1) Visiting a Bank by Nancy Coffey and Dulany Alexander, Operation Bootstrap

Locally owned Eastern Bank was most accommodating in arranging for their mortgage originator to hold a special program for us at the bank during our evening class time. Prior to the visit, we sent him a copy of the student generated questions about financing a house, further topics that I hoped he would cover, and some guidelines for presenting to ESOL students.

When we arrived in the empty bank and saw chairs set up and a lovely spread of soft drinks, coffee and bakery cookies, one of the students said," We are special!"

Both the mortgage officer and the branch manager were present. During an initial presentation and later during the question and answer period, the mortgage lender told the students about special federal and state programs for first time home buyers. The mortgage officer and branch manager fielded student questions for an hour and a half. Our students' questions covered a broad range: "What documents do you need to buy a house?", "Can someone without a Social Security number open a bank account?", and "How much will you lend a person for a house?". When a student asked, "If I pay bills late, but I always pay, is it O.K., or is a problem?", the students were all a little taken aback when the mortgage officer said very clearly, "Not paying your bills on time is one of the BIGGEST problems of all! If you can't pay the electric bill on time, how will you pay the mortgage on time?"

In fact, much of the information that had been presented in the homebuying curriculum surfaced again, as well as information about specific loan packages geared for low income and first time homebuyers. Everyone felt good about having been taken seriously by the bank officer, and we were thrilled by the students' level of engagement as they formed their questions and followed the speaker's answers.

In particular, the mortgage officer emphasized the importance of good credit, the importance of good record keeping, and the importance of a stable job history. For instance, when another student asked, "Is it better to go to the bank first or the real estate agent first?", the mortgage officer gave several good arguments for going to a bank first so as to better understand one's financial situation before beginning the process of house hunting. In short, the mortgage officer told the students that a free pre-qualifying discussion at a bank can help a potential buyer know if he/she has credit problems, how much he/she can reasonably expect to borrow, and the types of mortgage options available. When one is ready to seriously begin looking for a house, a pre-approved mortgage gives the buyer a strong bargaining chip. Also, the mortgage officer shared cautionary tales; the big real estate companies often own mortgage companies and will steer buyers directly to those companies rather than to banks. For first time homebuyers, this can mean losing out on government funded programs that offer lower and more stable interest rates.

At the end of the presentation, the mortgage lender distributed packets about the mortgage process that he had created especially for our students. The packets were written in large print and relatively simple language. Our students also received his and the branch manager’s business cards, and the homebuying guide of Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency (MHFA). The bank manager told us that she could offer seminars on many banking topics including establishing credit, and that such seminars could always be held at the bank.

The evening seemed to be a great success. During an hour and half of listening to unfamiliar speakers answer questions, everyone was alert and appeared interested. The mortgage officer and the bank manager did everything possible to make the students feel comfortable and competent. They reassured students that their English was fine, but that if they needed translating services, the bank could provide such help in any language.
 
 

2) A Visit from A Banker and A Broker by Dwight Jarrat, ABCD's South Side Head Start

For our final activity, we invited a Realtor to come talk to the class. He in turn, brought a Mortgage Originator from one of the local cooperative banks. Both the Realtor and the bank representative are immigrants themselves and have a good reputation in the community. It was a dynamic meeting, which took the entire three hour class period. Not only were students introduced to the complicated Offer to Purchase form and Purchase and Sales Agreement, but they were reminded of the excellent soft-second mortgage programs available to low-income city residents. The importance of hiring a real estate lawyer was emphasized given that even nice Realtors represent the seller. Students had a lot to say and had a lot of questions.
 
 

3) A Visit From a Community Educator/Bank Liaison by Deborah Marquardt, W.A.I.T.T. House

Kevin Winn, a community educator/liaison from U.S. Trust, spoke to the class about finance issues. He is a frequent presenter at W.A.I.T.T. House and a particular favorite with the students. In the past, he has been able to make banking seem accessible even to people who express suspicion about the motives of large financial institutions. Upon hearing of the students' interest in homebuying, he offered to explain the loan process from the bank's point of view. He described what criteria the bank deems important when reviewing loan applications, and he offered advice about how to prepare for the loan application process. He also focused on fixing credit problems and how students can obtain their credit reports to begin to do that. As always, his information was clear and practical, and it added another important perspective to the homebuying process.
 
 

4) Realtor Addresses the Students' Questions by Sam Bernstein, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center

In early March, Dekahn Wong, a Realtor who is based in Chinatown, came to the class to meet students, make a presentation and answer the questions they had generated earlier in the semester. Dekahn knows our student population well because he's been a substitute and part-time teacher at our school for many years. He speaks fluent Cantonese and some Mandarin. Dekahn spoke mostly in Cantonese. He had excellent bilingual materials. He compared the advantages and disadvantages of renting and owning, highlighting the tax advantages to owning a home. He showed pictures of different kinds of homes so students could compare them. He explained in detail how a broker functions. And he presented a monthly payment chart based on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. All of this was very much what students were ready for and with this new information they asked even more questions. Also, during the presentation, I angled around taking pictures for our newest web page.
 
 

5) Housing Activists by Shelly Rieman, El Centro del Cardenal

We finished the homebuying unit by inviting bankers from the U.S. Trust Bank and housing activists from the tenant rights group, City Life/Vida Urbana, to come speak to the class about homebuying. These speakers, along with the FannieMae Foundation and ALRI materials that I distributed to the students (Choosing The Mortgage That's Right For You/Abriendo La Puerta De Su Propio Hogar published by the FannieMae Foundation and a list of homebuying resources and agencies from the Adult Literacy Resource Institute's 1997 homebuying readiness resource book, Where the Sun Breezes Don't Stop Shining) provided students with a good jumping off point to begin the homebuying process.