Countrywide Financial Corp. said Friday that it has teamed up with New Vista Asset Management of San Diego to market its backlog of foreclosed properties to first-time homebuyers in minority neighborhoods.
The Calabasas, Calif., lender said it will hold seminars in Los Angeles and Dallas to educate first-time buyers about purchasing repossessed properties and to help them obtain "the best financing possible for their situation."
New Vista will market properties in Atlanta, Las Vegas, California, and Texas. Countrywide's "real estate owned" Web site lists 14,220 properties for sale with a total asking price of more than $2.8 billion.
Potential buyers are required to prequalify for a loan through Countrywide even if they obtain financing from another source, according to a contract posted on the site of Pelletier Homes, a San Diego real estate brokerage.
The contract says that as an incentive for the buyer to obtain financing from Countrywide, the company "will offer a free appraisal and a free credit report if the buyer finances and closes the purchase of the property through financing from Countrywide Home Loans."
Jim Park, New Vista's president and chief executive officer, said at an April 5 conference in Indian Wells, Calif., sponsored by the trade group REOMac that because of the rash of foreclosures, banks may be eligible for Community Redevelopment Act credit for selling properties in minority communities.
"The government sees the inventory [of foreclosed homes] growing, and they're trying to create market incentives," Mr. Park said.
