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Special Reports
In this section of BrokerUniverse we examine a subject of key importance
for mortgage originators every month, based on special reports that run in our sister publication, Origination News.
Downpayment Assistance
A Wishing Well For Buyers
Homeownership rates in the country are reaching record levels, and downpayment
assistance programs, or DPAs for short, have played a major role. These programs help those who do not have enough
money saved up for the opportunity to get into a home much sooner.
Yet, there is still plenty of room for growth. Minority groups and immigrants
are expected to make up the bulk of the new market of buyers in the rest of this decade.
There are plenty of people who still need a little help from the well, a wishing
well that makes the American dream of homeownership come true for them.
In this Special Report, read how a new group, the Association for Homeowners Across
America has launched a new DPA program, FreshStart. Among those involved with the product's launch is television
personality Star Jones Reynolds.
A firm that provides consulting services to homebuilders, the Sharrow Group, is
increasing its focus on creating mortgage programs to help serve first-time homebuyers. FTHBs are the biggest users
of DPAs.
Meanwhile, former FHA commissioner Nicolas Retsinas said the new loan programs
that reduce the downpayment borrowers make on a purchase have shifted where the interest risk lies if rates rise.
In the past, this risk was borne by the lender. Now it goes to the borrower who has little or no equity in the
property.
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