Description

Home Purchase Advisor Job Description

Reports to: Program Administrator Housing/Executive Director

Status: Exempt

Hours: Hybrid schedule 3 days in office, 2 days work from home. Ability to travel as needed. Availability to work flexible hours, including evenings, holidays or weekends, as needed.

Job Summary: The mission of the Home Purchase Advisor (HPA) is to prepare potential homeowners to make informed decisions in purchasing a home. The HPA uses independent judgment in coaching English and Spanish speaking customers to make recommendations and guide customers through the home purchase process to ultimately become a successful homeowner.

About the Hope Center Foundation: Founded in the 2010s and reestablished in 2020, The Hope Center Foundation of Chicago is a Roseland-based, not-for-profit organization, helping residents of the Urban Chicago community to successfully transition out of poverty to living wage and into generational wealth. The organization works to address the root causes contributing to poverty and violence in the community through imaginative, solution-focused programs that provide support in the areas of home ownership, financial literacy, workforce development, youth mentorship, and entrepreneurship.

Responsibilities:

• Provide relevant education and training so that customers are presented with the knowledge and skills that can help them on the path to homeownership for them to become sustainable homeowners. Also help potential customers better understand what Hope Center Foundation can offer them.

• Provides one-on-one coaching and advice to customers to assist them through the home purchase process including assessing the customer’s current ability to purchase, developing an individualized homebuyer action plan for each customer, and providing regular and on-going support to each customer so that they become buyer ready and qualify for the best possible mortgage financing.

• Facilitate the intake of new home purchase customers including calculating customer’s income, assessing their ability to purchase a home, preparing an individualized homebuyer action plan for each customer, and providing regular, ongoing coaching and support for each customer until they become buyer ready.

• Actively manage a client caseload, ensuring that customers are followed up with on a regular basis, providing motivational coaching and technical advice to keep customers on track, and paying attention to and analyzing what interventions lead to success and what factors contribute to customers giving up and dropping out.

• Use the CRM system to track client progress.

• Comply with all applicable regulations, policies, and procedures.

• Assist as needed with financial education classes for potential homeowners. Includes preparation, presentation, and follow up after classes.

• Consistently track other funding opportunities for down payment assistance.

• Work with team on HUD certification for the Hope Center.

• Assist with meeting requirements for Hope Center to become a LISC FOC.

• Attend United Power meetings pertinent to housing.

• Attend training sessions and certifications relevant to housing.

• Attend housing conferences as assigned.

• Other duties as assigned.

Expected Outcomes:

• Timely follow up with all inquiries to ensure Hope Center Foundation generates budgeted buyer ready customers who can work with our lenders to achieve home ownership.
• Effective management and conversion of coaching customer pipeline to buyer ready pipeline.
• Proactively contribute to the team in ensuring the customers who are under purchase contract close on time.

Requirements

Competencies:

• Customer service. Extremely responsive to internal and external customer requests; exceeding customers’ expectations. Abides by Hope Center Foundation Customer Service Standards.

• Listening skills. Listen to understand others’ viewpoints. Anticipates customer needs and offers innovative solutions.

• Communication skills. Able to clearly present complex issues – both orally and written.

• Flexibility and adaptability. Adjusts quickly to changing priorities and conditions. Copes effectively with complexity and change.

• Work independently. Ability to work independently with little or no supervision.

• Computer skills. Competence in Microsoft Excel, Word, outlook; Windows and other software applications as appropriate.

• High standards. Expect personal performance to be nothing short of the best.

Education and Experience:

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• College degree or two or more years of experience in related field preferred
• HUD certified counselor

Physical Requirements:

• This is largely a sedentary role. 
• Must be able to occasionally lift objects up to 20 pounds.