Archive for December, 2018

December 5, 2018 – Hope LoanPort (HLP) and Soldier On announced today that the two organizations have implemented a new, comprehensive program to help military veterans achieve and sustain homeownership.  This multi-faceted initiative is designed to ensure our nation’s heroes have access to safe, secure and sustainable housing and it expands Soldier On’s service reach to a national level.

“There is a compelling need for this collaboration because a sizeable number of veterans face daunting challenges related to homeownership due to financial, physical and emotional issues,” said Bruce Buckley, Soldier On’s chief executive officer. “We are proud to partner with HLP in this important work that is changing the end of the story for our veterans.”

“Our partnership with Solider On will provide military veterans with a variety of services to help them purchase a home or get the right coaching needed to keep their existing home,” said Mark Cole, HLP’s chief executive officer.  “By combining Soldier On’s resources with our services, we can provide veterans with a holistic approach that will help them achieve their financial and housing goals.”

Key initiatives in the program include:

• Veterans Homeownership Center. A national call center (888-288-3184) and program website soldieronsuccess.org will connect veterans on a path to homeownership and assistance in maintaining affordable housing and homeownership. The dedicated team versed in home retention strategies and resources unique to active military and veterans will work with homeowners.  Housing counselors from HUD-approved counseling agencies will provide a range of services including pre-purchase coaching, post-purchase support, foreclosure prevention counseling, loan modifications and workouts, refinancing analysis and reverse mortgage counseling.
• Homes for Veterans. This program creates affordable, sustainable homes for veterans by accepting Real-Estate owned properties from mortgage servicers and investors and renovating them to match homes in the neighborhood and specific veteran needs.  Veterans accepted into the program receive 36 months of assistance via an individualized plan that ensures they are financially prepared and confident. Veterans who reach readiness goals can purchase the home at a 50-70% of appraised value. Post-purchase support assists in making lifestyle adjustments, setting goals and prioritizing choices, plus add Soldier On’s best-in-class expertise to ensure access to all needed resources.
• Credit Education through HLPGuru and Credit Smart. This program will offer veterans access to CreditSmart®, Freddie Mac’s multilingual financial education curriculum designed to help consumers build and maintain better credit, make sound financial decisions, and understand the steps to sustainable homeownership.  In addition, veterans will also have access to HLP.guru, a new app that connects a tech-savvy generation of consumers with advanced analytics about a person’s credit score, borrowing capacity and other critical information to help them become homeowners.
• Fair Housing Education. HLP and Soldier On are part of a collaboration of five nonprofit organizations joined to identify, educate, and advocate for potential victims of fair housing discrimination in communities across the nation. This collaborative will provide 3,167 hours of fair housing education to 14,000 potential discrimination victims and to the non-profit housing counseling and advocacy groups that serve them.  Veterans who have experienced discrimination will also be able to submit a complaint through the HLP system.

While both organizations have long histories of working with veterans, HLP and Soldier On believe that bringing two best-in-class providers together will dramatically improve the customer experience and success rate.

###

About HLP

HLP is a unique collaborative created in 2009 that engages the key stakeholders who work with families on homeownership – nonprofit counselors, advocates, mortgage lenders, servicers and investors, attorneys and government agencies. Being a national, neutral, nonprofit organization allows us to listen to all the parties and build solutions that support homeowners and incorporate the unique needs of all stakeholders.  As a result, HLP unifies the housing industry by helping individuals and families achieve and sustain homeownership. Stakeholders share information with each other via our technology platform and collaborate to find solutions to help homeowners. To date, we have helped more than 700,000 homeowners during their time of need.

About Soldier On

Soldier On is a nationally recognized non-profit organization governed by a full-time President, CEO and a volunteer Board of Directors. We work in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies to provide veterans with shelter and support in an environment that offers dignity, integrity, and, most importantly, hope. Our mission is to offer a continuum of care that includes immediate and long-term housing with services delivered where they live. Soldier On’s ultimate goal is to provide formerly homeless veterans with permanent, supportive, sustainable housing – assisting them in their transition from homelessness to homeownership.