♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Marcia Griffin, co-founder, HomeFree-USA, next on "The Chavis Chronicles".

>> Major funding for "The Chavis Chronicles" is provided by the following.

At Wells Fargo, we are committed to diversity and understand our responsibility in supporting and empowering diverse communities.

Diversity and inclusion is integral to the way we work.

Supporting the financial health of our diverse customers and employees is one of the many ways we remain invested in inclusion for all, today, tomorrow, and in the future.

American Petroleum Institute.

Through the core elements of API's Energy Excellence Program, our members are committed to accelerating safety, environmental and sustainability progress throughout the natural gas and oil industry in the U.S. and around the world.

You can learn more at api.org/apienergyexcellence.

Reynolds American, dedicated to building a better tomorrow for our employees and communities.

Reynolds stands against racism and discrimination in all forms and is committed to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

At AARP, we are committed to empowering people to choose how they live as they age.

♪ ♪ >> Marcia Griffin, welcome to "The Chavis Chronicles".

>> It is my pleasure to be here.

It is wonderful to see you.

>> First of all, tell us about HomeFree-USA.

>> HomeFree-USA is a nonprofit homeownership and financial empowerment organization that I started 20 plus years ago.

>> Where is it based?

>> Right here.

It's based in D.C., but I have 58 other nonprofit partners around the country.

So that provides scale to lenders and clients and everyone that we're dealing with.

The good thing, too, with HomeFree-USA, our focus is on homeownership.

Our focus is on financial education, housing development, and services for the government.

So we are very focused on elevating the financial stature of people across this country, whether they're black, white, Korean, Filipino.

It doesn't matter.

These are all of my affiliates, but we're working together to bring power to the people, so to say.

>> Alright, I like that.

Power to the people.

>> We heard that for years.

>> Let's go back to your beginning.

>> Yes.

>> Louisiana.

Tell us about your family upbringing.

>> You know, my father's from Mississippi and my mother's from New Orleans.

They went to Southern University.

My parents were very focused on what black people needed to do to better ourselves, education being number one.

So in New Orleans and working with my family and, of course, my father, after leaving Southern and getting a Ph.D. and all, he started working for the State Department.

So I was in New Orleans until I was ten years old.

And then we moved to Nigeria.

Being in a country where poverty was -- it's it's much more developed now.

Nigeria is much more developed now than it was when I was there.

But, you know, really seeing black people and seeing people struggling and just feeling the sense of the people, from a child, from ten years old growing up until I went to Fisk and my parents still live there and they went from Nigeria to Uganda.

>> So you find yourself growing up in Nigeria, going to school.

So, how do you move from what you experienced to now working in wealth building?

>> After living in Nigeria and seeing how people so struggled -- I mean, that's the case here in the United States, quite frankly.

You don't have to go to Africa for that.

But seeing how people struggled and then I came back, I went to Fisk University in Nashville.

And black people have always had a struggle.

But at the end of the day, you know, when we talk about survival, we have to have money.

Money has to be at least on the table somewhere in order for us to do well.

>> What do you see as the landscape going forward?

More and more people getting into homeownership?

You know, there are a lot of different studies depending on who you listen to in the media.

Some say there's an incline.

Some say there's a decline.

What is the truth from your vantage point about homeownership in black America, but home ownership in all of America?

>> The reality is people want to do better.

There are many, many more people who want to own than want to rent.

And this is 100% justified.

The reality is it is becoming more and more and more difficult now to buy.

Number one, the prices of homes across the board have increased.

People are paying so much for rent that they can barely save for the down payment.

So the down payment is so vitally necessary for people to buy.

We need to have guidance on our credit issues and on our finances.

I mean, there's just so many issues out here that people are just not aware of as far as credit.

People need guidance and they don't need to be told, "Look, pay every bill every month," because the average person just cannot do that.

But the reality is that we also need a little motivation, particularly for people of color, because we hear nothing but the negatives.

That's number one.

And there are too many denials.

This is a huge issue in the mortgage industry where you decide that you want to buy a home.

You just up and go to a realtor.

You don't know what your credit score is.

You don't really want to look at your credit score because that's just stressing you out anyway.

You go to a realtor and hope and pray that you're going to be able to buy.

