HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

Urban Roots Home Solutions

START WITH A CONVERSATION

The process begins with a conversation about your goal of owning a home. URHS gathers the information needed to understand your current income, household expenses, housing needs, and financial capacity.

You do not need a perfect past to begin. The purpose is to determine what works for your household today and establish a path toward purchasing a home.

QUALIFICATION BASED ON FINANCIAL CAPACITY

URHS conducts the program’s financial qualification review. Credit scores and prior credit history do not determine program approval, pricing, down payment, interest rate, or mortgage terms.

We review documented income and continuing household expenses against the complete proposed housing payment. That payment includes PITI—principal, interest, property taxes, and homeowners insurance.

Verified gross monthly income must be at least 3.5 times the proposed PITI. The household budget must also remain positive after housing costs, continuing expenses, and required repair savings. Both measurements matter because the home needs to fit your actual financial capacity.

Income documentation covers at least three consecutive months, with six months preferred. The number of statements needed depends on how frequently you receive income.

FINDING THE HOME THAT FITS

URHS works with you to identify an available participating home that fits your needs and financial capacity. Qualification is specific to the property because its purchase price, taxes, insurance, and complete mortgage payment determine the financial review.

Participating homes must meet URHS property-readiness standards. Required work must be completed, essential systems evaluated, and known conditions disclosed before the property is approved for purchase closing.

Once a home is identified, URHS presents its proposed purchase price, down payment, mortgage amount, and complete housing payment so you can understand the figures before moving forward.

IF YOU QUALIFY INITIALLY

If your documented financial capacity supports the home you have selected, the process moves toward completing the buyer file, required homeowner education, property verification, and professional mortgage origination.

URHS completes its internal program review and coordinates the file with the approved Residential Mortgage Loan Originator—RMLO—for the mortgage application, required verification, disclosures, and closing process.

IF YOU DO NOT QUALIFY INITIALLY

Not qualifying at first does not mean the answer is no. The optional pre-buy provides a way to establish payment performance in the home you want to purchase.

During the pre-buy, you live in that home and make rental payments for six to eight months. That documented in-home payment performance is used in qualifying you for the mortgage and completing the purchase.

Those rental payments are credited toward the purchase price under the written pre-buy terms. The agreement documents the payment amount, purchase credits, and the steps connecting the pre-buy to mortgage qualification and closing.

The pre-buy closes the loop: initial review, demonstrated payment performance, mortgage qualification, origination, and purchase closing. At closing, the rental phase ends, the purchase credits are applied, you receive the deed, and the purchase closes with an actual mortgage.

YOUR DOWN PAYMENT AND PURCHASE CREDITS

The base down payment is calculated using three months of the selected property’s actual PITI. Any additional equity contribution is determined through the property-specific financial review.

The full down payment is credited toward the purchase price. If you use the optional pre-buy, its rental-payment credits are also documented and applied toward the purchase price at closing.

URHS explains the complete funds calculation for your transaction, including how the down payment, pre-buy credits, and any separately disclosed closing costs or prepaid items are reflected in the closing figures.

PREPARATION FOR HOMEOWNERSHIP

Homeowner education is part of the program. Every adult purchaser completes the required URHS Ownership Foundations education before purchase closing. URHS provides that education without charge.

The program also includes a dedicated, buyer-controlled Home Emergency Repair Reserve savings account. Required savings of at least $50 each week begin during preparation and continue throughout the active program mortgage period.

The education and reserve requirements help prepare you for ownership beyond the mortgage payment. The full education program is explained on its own page.

AN ACTUAL 20-YEAR MORTGAGE

The URHS Home Ownership Success Program uses an RMLO-originated, fixed-rate mortgage that is fully amortized over 20 years. There is no balloon payment and no prepayment penalty.

Your complete housing payment includes principal, interest, property taxes, and homeowners insurance. The property-specific figures and mortgage terms are presented through the origination and disclosure process.

URHS embraces the Dodd-Frank requirements and professional mortgage origination as part of the program’s structure. The process brings documented financial capacity, required disclosures, and professional closing coordination together.

AT PURCHASE CLOSING

At closing, you receive the deed and become the homeowner. You sign the mortgage documents, and the mortgage is recorded against the property.

The closing figures show the purchase price, down payment, applicable pre-buy payment credits, mortgage amount, and separately disclosed transaction costs.

For participants who used the pre-buy, this completes the transition from in-home payment performance to a completed home purchase with an actual 20-year mortgage.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICING AND CREDIT REPORTING

After closing, your mortgage is professionally serviced by a company that reports payment history to all three credit bureaus.

Professional servicing provides mortgage statements, payment records, account administration, and a point of contact for mortgage-account questions. Your documented mortgage payment history becomes part of your ongoing financial record.

SUPPORT BEYOND CLOSING

URHS stays connected through Beyond the Door. Continued communication, homeowner guidance, and support remain part of the program after the purchase closes.

The goal is lasting homeownership: a home you can maintain, build equity in, pay off, and eventually pass down.

Whether you qualify initially or use the optional pre-buy to establish the performance needed for qualification, the destination is the same—a completed purchase, the deed in your hands, and an actual mortgage supporting your future as a homeowner.