Arch MI released a new toolkit for lenders — a Roadmap to Homeownership — that aims to help lenders attract, capture and close more first-time homebuyer business by offering affordable housing solutions to potential borrowers.

The toolkit includes a customizable PowerPoint presentation outlining the mortgage process, interactive worksheets to calculate their financial eligibility and budget for a future home. It also contains a glossary of mortgage terms and web resources and recommendations. 

“Most first-time homebuyers find the process confusing and even frightening,” said Leslie Gibin, Arch MI’s vice president for client risk management. “Our Roadmap to Homeownership enables lenders to reach out to, educate and encourage this audience by setting up their own home-buying seminar using the toolkit’s materials.”

Included in the toolkit is information on Arch MI's mortgage insurance solutions that tackle the biggest hurdle for most first-time homebuyers: coming up with a downpayment. 

“The Millennial generation especially finds it difficult to accumulate 20% of the purchase price in markets with rising home prices and employment rates more fragile than before the Great Recession," Gibin said.

"With Arch MI’s MI solutions – ranging from our support for the GSEs’ affordable loan and Down Payment Assistance programs to our own PicketFence program, tailored to meet first-time homebuyer needs – lenders have the flexibility and confidence to approve more affordable loans.”

Using the toolkit not only gives lenders the ability to educate buyers, but also to forge a better relationship with real estate agents, Gibin said.

“They can invite local real estate professionals to join the seminar presentation and offer their own recommendations on the home-buying process. It’s a winning combination for the audience, who can see first-hand how lender and Realtor work together to make homeownership achievable for buyers,” Gibin said.