Well, the reality is that every lender is going to look at what you paid somebody else or how you paid someone else.

>> So your credit report becomes important.

>> Credit report is critical.

The credit score is critical.

And, you know, the reality is everyone has errors on their credit reports.

Everyone really -- There are things about your credit report and increasing your credit score that the average person just doesn't even know.

So the guidance about credit, and this is where organizations like HomeFree-USA come into play.

Many people don't know about us.

They don't know that there are organizations like HomeFree-USA.

>> Once people do find out about organizations like HomeFree-USA, are they responsive?

Give us a little anecdote about how you're able to turn people's lives around if you give them the right information.

>> The reality is everyone that wants to buy a home is not destitute.

They're not low income.

I mean, there are a lot of -- Freddie Mac said that there are 3.4 million African-Americans today who could afford to buy their home and they're renting, $3,000, $4,000, $5,000 a month rent.

So that's number one.

So at this particular speech, this young lady was there.

She had a very excellent job.

She made over $100,000 a year.

She, the week before hearing me, had tried to get a car.

They wanted to increase her interest rate to buy the car.

She thought it was unfair.

She wasn't sure, you know, but she knew she paid all of her bills.

She didn't have a lot of debt.

And he just by chance, just by chance, she heard me speak and she called us.

She had a 732 credit score.

She didn't know what her credit score was.

>> That's pretty high.

>> That's good.

Absolutely.

She had a 732 credit score.

And to make a long story short, she never even thought about buying.

Number one, she didn't know who to trust.

Number two is you don't want to lose her dime.

And number three, she really didn't know the process.

You know, she didn't know how to really get into the home buying process with ease.

She bought her home.

She now has a side job.

In addition to her other job, she has a side job.

She's become a realtor.

And she's also bought a four unit apartment building.

This is a single woman who is 39 years old.

>> What about some of the people who have a 400 score or 300 score?

Can they be helped?

>> The average person does not have a 700 credit score.

The average person that we work with, we're talking about average everyday people who, many of whom, are living paycheck to paycheck.

But when you're talking about a mortgage, you really need to get your credit score in the high 600s, close to 700s.

And there are things that can be done legally -- legally, that don't require going to a credit repair company.

I mean, we had a woman come in -- She's paying a credit repair company $399 a month.

I mean, can you just imagine?

She's never looked at her credit report, never looked at her credit score.

And the only thing they're doing is disputing the errors -- or disputing the notions that's on the credit report.

I mean, people are misled.

They're under-informed.

And if, you know, for the average person, what we have found, if people just had basic information that they could relate to, information that relates to their lives and their families and their situation, a person can save $5 a month.

They might not be able to save $100 a month.

But you've got to be able to save something.

And saving through automatic debit is the easiest way.

Now, the reality is there is something called the missing middle.

The missing middle -- these are people who are purportedly middle income people, but look, they're also hurting.

I mean, you know, when people have COVID, they've got forbearance issues, there are many issues where family comes in.

They need money.

You got to help your kids.

I mean, a lot of people are really limping along.

It is the guidance.

It is the information.

It is the personal attention that people need to move forward.

>> We've talked about getting new homeowners.

But there's also concern about current homeowners.

Some people have owned their homes for years.

All of a sudden, now find themselves questioning whether or not they can keep their home.

>> Yes.

>> How has the banking community helped give guidance to current homeowners so they can continue to keep their home?

>> This is a critical situation here because homeowners who are late, most of whom, particularly for people of color, they don't want to talk to their servicer.

They don't want to talk to their bank because they're afraid.

>> They don't want to answer that phone call.

>> They dread getting that messages in the mail.

>> Absolutely.

They don't want to read the letters.

They don't want to talk to anyone because they don't want to hear a negative.

But what they need are solutions.

What they need, you know, is a list of what they can do.

And in some cases, they also need -- many people may need a reality check.

>> So it is possible to recover from being a delinquent homeowner.

>> Oh, yes, absolutely.

Absolutely.

>> People shouldn't just throw in the towel and throw their hands up?

>> Don't ever throw in the towel for anything.

There is help.

You persevere.

Where homeowners are concerned, there are modifications.

