When wildfires blew through Butte and Shasta counties in 2018, destroying almost 19,000 structures and displacing thousands, it donated over $1 million to help residents rebuild. When the Census indicated Black homeownership rates were the lowest in the nation, it launched a three-year educational outreach initiative.
When data revealed that only one out of six California residents can afford the average home in the Golden State, its down payment assistance programs stepped up to bat. Last year, Cali’s housing authority came out with a Dream For All DPA program available to first-time buyers and they exhausted their budget very quickly -- $300 million in 11 days.
Having celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023, the Golden State Finance Authority (GSFA) models what a housing agency can be. Not only for the least fortunate of borrowers, but also the loan officers who make it their mission to serve them.
The GSFA’s history traces back to the Rural County Representatives of California, which first formed the California Rural Home Mortgage Finance Authority in 1993 as a joint powers authority representing 18 counties.
This organization grew and became the GSFA in 2015, and today represents more than 200 lenders across 56 counties. Each individual lender determines which branches or loan officers participate in the GSFA’s programs.
“Providing the best products and services possible while developing strong relationships with business partners that make our endeavors viable is the heart of our organization,” GSFA Deputy Director Craig Ferguson said in a statement. “At times this means juggling challenging financial markets and shifting priorities as the real estate market fluctuates. I am proud to be a part of an organization that continues to innovate and evolve to improve the lives of so many.”
Thirtieth anniversary events took place throughout 2023.
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Over the last three decades the GSFA has expanded from single- and multi-family financing to offer energy efficiency financing. Since 2010 it has financed over $1 billion among 36,200 residential and commercial energy efficiency projects. Ongoing economic development outreach has included $3.5 million in emergency disaster assistance to wildfire survivors, to fund temporary housing and rebuild projects.
“All of these investments are designed to help rural California thrive,” says Patrick Blacklock, executive director. “These milestone achievements would not be possible without the direction of our Board and the dedication of our amazing staff. I congratulate them all for their expertise and long-term commitment that has been integral to GSFA’s success.”
By working directly with investors, the organization has been able to generate funds for its programs through the sale of mortgage backed securities.
A Commitment
In the last 30 years, 85,400 Calif. residents have benefited from more than $660 million in down payment and closing cost assistance from the GSFA. At the same time the organization participated in over $15.6 billion in loan financing for first and second mortgages.
But no dollar amount can make up for the dedication by the lenders and loan originators that execute the GSFA’s programs, according to staff.
“Our most important business relationship is the one we have with our lending partners,” Carolyn Sunseri, director of marketing and stakeholder relations, explains. “We have a strong network of loan officers that truly want to make a difference in people’s lives. Working with the clients who don’t have cash resources takes a lot of commitment and dedication.”
Keeping in contact with them post-close often means a GSFA client is a return client.
Will Patterson
“They know that you did your best by them and showed them the way. And guess what? Those people a couple of years from now become the 800 credit scores with the 20% to put down once they sell the first house that you help them get into,” says Will Patterson, a mortgage loan originator with Academy Mortgage in Modesto, Calif. “It’s all about the trajectory up. You kind of get the best of both worlds where you’re helping people accomplish a major life goal and you can make a nice living doing it as well.”
“We have a strong network of loan officers that truly want to make a difference in people’s lives. Working with the clients who don’t have cash resources takes a lot of commitment and dedication.”
>Carolyn Sunseri, director of marketing and stakeholder relations, GSFA
There are fewer ‘perfect’ borrowers with excellent credit and enough cash for a 20% down payment browsing through Zillow and Redfin these days. Instead, it’s just a bunch of Janes and Joes scrolling through the few listings available in their budget and praying for the market to ease up. Some say LOs who make their money off of wealthy clients and million-dollar homes have no business being in today’s market.
“If that’s the client base you’re relying on, those people aren’t buying homes right now, or if they are, it’s a very, very select few,” Patterson says. “If you’re gonna make your career out of that type of client base, great. So be it. But guess what? These files aren’t as hard as people think they are. We finish them in 15 to 17 days routinely.”
Become the Go-To LO
It’s not just a seat in Heaven that propels LOs to get involved with the GSFA. Or other finance authorities across America, for that matter.
“Whether it’s the GSFA or another program, take a look at them because there’s a lot that it can do to help your client base which in turn, will also help your business,” Patterson says.
