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credit scores

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Push Back on the Racial Wealth Gap—A Shelterforce Webinar

Authors from Shelterforce’s recent series about the racial wealth gap and other experts talk wealth building, wealth extraction, and the tools available to help close the gap.

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CDFIs

Making Loans to Help Formerly Incarcerated People Get Back on Their Feet

CDFIs and nonprofits are figuring out how to help formerly incarcerated people build credit histories and access capital in order to get their lives going.

Q: Can Including Rent and Utility Payments in Credit Scores Reduce Racial Disparities in Lending?

Including rent and utility payments in credit reports and scoring models can increase credit scores, and reduce racial disparities in credit scores.

neon home loan sign
Housing

After Redlining: Part 2

Headrights and redlining were parts of a systemic structure designed to aid some and debilitate others. Their repercussions are still felt.

A woman leads a credit building class at Stephens Creek Crossing, a Hope 6 property owned and operated by Home Forward.
Financial System

An Opportunity for Housing Providers to Help Renters Build Credit

Of the 987 low-income renters whose rents were reported through a pilot program, 79 percent saw their VantageScore increase by an average of 23 points, and 15 percent moved into a lower credit score risk tier.

mobile home park
Shelter Shorts

Shelter Shorts, The Week in Community Development—July 27

Facebook Takes Our Advice | Work Requirements for Foster Youth? | Public Housing Smoking Ban Takes Effect | Amazon, Still a Bully? |

Mission Street, San Francisco
Shelter Shorts

Shelter Shorts—The Week in Community Development-Feb. 16

Gentrification’s Off the Hook | Double Housing Discrimination | Medical Care for the Homeless | It’s Still Expensive to be Poor | A Robust Economy Lifts “Some” Boats

This Opa-locka, Florida resident had his loan request approved based on his character and not his credit score.
CDFIs

When a Person’s Character Trumps Their Credit Score

Some CDFIs approve loans based on a person’s character instead of their credit score. But they only recommend
doing so when you know the applicant.

A woman and man stand together smiling in front of their new home in North Carolina. They received a loan not based on credit scores, but on character.
Financial System

Challenging the Almighty Credit Score

A majority of mainstream lenders base loan approvals on a hotly debated three-digit score. Are there better, fairer ways to assess risk?

Housing

Relaxing the Credit Crunch

Three years after the financial meltdown, credit remains elusive in many underserved communities. Although the reliance on credit scores is greater now than it’s been in a decade, many housing activists and community lenders are arguing for other means to evaluate credit risk.

Financial System

Does the Current Reliance on Credit Scores Deny Deserving Applicants?

Last week, we asked readers if credit scores were too much of a driver in home loan approval. You answered overwhelmingly that yes, credit scores prevent often worth applicants from […]

Shelter Shorts

NCRC Files Fair Lending Complaints

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition has filed complaints with HUD against dozens of lenders who have set minimum borrower credit scores as high as 640 for Federal Housing administration (FHA) […]