UMortgage has partnered with TransUnion and FinLocker to provide consumers with the USafe app, making financial literacy and personal financial management more accessible.
The USafe app powered by FinLocker is another action taken to help UMortgage’s mission in supporting consumers to achieve a financially stable future with homeownership as the anchor to building generational wealth.
“Homeownership is the basis of wealth creation for the majority of Americans,” says Brian Vieaux, president and COO of FinLocker. “As home price growth reached the highest level in more than 45 years last year, homeowners with mortgages saw their equity increase 29.3 percent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to CoreLogic. That’s an average gain of $55,300 per homeowner.”
Through the USafe app, consumers will receive personalized journeys to monitor and improve their credit health through TransUnion as well as tools to manage their finances, establish savings goals, project cash flow, and budget to pay down debt and save for a down payment. It wil also include educational resources on how to manage credit and credit cards, pay for college, prepare for the mortgage process, and more.
“FinLocker provides consumers with the tools to build credit, pay down debt and save their down payment so they can be eligible for favorable mortgage rates,” adds Vieaux. “Buying a home with a lower interest rate will help them pay less for their home over the term of their mortgage, improve their cash flow to help them achieve long-term financial goals, and contribute to their net worth, all of which they can do in their FinLocker-powered USafe app.”
“We’re 10 years away from homeownership being unaffordable for the vast majority of Americans – that’s a problem,” states Anthony Casa, president and CEO of UMortgage. “We believe that providing free financial education is critical for wealth creation and, for us, the most impactful thing we can do is focus on generational impact, especially for underserved communities.”
UMortgage is the first mutual client of TransUnion and FinLocker using their digital-first solution to identify prospective homebuyers and nurture and convert leads into funded loans while streamlining the mortgage application and underwriting process for all parties.
“Credit is fundamental to homeownership and it’s important that consumers – especially those within underserved communities – have access to tools that provide financial literacy on how they may build credit to become successful homeowners,” comments Joe Mellman, senior vice president of mortgage at TransUnion. “When consumers have a better understanding of their individual mortgage readiness and the various financing options available, there’s a far greater chance they will successfully complete the home buying process.”