A family he recently closed a loan with came to Patterson through a lender and real estate agent that didn’t have the resources to help them given that their credit score was so low. The GSFA’s Golden Opportunities program was able to accommodate their needs.
“They called a realtor that I work with and he said, ‘Hey, talk to my lender. He might have something for you.’ The fact that we had access to that program, we both got a transaction out of nowhere that we didn’t know was coming. That’s always a nice win in this industry. And if that was an agent I didn’t do a lot of business with, that would have bridged an opportunity to do more business together.”
Too often homebuyer-hopefuls go to a lender and leave empty-handed. Another set of Patterson’s clients needed the higher backend debt-to-income ratio Golden Opportunities provides.
“We gave them buying power to at least be at a realistic price point. I love having those kinds of tools in my tool belt for my clients,” he explains. “It’s pretty cool to get somebody pre-approved within three or four days. And then 25 days later, you’re already getting paid on it.”
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The GSFA hears stories like this all the time. In fact, impossible dreams are their specialty.
“What I have seen in my 17 years with the organization is that homebuyers who are able to purchase a home sooner than they thought was possible tell family and friends,” Sunseri says. “Loan officers can build their own referral network just through clients they help. They become the go-to resource in their office for assistance programs. It’s a great way to build a business.”
Sondra Yates
Celebrating her 25th year in the mortgage business is Sondra Yates, originating branch manager with CrossCountry Mortgage in Modesto, Calif. Looking out for those borrowers who need a little help is her priority.
“We’ve all heard of clients that didn’t love their home buying experience, and we definitely want to be the ones that are contributing to all the favorable, positive, we’re there for you - not just from start to finish in a transaction - but after closing as well,” says Yates. “We want to be those advocates for people that don’t always have a voice depending on the market conditions. That’s our responsibility.”
She got involved with the GSFA and started offering borrowers its assistance programs about three years ago.
“We’re all looking for ways to stand apart. What’s our unique value add? What does our program mix look like? The more programs that you can offer to help buyers be competitive is super important. Then once you’ve established trust with them, they tell their friends, they tell their fellow coworkers; they want to have that experience duplicated for other people they know.”
LOs interested in doing loans with the GSFA can visit its website at GSFAhome.org to find out if their company has been approved.
About 15% of the loans Patterson closed this year were GSFA loans.
“A few of those files we would not have been able to do without whichever GSFA program we used for them,” he says. “It’s funny because now I think back to earlier in my career and I’m like, oh man, how much business did I not capture because I didn’t have access to down payment assistance programs. As the market has shifted there’s been a huge necessity for it.”
Figuring It Out
The organization offers free weekly training workshops for those new to this niche market, to familiarize them with the programs, eligibility and loan processing guidelines.
Generally the GSFA offers FHA, USDA and VA government financing in conventional, 30-year fixed rate loans.
“The actual application and processing of our mortgage loans through our programs is the same as the loan process an officer normally goes through to offer their products, but the difference is when they lock in the rate they’re doing it through us as a housing financing agency,” Sunseri says. “At the same time they are getting the commitment of the down payment assistance funds they need for their borrowers.”
“It’s funny because now I think back to earlier in my career and I’m like, oh man, how much business did I not capture because I didn’t have access to down payment assistance programs.”
>Will Patterson, Mortgage Loan Originator, Academy Mortgage
While other agencies require additional compliance review steps, there are none here.
“We delegate the underwriting directly to our lenders so it doesn’t slow down the escrow process,” Sunseri adds. “It’s practically seamless.”
The GSFA also welcomes more borrowers than other down payment assistance programs, according to the LOs who have their tools at ready.
“You don’t have to be a first time home buyer; you can have non-occupying co-signers or things like that,” Patterson points out. “Sometimes as loan officers, we’re used to one down payment assistance program and we get something that doesn’t quite fit in that box, so we might be in the mindset to say no, we can’t do it.”
He encourages LOs to educate themselves on as many different loan products as they can in order to do right by the most borrowers.
“I think that the more that you can add to what you can do for your clients is always going to benefit you as a loan officer, as well as your agents that you work with.”
Yates commends the GSFA for a stellar 30 years of making homeownership possible for people who thought it was impossible.
“They’ve obviously had a long history of doing a great job and helping so many home buyers,” she says. “It’s a fantastic organization to align yourself with in terms of their product mix and what they truly offer to clients. I would highly recommend that you join them because you will have clients that benefit from this program over some of the other down payment assistance programs.
This article was originally published in the California Broker April 2024 issue.
