CHARLOTTE, N.C. — WCNC Charlotte anchor Jane Monreal followed up on WCNC Charlotte reporter Nate Morabito's investigations into Charlotte's challenges with affordable housing.
According to recent data from real estate company Zillow, nearly one in four Black applicants are denied a mortgage. That's more than twice as often as white applicants, which is about 10%.
Patrick Crockett was one of them. The Augusta, Georgia native moved to Charlotte in 2016.
"When I actually visited here, I just fell in love with the people, because Charlotte is like a city and southern mixed together," he said. "And it's just an amazing feel."
After graduating from Queens University and landing a job with Atrium Health, Crockett knew he wanted to put down some roots.
"I put in an offer, and just heard 'no'. And literally, there's just a lot of different 'nos," he said. "But that one yes is just the deal changer."
Crockett started to turn things around when he learned about DreamKey Partners.
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Erin Barbee, Chief Strategy Officer at DreamKey Partners - formerly known as the Charlotte Mecklenburg Housing Partnership - said stories like Crockett's aren't exactly rare.
"When I hear that one in four black North Carolinians can't get into a home, it doesn't surprise me," she said.
Barbee explained there are multiple reasons people of color believe they can't buy a home.
"People think, 'I need to be able to afford a $500,000 house in Charlotte in order to get a home.' So that's number one," Barbee said. "They have a lot of debt, their debt-to-income ratio was quite high. And banks frown upon that. And also, people are challenged with down payment assistance. They don't have that large chunk of change just sitting in their bank account ready to buy a home. And when you put all of those factors together, it feels like 'No, no, no.' "
Barbee said it doesn't have to be all gloom and doom.
"There's always a first step. And the first step is saying, 'This is my goal.' And putting that into the space and saying. 'I would like to achieve it.' And then we want to evaluate where you are in the process," she said. "Some people come to us and they have a 640 credit score, and they have some savings, they may be further along to be able to gain homeownership. Others come and they're not in that situation, and they need a partner to be able to achieve that."
The first step is coming to us and having a conversation and saying, ' How can you help me?' And we figure what we can plan out for them," she added.
When a determined Crockett signed up with DreamKey Partners, he learned how to improve his debt-to-credit ratio, leading to a more desirable credit score.
"I started saving money. I can stop eating out so much, stop doing this, doing that, and just put it into an account," he said. "And over a matter of time, wow!"
Crockett was able to buy his townhouse in 2022.
"The house that I'm in, it's beautiful, amazing neighbors, amazing cul de sac," he said.
Barbee said she's proud of Crockett.
"He was resilient. He heard a lot of 'no's', which a lot of our customers do," she said. "And he said, 'I am going to get to a yes.'"
Barbee said any customer can sign up with DreamKey Partners.
"Just because you're low to moderate income doesn't mean that you can't participate in our program. Anyone at any income level can participate in understanding their finances. When you ask the average person, do you understand your credit, a lot of people will say, 'Not really,' " she said. "Now, the person that we're really wanting to work with are those that feel like they don't have hope to get a home."
Barbee said their team is realistic with their customers.
"You might be able to achieve homeownership in a year, or it might take three years, but we're going to join that journey with you. And we're going to get you to your goal because ultimately, we want you to build generational wealth. And you can't do that overnight," she said. "You want to be able to pass something along to your family, you want to be able to set them up for success. And we have to change the narrative, we have to change how things have been done systemically. The only way to do that is to through building that wealth. And homeownership is the best way to do that."
There is a $50 fee to participate in the program. But with that, Barbee said, it gives customers access to a slew of resources.
"They need to know that DreamKey Partners is not just someone that provides education, down payment assistance and counseling, but we also build homes. And we also have partnerships to be able to access homes," she said. "Here's a little-known secret about DreamKey: When you go through our program, you can gain access to homes that are not on MLS. That is a big deal. People who are in our program don't have to compete for a home. And they need to hear that loud and clear, because that takes away a huge barrier for accessing an affordable home."
Contact Jane Monreal at jmonreal@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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