SAN RAMON, Calif. – Oct. 2, 2017 – Crowdfunding – websites or apps that encourage friends, family and others to donate money – are a popular way for some first-time buyers to save for a home’s downpayment.

CMG Financial, for example, just released a version, called HomeFundMe. HomeFundMe users are incentivized to complete homebuyer education or housing counseling in exchange for a grant opportunity ranging from $1000 to $2500. The counseling fee is covered, and once completed, HomeFundMe will match donations at two dollars for every dollar raised up to the qualified grant limits.

There is no fee to crowdfund, CMS says, and 100 percent of the funds raised go to the recipient.

In addition, contributors don’t have to lose their “gift” if the homebuyers get cold feet and drop out. When contributing, they have an option to make their gift conditional to the home purchase. If they choose conditional, they get the money back if the buyers don’t follow through.

“The downpayment tends to be the largest hurdle in the home buying process, and we’ve developed a solution to help remove that barrier,” says Christopher M. George, president and CEO of CMG Financial and vice chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association. “Buyers are able to utilize their own community and network of family and friends to increase the amount they have available for a downpayment. At CMG, we believe that the home buying process is a community event.”

HomeFundMe also links to wedding registries and other platforms, so users can leverage life events as an opportunity to accept contributions toward the downpayment on their dream home. There is no fee to use HomeFundMe and all the funds collected through the HomeFundMe platform are directly accessible to the user as a mortgage downpayment.

Source: Florida Realty