Wouldn’t it be great to be able to close a loan for your customer even if they are denied? Sounds too good to be true! But now you can through Trio’s OwnOption Mortgage.

Three years ago, Trio launched its OwnOption Mortgage product with a select group of lenders with the sole purpose of responsibly expanding access to credit. Today, lenders across the country are lining up to take advantage of this innovative program. Through Trio, lenders now have access to a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lease-purchase mortgage product they can originate when a customer is denied.

Trio’s affiliates qualify as borrowers under a special program with FHA. Lenders originate a simplified FHA mortgage to Trio’s affiliates and distribute through its partnered FHA issuer and servicer, Land Home Financial Services. Customers then sign a lease-purchase agreement with Trio and take occupancy just like a traditional mortgage. One hundred percent financing is available down to a 580 credit score. The program has no maximum income limits.

After customers take occupancy, they have up to three years to finish qualifying. Trio’s HUD-approved counseling agency (Money Management International) provides 24 months of counseling to assist. Once customers are ready, Trio provides down payment assistance covering the required down payment and closings costs. Customers can assume the original FHA OwnOption Mortgage or, if rates have gone down, use a new mortgage to purchase their home from Trio.

“From late-stage denials to expanding our third-party origination channel, Land Home Financial has partnered with Trio and its OwnOption Mortgage Program,” says Mark Sheridan, senior vice president of Third-Party Origination. “Lenders, brokers, builders, agents and sellers benefit from a successful closing that would have otherwise resulted in a loss. But, to see customers that were denied for a mortgage returning to our closing offices to become homeowners is very satisfying and proof that Trio’s system works.”

And now, Trio has created an online ‘Rules Engine’ that simplifies and automates the process for lenders. According to Land Home Financial Services, Trio’s Rules Engine qualified over 40% of its denied mortgages into an OwnOption Mortgage. Imagine sitting with a customer and realizing they will likely be denied and then being able to offer a ‘back up plan’ that assures them of a path to homeownership.  

Sheridan, says, “This is a game changer for originators when working with potential homeowners. It expands originations as well as saves deals.”

Trio is a finance company based in Bellevue, Washington, that has been offering affordable lease-purchase programs for nearly 20 years. Most industry professionals shy away from lease-purchase programs because most overpromise and underdeliver. What makes Trio different is that each home comes with a single-family mortgage and a fixed purchase price, making ownership affordable.

Darryl Lewis, managing director and founder of Trio, is very proud when he tells us, “Trio has over a 70% success rate of transitioning its customers into homeowners.”

Needless to say, Trio’s OwnOption Mortgage is a safe alternative for customers having a difficult time getting into a traditional home loan.

“Trio’s OwnOption Mortgage was created to bridge the gap between renting and owning, for those who aren’t able to initially qualify for a traditional mortgage,” says Lewis. “Our mission is to create homeowners through responsible innovation. Everything we do goes back to that idea.”

Trio’s OwnOption Mortgage helps potential homeowners ranging from first-time buyers to recent college graduates to those with student loans or jobs in the gig economy. An OwnOption Mortgage is also a wonderful option for those lacking a down payment, small business owners, those recovering from a financial or medical setback as well as renters wishing to become homeowners.

Lenders have used OwnOption Mortgages to save late stage denials, bridge qualification gaps due to changes in employment, relocation, down payment seasoning and have rescued new construction sales with homebuilders.  Sheridan further comments, “Lenders big and small are now using this unique product to expand qualifications and cure deals helping to expand relationships with agents and builders.”

Trio and its industry partners have engineered the ‘holy grail of home finance’ that unlocks a new door to homeownership, providing the industry with a new way to originate a mortgage for customers that are nearly qualified, but not yet ready for a direct mortgage. Trio truly provides a win-win-win for all parties involved.

iBuyers, homebuilders and single-family rental investors are also working with Trio. Trio pays market pricing for existing rental homes with tenants that may want to convert to homeownership through its OwnOption Mortgage product. Trio purchases in bulk or singles from these investors and offers its lease-purchase program to existing tenants. “Our mission with our investor purchase program is to return affordable homes that were swept up after the housing crisis back to homeownership” says Lewis.

Trio is currently offered in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado and Georgia. “We will be expanding very quickly in 2020 to more states” according to the business development director Aaron Tuttle. “There is a lot of demand for this program, and we are excited to partner with our government housing agencies to bring Trio to potential homeowners in those states.”

The Trio Rules Engine will be broadly available at the end of the first quarter of 2020. Lenders who are interested in learning more about Trio’s OwnOption Mortgage or signing up to participate can inquire at the Trio industry website, www.trioresidential.com/lender.

“With our Rules Engine launching this year,” said Lewis, “originators everywhere will have a streamlined way to save loan denials and help more people break out of rentership to become homeowners. Everybody wins.”