The San Francisco Renters Information Gap on Home Purchasing

By Jim Rodriguez

Outreach, enhanced fair lending practices and liberalized loan products may help ease renters into homeownership

• limited cash for down payments and closing costs
• no credit history or past credit problems
• mortgage products that do not meet their needs
• "affordable homes" needing significant rehabilitation after purchase
• lack of understanding about money management, home maintenance and post-purchase responsibilities
• lack of information, confusion or even fear about the home buying process,

In 1999, the American Homeowner Education and Counseling Institute (AHECI), a collaboration of over 35 housing finance industry organizations, adopted a standard curriculum, a standard set of definitions and minimum requirements for homeowner education and counseling. The City of San Francisco would benefit from adopting the standard curriculum to build partnerships, market, and provide outreach to new potential home buyers, with emphasis on lower-income, minority, immigrant or female customers. A homeowner education and counseling program, sponsored by the City of San Francisco, could provide low cost information and consumer outreach, reach under-served markets by bridging cultural and language barriers, help mortgage lenders meet their regulatory requirements and develop "mortgage-ready" consumers.

Current home ownership rates in San Francisco are approximately 1/2 the national average. Serious consideration needs to be given on new production programs and policies that enhance the ability of renters to purchase homes. Far too many renters in San Francisco are trapped in rent slavery. The development of an outreach program on homeowner education and counseling is one strategy by which renters in San Francisco should be able to use to become potential homeowners.