December 2015

Take 5

Ed DeShields of CE Analytics

answers questions and explains his

part in developing HLP.guru

Page 2

Tim Brown Helps

Homebuyers

NFL Hall-of-Famer returns to

Oakland, teaming with HLP in

financial education event

Page 3

We’ve Got Faith

HLP welcomes new Board chair,

Faith Swartz from CoreLogic and

new member, Sydney Garmong

from Crowe Horwath

Page 4

With help from NFL Hall of Famer Tim Brown, 125 families attended the first of eight

home buyer education and preparation events on December 5 in Oakland de signed to

help Hispanic and African-American families purchase a home.

All prospective homeowners in Oakland completed a comprehensive, one-day financial

education course to provide them with information about the credit, money management

and the home buying process. Attendees also visited with mortgage lenders, realtors,

nonprofit housing counselors and down payment assistance program to work through

their specific questions.

Initial results of a homeownership readiness assessment completed by all the partic-

ipants showed more than 40% of the families were well on their way, having enough

income and good credit to purchase a home. More than half of that group had also

saved enough money for a down payment and the closing costs on a purchase.

All families were provided a free membership in HLP’s Homebuyer Club, where they are

provided a free credit report, credit score and personalized action plan. These plans are

updated monthly to get their credit and borrowing capacity in shape for a mortgage loan.

Members also have access to nonprofit housing counselors who can answer questions

and assist them to complete their plan. To find out more about the Homebuyer Club, visit

hlp.guru.

“The Oakland event achieved our goal of helping low- and moderate-income Hispanic

and African-American families understand how to qualify for a mortgage loan,” said Cam

Melchiorre, HLP’s chief executive officer. …continued on page 3

Former NFL Star Tim Brown, HLP, Attract 125 Home Seekers to Oakland Event

Key results from potential homeowners who completed the HLP Homeownership Readiness Assessment Form for the Oakland event

SAVINGS/DOWN PAYMENT

saved enough for 3% downpayment, closing costs

savings, down payment arean obstacle

INCOME/CREDIT

have income andcredit to buy a

home now

must improve credit score toqualify for a mortgage loan

What is your role with HLP.guru?

CE Analytics licensed its technology for use with HLP.guru

and is responsible for its development, operation, mainte-

nance and evolution. We support HLP’s strategy in advanc-

ing the industry with intellectual property that creates better

borrowers.

What will be the most immediate uses for this app?

HLP. guru is a new generation of consumer financial apps.

Its primary use is with consumers who prefer web or mo-

bile-based access to financial planning information. The

majority of our consumers come from a referral within the

lending or real estate industries. Based on our initial feed-

back, we’re confident it will play an important role in helping

the industry encourage new consumer relationships where

both are interested in better borrowing outcomes.

Who will be the app’s primary users?

HLP.guru is a unique consumer financial app. Unlike the

“free credit report sites” that serve 60 million consumers

per month, it’s a sophisticated app that allows a consumer

to develop their own financial plan, or alternatively, seek

on-demand administrative assistance from deeply-qualified

counselors. We’ve learned a lot by computing millions of

individualized action plans, assisted by computer models,

which automatically adjust as the consumer acts upon

those suggestions. Technology apps can help eliminate

the ambiguity in raw credit data, speed credit qualification

and make understanding instantly available, affordable and

replicable.

How are mortgage originators responding?

The cost of customer acquisition continues to rise and the

old ways just don’t work well anymore. Consumers are

getting their information in new ways. So, the source of

the most willing borrowers are those who are in the mar-

ket for an on-demand credit product but narrowly miss the

qualifying requirements of the lender. We’ve proven that

recovery rates for marginally-qualified borrowers can been

exceptional. Therefore, costs are reduced and those who

inevitably become borrowers are among the most educat-

ed ones. That success promotes a more inclusive borrow-

ing environment where the consumer is not only in charge

of their borrowing goals, but manages this on-demand

process with lender involvement.

