During the 2017 National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals Housing Policy and Hispanic Lending Conference, experts described the uniqueness in lending to the Hispanic community, HousingWire staffer Kelsey Ramirez reports.
“Files can be a bit more paper-heavy as the way Latinos bank and track finances, as well as the cultural family structure, are very different, which leads to a high percentage of manual underwriting,” New American Funding President Patricia Arvielo said in an interview with HousingWire.
Since it’s common for multiple generations to live under the same roof, Hispanics often have different needs.
“In many instances, you will see cross generational loans as children and parents are in the same household,” (Arvielo) said. “Another big difference is the type of loans they will need as the properties they will purchase would need to house two families from different generations, parents and children.”
And it is these very cultural differences that make the demographic harder to lend to.
“Understanding the cultural differences is imperative for the success of lenders,” Arvielo said. “Identifying the pain points of this segment and providing solutions through products that fit their needs is the first step to increase homeownership in America.”
