Hispanics and the Homeownership Divide
The majority of Latino Americans aspire to homeownership. Community activists say so, and surveys bear them out: 70 percent of Hispanic respondents to the Zillow Housing Confidence Index Survey say owning their own home is necessary to live the American Dream.
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Some organizations offer solutions like zero-interest loans that small groups of immigrants lend to one another, for the purpose of building credit. Their monthly payments are reported to credit bureaus, giving them access to mainstream lending so they don’t have to rely on payday loans.
Jose Quinonez is a 2016 MacArthur fellow who runs the Mission Asset Fund in San Francisco. Its lending circles model facilitates lending among small groups of immigrants for the purpose of building credit. The payments are reported to credit bureaus.
