10.05.2000 ET

(CSRwire) Freddie Mac and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), along with the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) and RealEstateEspanol.com (REE), announced the Hispanic Community Technology Initiative, a major outreach effort that will use the latest mortgage technology to increase homeownership among Hispanic families. Despite recent gains, less than 46 percent of the nation's Hispanic families own their homes, compared to an overall homeownership rate of 67 percent. This initiative, supported by Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, will help bridge the current homeownership gap.

"Freddie Mac is committed to reaching deeper into America's communities by reducing the time and cost to get a mortgage loan, and technology is a critical element in this quest. That's why we are working with National Council of La Raza as well as Hispanic real estate and mortgage professionals to make the dream of owning a home a reality for more families," said Leland C. Brendsel, chairman and CEO, Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac is providing $2 million over three years to help NCLR reach low- and moderate-income Latino homebuyers, helping them overcome barriers to homeownership and improve their access to mortgage credit. Specifically, the funds will support the development of a web-based technology platform for NCLR and its local affiliates and increase homeownership counseling and outreach programs conducted at the local level. Ultimately, mortgage tools and products will be more widely available and more families will become homeowners.

"Almost a decade ago, NCLR helped to pioneer the use of housing counselors to help low- and moderate-income Latino families navigate the mortgage process. In the last two years alone, NCLR affiliates directly assisted more than 4,500 Hispanic families to become homeowners, and helped pave the way for thousands of others. These efforts have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt the effectiveness of community-based housing counseling in the Latino community. Our partnership with Freddie Mac will enable us to dramatically expand the number of Latino families we reach," said Raul Yzaguirre, NCLR president.

As a leader in promoting homeownership among Latinos, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) explained: "Homeownership is a building block of this nation, bringing wealth, pride, and prosperity to families and communities. The Hispanic Caucus has long recognized these benefits, and we have worked hard to find innovative ways for Latino families to achieve the dream of homeownership. That's why I am excited by this new initiative."

Within the next three years, the technology initiative will be available in 20 community-based organizations that are currently members of NCLR's Homeownership Network, including Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. This multifaceted initiative also draws on the expertise the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and its Internet site-RealEstateEspanol.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quepasa.com (NASDAQ: PASA). As part of this initiative, NAHREP is developing educational materials and training programs for its members and potential homebuyers while REE is helping develop and distribute the web-based technology that will be used.

Last month, Freddie Mac, NAHREP and REE announced an agreement to provide Loan Prospector® on the Internet to NAHREP members who are mortgage brokers. Loan Prospector on the Internet is Freddie Mac's automated underwriting technology at the point of sale that reduces the time for a lender to make a decision on a loan from days to minutes. The agreement enables NAHREP to successfully leverage the speed and simplicity of Loan Prospector on the Internet so that its members will be able to provide Hispanic homebuyers with a superior customer service experience.

"Eighty percent of Hispanic families are first-time homebuyers, and we want to make the homebuying process easier for them. This effort will help real estate professionals, mortgage brokers, and even homebuyers overcome the cultural and language barriers that may prevent some Hispanic families from achieving homeownership," said Ernie Reyes, chairman of NAHREP.

The goals of the Hispanic Community Technology Initiative include:

Provide increased homeownership opportunities and access to mortgage financing for qualified low- and moderate-income Hispanic and Latino homebuyers in targeted communities by providing a new technology platform, along with 200 computers, to NCLR and its 20 homeownership network affiliates.
Conduct outreach and marketing activities that result in Hispanic and Latino potential borrowers in the targeted communities seeking out and receiving homeownership counseling from NCLR affiliates at the point in time when counseling may have the greatest impact.
Educate potential homebuyers about the homebuying process and owning a home, including managing money, finding loan products that are affordable, and shopping for lenders and real estate professionals.
Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation chartered by Congress in 1970 to create a continuous flow of funds to mortgage lenders in support of homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac purchases mortgages from lenders and packages them into securities that are sold to investors. Over the years, Freddie Mac has opened the doors for one in six homebuyers and two million renters across America.

NCLR is the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights organization representing over 240 local affiliates, community-based organizations that provide housing, education, immigration, and social services to more than three million Latinos annually in 37 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

NAHREP, a non-profit trade association, represents the professional interests of the over 50,000 Hispanics employed in real estate. Established in 1999, NAHREP has members in 32 states and is headquartered in San Diego California. RealEstateEspanol.com (REE) is the official Internet site of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), and the leading online provider of bilingual information and resources to the Hispanic real estate community. REE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Quepasa.com (NASDAQ: PASA).

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