Better Mortgage Launches #SpentOnRent to Increase Awareness of Obstacles to Millennial Homeownership

Action needed to reverse the impact of student debt, tighter credit standards, the limited supply of affordable housing and racial factors

NEW YORK--()--Today, Better Mortgage, a digital mortgage company working to improve access to home financing for a new generation of homeowners, is launching its #SpentOnRent campaign. Millennials are being shut out from homeownership -- and Better is calling for change. Using the #SpentOnRent hashtag, Millennials across America will be discussing their own personal stories about what homeownership means to them.

“At Better, we are committed to expanding access to home finance to all Americans and believe it’s vitally important to understand the challenges facing every homebuyer,” said Vishal Garg, CEO and co-founder, Better Mortgage. “Millennials are not as involved in homeownership as prior generations. We encourage all Millennials to join the conversation on social media, using #SpentOnRent, and tell us about why homeownership is important to you.”

To learn more about how the antiquated mortgage process and bad policy is impacting Millennials, head to www.better.com/spentonrent. There, you can participate in a short quiz, which shows how likely you are to be a homeowner, with the probability calculations based on the data from the report. The quiz takes into account factors such as age, race, gender, income, rent-to-income ratio, education, student debt, and whether or not your parents were homeowners.

Better encourages Millennials to create a video and share their story, on Twitter, about why they’re a Millennial renter or homeowner, using #SpentOnRent. One lucky participant will win $5,000 to put toward their version of the American Dream1. Better has also partnered with influential Millennial voices, like @alicialquarles, @RealDoctorMike, @SamWhiteout, @KellyChoi, @Momtrends, @Shama, @NotOkThatsOk, @Sabatier, @LaGuardiaCross, @DeniseSolerCox and @amandaabella, who will share their own homeownership and rental stories, on social media.

Alongside the campaign, the Urban Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to elevating the debate on social and economic policy, today also published a report, funded by Better Mortgage, on low homeownership rates among Millennials. Based on its own experience in working with potential Millennial homeowners, Better reached out to the Urban Institute, to collaborate on the research.

In the report, Millennials were found to face several obstacles to homeownership compared to previous generations, with minorities particularly impacted. Click here to download the full report.

“The private sector needs to play a more active role in advocating for change, rather than waiting for inventory to free up or the rate environment to shift,” added Garg. “We will continue to work with public officials and organizations to discuss policy recommendations, and we call on private institutions to join us in educating the public and confronting issues, like financial discrimination, head on.”

About Better Mortgage

Launched in 2016, Better.com is a full stack mortgage lender digitizing every step of the home financing process to make homeownership more affordable and accessible. Backed by Kleiner Perkins, Goldman Sachs, and Pinebrook, Better is focused on customer advocacy, putting consumers back in control of the most important financial decision of their lives. Recently named Best Mortgage Lender for Customer Service by Nerdwallet, Better has an intuitive online platform, complemented by non-commissioned staff that guide customers through the process, starting with how much house they can afford or how much they can save through to close, completely jargon-free with airtight certainty and the best rate possible. For more information, follow us on FacebookTwitter and LinkedIn.

1 Terms and conditions apply. Go to better.com/content/spentonrentrules for sweepstakes details.

Contacts

Media:
Better
Erica Dumas, 646-461-4304
Edumas@better.com
Better Mortgage Corporation NMLS # 330511
or
Montieth & Company
Perry Goldman, 646-864-3568
pgoldman@montiethco.com

Contacts

Media:
Better
Erica Dumas, 646-461-4304
Edumas@better.com
Better Mortgage Corporation NMLS # 330511
or
Montieth & Company
Perry Goldman, 646-864-3568
pgoldman@montiethco.com