Louisville, Kentucky – findCRA, a Louisville-based online platform focused on social impact and community reinvestment, announced today that they have partnered with eHome America to expand access to the innovative eHome online services through direct partnership with banks. Launched in 2009, eHome America provides homebuyers with high quality, online homeownership education that exceeds national industry standards that can be completed at their convenience online. The program is supported by over 450 HUD-certified counseling agency partners. Since launching, over 150,000 online courses have been completed throughout the United States with over $6 million in revenue generated to support homeownership counseling and services nationally.
“After the mortgage crises, we saw an opportunity to offer homeownership counseling online and support both homebuyers and homeownership counselors in a new and unique way. We knew that through quality online education we could reach every American. The costs to deliver counseling can be as high as $1,500 to ensure a homebuyer is mortgage-ready. With our model, we help to offset this cost and are on pace to generate nearly $3 million in counseling agency support this year alone. We are very excited to partner with findCRA to integrate our services directly into the mortgage process with new bank partners, ensuring that homebuyers receive the education they need to succeed at homeownership,” said Milt Sharp, President of the eHome Network.
findCRA offers an innovative, online platform and support services to connect nonprofits and other community partners with banks to build stronger communities. As part of this new strategic partnership, the team at findCRA will work closely with eHome America to identify banks that are interested in integrating eHome America into their mortgage operations. Many banks require such counseling for first-time homebuyers, but access to quality counseling can be difficult to find, especially in rural communities.
“At findCRA, we are dedicated to finding innovative opportunities for our bank partners to make a difference in the communities they support and serve. When we saw the impact that eHome America was making every day for both homebuyers and counselors, we knew that our banks would be interested in supporting this program. Not only can banks provide an amazing value for their borrowers and receive CRA examination credit, but they get the added benefit of knowing that those borrowers are ready to own a home and are less likely to experience delinquency or foreclosure as a result of this education,” said Brian Waters, President of findCRA.