There are where we work directly between the homeowner and the servicer to bring them together to make sure that the servicer understands what's happening with the borrower and make sure that the borrower is able to communicate through us about their situation.

And we can sell this to get them to understand that Marcia Griffin, she has a problem now, but she does have a job that, you know, that will be coming up in three months.

We verified that.

We know that her situation is one that can be cured.

This is so critical, the solutions.

>> So in order for you to do what you do so effectively, how do you collaborate with the banking community, with the financial services community?

>> None of us, including HomeFree-USA, as good as we are, can do it alone.

We do our work, meaning that we get people prepared.

Now, this is a really important piece.

As we talk about housing supply, as we talk about housing affordability, it is imperative -- it is imperative that we today get people prepared.

Look at the credit report.

This is what we do.

Look at your credit score.

Figure out what you're going to do in order to get and how you're going to get up to a high 600.

And so when our people go to bank, 96% of every person that has been prepared by HomeFree-USA gets approved the first time.

>> Talk to us about what you see for millennials and Generation Z getting their financial score in line and having some pathway toward wealth building.

>> Working with our young college graduates, and of course, a lot of people say go on down to the high schools, and our focus is on HBCUs and the students that are at HBCUs.

We feel -- I feel in order to close the racial wealth gap, in order to build wealth in communities of color.

We need to really get to the minds and get to the spending habits of our young people, which is why I started the Center for Financial Advancement.

We are now at 15 HBCUs, and at every HBCU, we select 30 scholars.

They're called CFA scholars.

And these are students that we pay a stipend to, but it's all pay for performance.

So our job is to get these kids focused on money, get these kids focused on their own spending, credit.

They all get a chance to look at their credit reports.

They get lectures -- well, lectures, you know, speeches, about student loans?

We talk about how you're going to help your families, how you're going to give back to the universities.

How are you going to be a leader?

CFA is a financial, professional, and leadership development program at HBCUs, and we're channeling these students into lucrative careers in financial services.

>> What's been the response of the students?

>> The students -- phenomenal.

We already have -- Well, we're just going into our fifth year now.

We already have eight students who have bought their homes.

These are 22 year olds who have bought their homes.

They came in as a freshman and they work.

They learned about their credit.

They went to their parents.

They talked to their parents about their credit.

They are our leaders of tomorrow.

And they bought their homes.

Now they're thinking about buying buildings and just moving up.

We got to think big.

>> Look, I know the answer to the question, but I need to ask you.

Why is it important in America to own a home?

>> Aside from the negative side of renting, which means that you are in an uncertain situation every year that rent is going to go up.

You know, home ownership, it's a feeling.

It's a feeling of independence.

It's a feeling of achievement.

It's a feeling of security.

It's a feeling of peace.

My God, you got your own place.

You can do whatever you want to do with it.

If you get a fixed rate mortgage, which I would highly recommend, you're going to have the same payment for the next, you know, 20, 30 years, whatever amount of time.

It's a sense of security.

It's a way to change a neighborhood, change a family, change a thinking.

This is where we have to be driven to as a people and as a country.

>> What are the prospects for the future?

Is the trend moving in the right direction or we see new obstacles in the path of wealth building, particularly for undeserved communities like the African-Americans and Latino American minority?

What's the trend today?

>> The trend for people is one of hopefulness.

The trend for people of color financially is not quite as hopeful.

>> Why?

>> Number one, we have too many mortgage denials.

I mean, this is a huge problem in the mortgage and financial services industry, and it only takes prior preparation in order to not be denied.

A person can't get a mortgage with a 500 credit score, but with the right preparation and guidance, we can.

So this is one issue.

Another, people need down payment money.

I mean, let's be real.

one of the ladies that we're working with now, she's a single parent, went to an HBCU.

She makes $48,000 a year.

She's got three children, three teenage children, and she's paying $1,500 dollars a month rent.

How do you save any money, you know, in a situation like this?

Now, that's one person, but that one person represents millions across the country.

And with the right guidance, every situation can be turned around.

It's just about the time.

>> Right.

>> And the stick-to-itiveness.

You know, we've got to just do what we need to do and take action.

>> So now, you know, this has been like a course just talking to you.

First, we need the right guidance.

Then we have to have the right preparation.

>> That's right.

