Homeownership is part of the American Dream. To help make this dream a reality, lenders, real estate professionals, and housing counselors serve as trusted advisors to prospective homebuyers — providing education and guidance. But for millions of Americans with limited English proficiency (LEP) and the professionals assisting them, the home buying process comes with unique language challenges and barriers.
LEP borrowers make up a growing share of the mortgage market — a trend that is expected to continue. As mortgage professionals nurture client relationships, providing homebuyers with in-language resources is vital to building trust and delivering long-term value. As a result, in 2018, FHFA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae launched the Mortgage Translations clearinghouse, https://www.fhfa.gov/mortgage-translations, a repository which provides more than 500 valuable translated mortgage resources.
Phase one of the Mortgage Translations clearinghouse has provided industry professionals with valuable resources to help LEP Spanish-speakers through the home buying process. Phase two, which launched October 23rd, offers resources translated into traditional Chinese.
Chinese Americans: A Growing Force in the Home buying Market
Chinese Americans represent 23 percent of the Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) population, a demographic the U.S. Census predicts will outnumber Hispanic Americans by 2055. As the fastest growing demographic in the U.S., the AAPI population is also making the largest gains when it comes to homeownership. However, LEP can be a major homeownership obstacle, hindering communication and limiting access to education throughout the home buying process.
As of October 23, 2019, lenders, servicers, real estate, and other mortgage industry professionals have access to new translated resources that will help them more effectively communicate mortgage concepts to Chinese American homebuyers with LEP.
Through the Mortgage Translations clearinghouse, mortgage professionals will have more resources to help Spanish- and traditional Chinese-speaking homebuyers realize their dream of purchasing a home.
Tagged: Limited English Proficiency (LEP); LEP; Mortgage Translations; Fannie Mae; Freddie Mac; consumers; Clearinghouse; Mortgage
By: Sika Pryor
Senior Policy Analyst
Office of Housing and Regulatory Policy