Karan Kaul plans to prioritize affordability for low-income buyers

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rocket central New Vice President of Public Policy, Karan Kaul, plans to prioritize home ownership opportunities for first-time home buyers, families of color, and low- and middle-income families who have historically found it difficult to obtain mortgage loans Has gone.

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Thus, Rocket will continue to offer its special purpose credit programs that help first-time home buyers get funding for their down payment and improve affordability, Kaul said in an interview. housing wire,

“Down payment is one of the major barriers to home ownership for many families,” said Kaul. “So these special purpose credit programs really help us to allow these people to afford their homes, not only with respect to the monthly payment, but with respect to the required down payment, which many families are lacking — especially Seriously considering how high home prices are today.”

The Detroit-headquartered lender’s first special-purpose credit program launches in December 2022. Dubbed “Purchase Plus,” the initiative provides $7,500 in credit for first-time homebuyers to use toward their mortgage costs in six major cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore and Chicago. ,

In March, Rocket expanded its special-purpose credit program to offer Freddie MacBorrow’s Smart Access program, which provides first-time home buyers with a $3,000 credit towards their down payment.

The program is available to buyers who meet the requirements and are purchasing a home in the countries 10 metropolitan areas. To qualify, borrowers must have an income equal to or less than 140% of the area median income (AMI) and meet all other Freddie Mac lending guidelines.

BoroSmart Access can also be used with Freddie Mac’s 3% downpayment product as well as other borrower assistance programs such as Closing Assistance.

Looking for creative ways to reduce the cost of home ownership will be the focus of the situation, Kaul stresses, noting Rocket Mortgage and the Inflation Buster Program of its wholesale arm Rocket Pro TPO.

Launched in September 2022, Rocket Mortgage’s Inflation Buster, which expires March 31, covers the difference in mortgage payments in the first 12 months through a special escrow. For Rocket Pro TPO, home sellers or real estate agents funded the program for borrowers.

“We are always looking at product innovations, new innovative products that we can introduce, working with government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and other stakeholders in the housing finance ecosystem to really discuss and talk about What else can we do,” Kaul said.

Kaul brings to Rocket over 13 years of experience in the mortgage servicing space, mortgage finance systems and housing finance reforms. He was most recently a principal researcher at Mortgage Servicing Associates. urban institute and Freddie is a former Corporate Strategy Manager at Mac.

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