>> And what are some of the other steps that people have to do to improve their acquisition of a home, to improve their financial status?

>> You've got to take an honest look at that credit report and the credit score.

I know it brings a whole lot of stress.

Nobody wants to look at it, but that's the idea of working with the homeownership advisor.

You know, they can look at it, tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly.

So the credit information is critical because everybody who will loan us money is going to look at how well you paid somebody else.

I mean, that's just at the end of the day.

So the credit report is a report of how you pay someone else.

The problem is that there are a lot of errors on these credit reports.

>> How do you correct errors on your report?

>> Well, you can just write to the credit bureaus.

That's number one.

>> Does that work?

>> Well, you have to stay on it.

You have to stay on it.

And what happens is you would dispute an error.

You would dispute an error.

And the credit bureaus will check with the creditor to see whether they agree with what you've said here.

And if there is an issue, then, I mean, they will erase it from your credit report.

If it's not true, you know, they'll keep it on there.

But, you know, it's really -- it takes a lot of patience to do that, which is why a lot of people go to credit repair companies.

But at the end of the day, the credit repair companies don't help you because they're just disputing everything.

But if you just try some of these things, you'll get a sense of what to do and you won't be taken advantage of.

You know, information breeds confidence, and this is what we need.

And we're talking about finances and homeownership.

Look, it's not nearly as difficult as people think.

It's not nearly as out of the question as people think.

But we need to have -- Number one, we've got to have the determination to make things better because nothing is just going to happen without sitting down thinking about it.

>> So you have an annual conference?

>> Yes.

>> And I think the theme is Raising Millions.

>> Reaching.

Reaching Millions.

>> Tell us about how did you come up with this thing?

You're trying to reach millions who?

>> Absolutely.

We're trying to reach millions of people who want a better life financially.

>> Is the conference virtual?

>> Well, the conference is in person.

The conference is in person.

But it will be on our website.

>> Where is the conference?

>> The conference is in New Orleans It's in New Orleans this year.

And of course, for the last couple of years, all of our conferences have been by Zoom.

But this year, it's going to be in-person, and we're bringing all of our nonprofit small business leaders, our homeownership advisors from around the country to this conference, along with our major lending institutions.

We have to come together.

We have to work together because these banks want to get into these communities.

The communities -- These are their customers.

Nonprofit organizations -- We can influence the thinking.

We can help the people, and we can bring both parties together.

>> It's an interesting dynamic.

The banks want to get into the communities.

The communities want to get into the banks.

>> Yeah.

>> So they need organizations like HomeFree-USA.org to bring the two together.

>> Perfect.

So we're a marriage counselor, right?

>> Financial marriage.

>> A financial marriage counselor.

Exactly.

The whole idea is to get married.

Get married.

Have the people get married with the banks and stay married, stay married so that we work together, the banks do well, the people do well, our communities do well, the whole country will be better.

>> Marcia Griffin, what gives you today your greatest hope?

>> My greatest hope is that things will always be better.

People want to do well.

We're going to work together.

We're going to -- really, I really honestly feel we're on the move up, and bringing together the business community, the people community, the nonprofit communities -- oh, my God, that's a winning combination.

>> Marcia Griffin, co-founder, HomeFree-USA.

Thank you for joining "The Chavis Chronicles".

>> Thank you so much.

>> For more information about "The Chavis Chronicles" and our guests, please visit our website, at thechavischronicles.com.

Also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Major funding for "The Chavis Chronicles" is provided by the following.

At Wells Fargo, we are committed to diversity and understand our responsibility in supporting and empowering diverse communities.

Diversity and inclusion is integral to the way we work.

Supporting the financial health of our diverse customers and employees is one of the many ways we remain invested in inclusion for all, today, tomorrow, and in the future.

American Petroleum Institute.

Through the core elements of API's Energy Excellence Program, our members are committed to accelerating safety, environmental and sustainability progress throughout the natural gas and oil industry in the U.S. and around the world.

You can learn more at api.org/apienergyexcellence.

Reynolds American, dedicated to building a better tomorrow for our employees and communities.

Reynolds stands against racism and discrimination in all forms and is committed to building a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

At AARP, we are committed to empowering people to choose how they live as they age.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