Rooted
Key to lasting ownership: Empowering borrowers with homebuyer education
Insights from our interview with Finally Home!®
Heather Bowman serves as manager of education & housing counseling at Finally Home!, a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved housing counseling agency. Heather shares how comprehensive homebuyer education and post-purchase counseling empower borrowers to succeed at every stage of the homeownership journey.
She outlines the importance of early education, the distinction between counseling and education, and how lenders can leverage these tools to strengthen relationships with borrowers and improve loan outcomes. Heather’s story highlights the value of proactive borrower preparation for mortgage professionals.
“By educating homebuyers before they purchase, we're setting them up for success. We found lenders really appreciate that partnership. The extra help can really make a loan go through and can set the borrower up for success long term. And when a borrower succeeds and is happy, it creates trust between them and their lender and makes them more inclined to provide referrals to friends and families. Former borrowers tend to come back to that same lender down the road when they want to buy again or refinance because they trust them.”
4 key takeaways from the interview for community lenders
1. Early homebuyer education prevents downstream challenges
Ideally, buyers should be encouraged to complete their education 6 months before purchasing to give them time to budget, improve credit and understand the full process.
Actionable insights:
- Encourage prospective borrowers to complete homebuyer education to reduce last-minute surprises and stress
- Integrate education referrals into initial borrower touchpoints to set expectations and support mortgage readiness early
2. Education + counseling = borrower support
Education and one-on-one counseling are not the same; Finally Home! offers both. Education breaks down the key financial concepts that borrowers need to understand by offering resources and workshops. Counseling helps clients to work through credit repair, savings goals and housing transitions, even years after their purchase.
Actionable insights:
- Refer borrowers who need deeper support (credit repair, budgeting, life changes) to trusted counseling services to keep them on track
- Clarify the distinction between education and counseling with borrowers to reduce confusion and increase engagement
3. Homeownership success requires post-preparation
New homeowners often struggle with budgeting for utilities, unplanned repairs and adjusting overall to homeownership. The homeowner toolkit from Finally Home! offers ongoing education to help them stay stable.
Actionable insights:
- Support borrowers beyond the closing table by sharing resources like homeowner toolkits and emergency budgeting tools
- Include post-purchase education as part of your borrower retention strategy to reduce risk and boost long-term satisfaction
4. Lender partnerships create smoother transactions
Lenders using Finally Home! say the education offered helps reinforce their guidance as a mortgage professional and improves their borrowers’ confidence, leading to more efficient closings and repeat clients.
Actionable insights:
- Refer borrowers to education platforms like Finally Home! to supplement your communication and deepen borrower trust
- Use education and counseling partnerships to support Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) goals and demonstrate community commitment
Finally Home!® is a registered trademark of Finally Home!.
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