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Russ Carter, vice president-community affairs for Delta Funding believes an informed COI1Sumer is a happy customer. Carter is responsible for creating programming for consumers that support community-led initiatives. One of his passions is to educate the community about the home ownership process and how to access the equity in their home.
We create interactive programs as part of our Mortgage School that makes the home buying experience real before our clients actually purchase a home," he slates. "Knowing how to present yourself to a lender and how to maximize the equity investment of your home is important to our clients and to us."
Delta Funding's Mortgage School offers an Operation Education seminar to increase consumer awareness about homeownership. Participants engage in interactive role- playing that moves them through the entire loan application and buying process. Potential homeowners learn how to improve their creditworthiness, develop budgets and select the lending organization.
"Knowing how to present yourself to a lender and how to
maximize the equity investment of your home is
important to our clients and to US.II"
"We set up a mock closing for attendees so they will know what to expect when they actually close on a home," adds Carter Delta Funding also has a program called, Mr. Happy Days, that illustrates what can happen to an applicant if they are mislead when they are refinancing their home. Delta Funding trainers have class participants role-play a possible scenario in an effort to get them to internalize the message and understand how easy it is to become a victim of predatory lending practices. "This 'red flag' approach helps the purchaser identify inappropriate behavior," stares Carter
The Mortgage School classes are offered in two-hour sessions. Homebuyers are given information in a compact form char is easy to remember and implement. Class size is limited to 12 participants and is scheduled once per month. "The classes have been recognized by community groups, policy makers and politicians for excellence in education," references Carter. "Upon completion of the program, our graduates receive a certificate and 30 basis points off their loan application. We want to retain their business and take pride in the team of people at Delta Funding available to help them.
Gerianne Reilly, assistant vice president, helps guide homeowners through Delta Funding's refinance process and coordinates the Mortgage School and call-in helpline. Brian Smith, client relations manager, offers a "helping hands" program char helps homeowners get back on track by restructuring loan payments and educating purchasers on the importance of main raining good credit. Krisrina Inserillo, project coordinator, handles all follow up initiatives with homeowners, gathers data on homeownership and produces a newsletter for Delta Funding.
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| Russ Carter, vice president-community affairs for Delta Funding. |
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The scope of Delta Funding's community education outreach efforts is not limited to adults. The company offers job shadowing to high school and college students interested in participating in an interactive learning environment. These students re-enact an emergency Board meeting, which gives them insight into the critical decisions facing Delta Funding managers. BIZ KIDZ helps 12 to 17 year olds problem solve using the experience of trying to obtain a mortgage loan allowing them to sharpen their cognitive thinking skills.
"We try hard to provide a real world learning experiences for children and adults through our educational programming", comments Carter. "We gain our gratification in knowing that we have informed consumers who know how to make a purchasing decision. Of course, we hope that we have earned their trust and they will chose Delta Funding for their homeownership loan."
Delta Funding draws its customers from the five boroughs of New York City. "We want the community to use us as their information source when they are ready to purchase a home", says Carter. "My biggest joy is in showing people they can do better. I want our customers to believe that they can purchase a home and have more satisfaction in home ownership than they can in purchasing a car. I want them to be possibility thinkers and know that they can build future wealth through home ownership."
"We value BorrowSmart Public Education Foundation as an important member of our ream," adds Carter. "I know what our challenges are in New York and how we can make a difference here. BorrowSmart can take the best practices in the homeownership arena and educate housing organizations, lending institutions, bankers and mortgage companies in what works across the country. We have the same objective - to provide the best consumer education programming possible. What's different is that BorrowSmart can get the word out faster and to more people. We are proud to have them as a partner."
For more information on the Mortgage School or other consumer education programs offered by Delta Funding, contact Russ Carter at 516-812-4008.
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