Rolander Lindsey tried to buy a home twice – and failed twice – before Fahe’s JustChoice Lending helped her succeed. The first time was before her husband passed. The house the couple was in the process of buying sold to someone else and they were too frustrated to continue. Later, as the head of a household with her daughter and two grandchildren, she reached out to a realtor who was a family friend and tried again.
Lindsey found a home she loved during the search. Unfortunately, her first loan fell apart and she needed a new lender. Her realtor told her about JustChoice Lending. She had to start from scratch, but she received an accessible mortgage and support on paperwork and deadlines through the homebuying process.
“I was determined to have this home and Sade [the staff person] stayed on it,” Lindsey said. “I would have stopped looking if I didn’t find JustChoice.”
Lindsey benefitted from an Inspire 100 mortgage. JustChoice has offered this loan tool in the states which it serves since February 2024. Inspire 100 loans are designed to overcome barriers that people of color and low wealth borrowers often have to homeownership. With an affordable 30-year conventional fixed rate mortgage, it doesn’t require mortgage insurance and has flexible underwriting guidelines.
Philanthropic funds allow JustChoice to increase the number of mortgages they can offer. Fahe aggregates loans from regional accessibility-focused lenders, then sells them to Self Help Credit Union. These riskier loans are difficult to resell to mainstream financial institutions. The process returns funds back to lenders and in turn, to community members like Lindsey.
Lindsey’s 11 grandchildren motivated her to persevere. Along with the two that live with her, many of the others spend time with her on a regular basis. Her previous rental was in a rough neighborhood, with nearby shootings and used needles on the ground. The grandkids weren’t able to play outside. One day, Lindsey woke up determined to find a home for them.
Now the grandchildren are enjoying being kids in the country, running around free in the big backyard and, for a grandson who loves to fish, dropping a line in the creek running through it. Lindsey, too, is excited to be a homeowner and is always working on small improvements to her property.