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The Front Porch Blog

Education on all things homeownership

A Simpler Path to Homeownership with Credit Solutions

October 09, 2019 Blog, Industry News, Featured

You may have heard about our Homebuyer Solutions Group (HBSG) program, but we want to take a deeper dive into what the program is and how it helps real customers achieve their dream of homeownership. Our HBSG program provides free credit guidance to our customers who otherwise pre-qualify for a new Lennar home, aside from their credit score. We sat down with one of our Credit Specialists, Sara Gellatly, to learn more about HBSG.

When and why is a customer referred to HBSG?

A customer has to go through our Digital Mortgage experience and speak to a Loan Officer. Then, the Loan Officer has to refer the customer to HBSG. A customer is referred to HBSG to help them improve their credit score so that they can purchase their dream home. These customers otherwise qualify for their Lennar home, but their credit score needs to improve in order for them to complete the loan process.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HBSG

How long does it typically take for a customer to reach the credit score they need to qualify and successfully complete the program?

The length of time to graduation from the program varies, depending on the customer’s unique situation. Some customers take as little as 30 days and others as long as 9 months to complete the program. The HBSG Credit Specialist will analyze their credit score and provide them with a plan to improve it, so they can reach the score needed to pre-qualify. A benefit to working with HBSG is that their Credit Specialist maintains communication with the Lennar New Home Consultant and Eagle Home Mortgage Loan Officer, keeping them up to date with the status of their credit improvement as well as the new build progress of their Lennar home.

What sets HBSG, Eagle Home Mortgage and Lennar teams apart from other builders who provide credit solutions?

Eagle Home Mortgage ensures that the customer is qualified for the home prior to enrolling them in the HBSG program. This guarantees that the customer is able to continue the loan process once they graduate from the program. There is a higher probability for the customer to follow the path toward homeownership to completion.

How is HBSG different from a credit repair company?

While some credit repair companies charge money to dispute collections for a customer, HBSG provides free credit solutions, a plan and the tools needed to help guide the customer to improve their credit on their own. HBSG Credit Specialists teaches the customer how to manage their credit, so that they can continue to maintain good credit in the future. Credit repair companies only dispute collections that may not even be removed from their credit report.

What is Sara’s favorite part of being a Credit Specialist with Eagle’s Homebuyer Solutions Group?

Sara loves helping clients purchase their dream home when they thought it wasn’t possible for them. Job loss, medical conditions, and other debt are the most frequent cause of challenges that she sees. She says some of her customers have debt collections, foreclosures, or bankruptcies because they had to make the difficult choice between a car or house payment, electric bill, or food after a life altering event. Some customers come to her shocked because they had no idea that their credit could be improved. The fact that she could guide them toward a better credit score gladly surprised them! Sara attends some closings in which her customers are emotional and extremely thankful for the help she was able to provide. She is especially happy when she can help a family move into their dream home. 

WHAT IS A CREDIT SPECIALIST?