to lend, the importance of working with a real estate professional and the buyer’s rights and responsibilities once they become an owner.

Free in-person Home Stretch Workshops are available at participating locations throughout the state from June 22-29.

Framework, the most comprehensive online homebuyer education course available, will also be free to the first 100 customers who sign-up and use the special coupon code: MNPROMO13 

Immigration Reform: A Boost for Housing?

Recent data shows that the housing market continues to improve here in Minnesota and in many markets throughout the country.  The recovery may get an additional boost if the forecasts of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) hold true.  

On May 20th, NAHREP released a report that projects over $500 Billion dollars in spending related to real estate and homeownership spending if Washington passes comprehensive immigration reform for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the US.  

They forecast that up to 3 million of these immigrants could become homebuyers over the next several years with an average home price of about $173,000. 

Their reasoning is simple: the options for accessing mortgage loans and lending products for undocumented immigrants are extremely limited.   Any legalization of their immigration status would immediately allow these potential buyers to obtain a Social Security number, a requirement for most lending products.  

NAHREP’s projections maybe overstated (it’s impossible to gauge the future intentions of those who are currently out of status in the US) and immigration reform is far from a done-deal in Washington, but the Minnesota Homeownership Center understands the potential boost for housing that legalization would bring.   A recent report from the University of Southern California found that over one third of the increased demand for homes in this decade has been generated by immigrant buyers. 

The Minnesota Homeownership Center is prepared for a possible influx of new first-time homebuyers:

• Our website contains important information for potential homebuyers and easily allows users to switch quickly between Spanish and English;
• We continue to provide support for Home Stretch workshops (and supplemental materials) in Spanish throughout the State;
• Our online homebuyer education tool, Framework, will be available in Spanish in the coming months;
• We continue to support and administer the Emerging Markets Homeownership Initiative that brings together industry professionals and non-profit organizations working to improve homeownership rates in communities of color.

First-time buyers, citizens and immigrants alike, are reminded that before you start the process of making what may be the LARGEST PURCHASE IN YOUR LIFE, we highly recommend that you participate in a Home Stretch workshop or take the online homebuyer course, Framework. These classes are recognized nationally as a proven tool for preparing Minnesotans to be successful homeowners.  These workshops help you to understand, start to finish, the process of becoming a successful homeowner and cover important topics like:

• real estate and mortgage loan terminology, 
• how to shop for a home and a loan that are right for YOU, 
• how your credit affects your loan payments, 
• how to avoid being taken advantage of during the homebuying process, 
• and much, much more. 

For more information about upcoming Home Stretch workshops, click here.  To take Framework online, click here.

Foreclosure Prevention Starts Before the Mortgage Is Even Signed

Homebuyer education dramatically decreases probability of delinquency 

New research from NeighborWorks America conducted by Neil Mayer & Associates and the credit bureau Experian finds that homeowners that receive pre-purchase education and counseling services, like those offered by the Homeownership Advisors Network in Minnesota, are 30% less likely to become seriously delinquent on their mortgage in the first two years after closing.

The study looked at over 75,000 mortgages originated between 2007 and 2009 to see the effect pre-purchase education and counseling services had on the probability of a loan becoming seriously delinquent in the first 24 months:

The research shows that the investment the Minnesota Homeownership Center has made in homebuyer services over the last 20 years helped lessen the effects of the foreclosure crisis on Minnesota.

In the last ten years alone, almost 50,000 households have graduated from Home Stretch.  Thanks to the knowledge they received in Home Stretch, hundreds of homeowners avoided falling seriously delinquent on their mortgage.  For more information on Home Stretch, check out our most recent Homebuyer Services report, here.

NOW... Minnesota homebuyers have the option of completing this important workshop in person (Home Stretch) or ONLINE via Framework.    Framework is a high quality, interactive way to learn how to be a smart, confident and successful homeowner, FRAMEWORK™ provides the facts you need to become well-informed about every step in the process.

In addition, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Commission recently reiterated the important value of quality housing counseling.  According to the report, Housing America’s Future, ‘…housing counseling can improve prospective borrowers’ access to affordable, prudent mortgage loans, especially for families that otherwise might not qualify or who may experience other barriers to mainstream lending.’

Better access to quality loans, fewer delinquencies.
That’s why we support homebuyer services in Minnesota.

FRAMEWORK: Online Homebuyer Education...And Your Clients

Better buyers, faster closings, stronger communities.  Framework™ puts homeownership on a solid foundation

In late 2012, the Minnesota Homeownership Center, working with the Housing Partnership Network, began the release of Framework™, the most comprehensive online educational tool available to first-time homebuyers.  

At the Center, we know that informed buyers are successful homeowners... and YOU can help you clients succeed by working with us to promote Framework™ to your friends, families and clients.

During the month of January, the Minnesota Homeownership Center will be hosting a series of FREE webinars for professionals interested in learning more about this groundbreaking new online tool.

Engaging and intuitive, Framework™ allows homebuyers to easily access information and complete the course at their own pace.  Framework can even help your clients qualify for special financing programs that make homeownership more affordable (Visit the Center's website, here, for more information about our "Down Payment Resource Tool") and is accepted by most lenders including Bremer Bank, MN Housing, US Bank, Wells Fargo and more.

Now we're offering a series of webinars for you to see how Framework™ can help your clients, friends and families be successful homebuyers... and help YOU in your real estate, or lending business.

January Webinars:

Monday January 14, 2013

10:00am -11:00am CST

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/397262826

Friday January 18, 2013

1:00pm -2:00pm CST

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/791017314

Wednesday January 23, 2013

2:00pm -3:00pm CST

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/113022394

Click on any of the links above to register for these FREE informational sessions!