How did you come up with the name, HLP.guru?

The name wasn’t hard to correlate between the great work

HLP has done in the industry in helping consumers with

their borrowing issues. They, and their partners, have de-

veloped an impressive “guru-like” capability. So, it made

sense that the idea for a consumer branded app should

continue that same tradition; thus “HLP.guru” was born.

Ed DeShields is founder and chief executive officer of

CE Analytics, Inc., a leading independent consumer credit

modeling company. CE’s proprietary credit risk models

are used by consumer education applications and by

banks and other lending institutions. CE applications show

consumers how their behavior affects their credit score.

DeShields has worked with HLP to develop HLP.guru. This

is HLP’s new website and online application that helps

people understand credit and qualify for mortgage loans.

mark.cole@hlp.org | 410.942.6464 x1021 | 100 International Drive | 23rd Floor | Baltimore, Maryland 21202

…continued from page 1

Coming Next MonthConvergence kicks off 2016 with a Take 5 interview with new board chair Faith Schwartz, a

long-time housing advocate and one of HLP’s founders. Read about Schwartz’s original ideas

for HLP during the days of the foreclosure crisis and how she sees the organization’s unique

technology continuing to evolve to meet the needs of the industry.

Faith Schwartz, senior vice president for

government and public affairs at CoreLogic, has

been elected the new chair of the HLP board of

directors. In addition, Sydney Garmong has

also been elected to the board of directors.

Schwartz takes over from Bill Longbrake,

who has served as board chair since HLP was

founded in 2009. Longbrake has overseen HLP

from its start as a portal for loan modification

documents to a sophisticated technology plat-

form with capabilities to handle a variety of

needs for mortgage originators and servicers,

as well as housing counselors.

Schwartz joined CoreLogic in 2013 to

lead a Washington-based effort in building

business and relationships with the government,

nonprofits, think tanks and universities. She now

leads the public policy efforts for CoreLogic in

Washington D.C. Schwartz has served on HLP’s

board of directors since 2009 and was one of

the organization’s founders. Her election as

board chair was reported in National Mortgage

News and DSNews.com.

Prior to joining CoreLogic, Schwartz led

the HOPE NOW Alliance, a non-profit coalition

created in 2007 to bring together mortgage

companies and investors, Federal Reserve

Banks, government agencies, and govern-

ment-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) to help

homeowners in distress stay in their homes.

Garmong is a partner in the national office

of Crowe Horwath, LLP, in Washington, DC, and

has been with the firm since 2002. She is the

partner in charge of regulatory affairs of the

national office, which focuses primarily on

practice matters related to the SEC and the

federal financial institution regulators. She is

also responsible for accounting, financial re-

porting and regulatory issues affecting financial

institutions, and is a member of the AICPA’s

Depository Institutions Expert Panel.

Visit hlp.org to see all HLP board members.

“Those who don’t yet qualify have taken the first steps to do so

by enrolling in hlp.guru to develop a plan to make their dream

of homeownership come true.”

HLP is teaming up with the Tim Brown Foundation, the Hispanic

Action Network and Freddie Mac to develop the American

Dream Homeownership Initiative, a series of eight financial

education events for prospective homeowners. Quicken Loans

was the title sponsor for the event, while Ditech Financial and

Alterra Home Loans were other key sponsors.

The initiative’s next event will be held in March in Miami. The

Hispanic Action Network and the Tim Brown Foundation have

already started work with pastors at churches throughout

metropolitan Miami to make people aware of the event.

People seeking more infor mation can visit adhi81.org.

Faith Schwartz Elected New Chair of HLP Board of Directors; Sydney Garmong Joins as New Board Member

ADHI 2016 Event Schedule

March–Miami, Florida April 16–San Antonio, Texas Events are also planned for Chicago, Detroit, Phoenix,

Los Angeles and Dallas