Three more ways credit unions can help new homeowners

The first few months as new homeowners feel incredibly busy. There’s just so much to do. You feel like you’re learning something new about homeownership every day, and some of the things you learn aren’t exactly fun.

I previously shared my experience with online mortgage loan tools, and then the budgeting difficulties new homeowners might experience between making an offer and closing the deal. Now that we’ve been in our house over a month, I have a few new things to share. These are the things I wish I’d known about that happen after you buy a house.

Back to budgets

Budgeting for the limbo-esque period before closing was tough, but of course the financial worries don’t end there. I know, I know, it’s a common experience for new homeowners to feel cash-poor. But hearing about it and experiencing how quickly you can burn through the few funds you have left is something else.

After moving in, all those home improvement projects are still on your mind and you’re feeling pretty ambitious. But that ambition falters when you see just how much work you have to do. It’s never-ending! Plus, those ambitious projects you’re planning are almost guaranteed to be cut short by your aforementioned lack of funds. This is especially true if you’re looking for contractors these days.

So once again, I’m advocating for credit unions to offer a budgeting coach. There’s always something more to do, and having someone to help you prioritize and use your budget appropriately would be a major help. Plus new homeowners are guaranteed to have questions, and maybe even discover a few surprises as they settle in.

Scams! Scams everywhere!

Okay, that’s a little dramatic, but it did feel like we were getting a lot of scammy-feeling letters in the mail nearly every day. Some of them are very official-looking as well. Some even had perforation, like a scary tax document.

For my part, I was suspicious from the beginning and it was pretty clear from titles like “The Mortgage Service Center” and fine print such as “not affiliated with any bank” that we were getting real-life spam mail. 

Still, the letters we got had many warnings about how “URGENT” it was to contact them and this was the “LAST CHANCE.” It would be easy to fall for it if you weren’t suspicious, and then you’d end up with one or more unnecessary home warranties, gopher insurance, gutter hats, or just plain giving information to a scammer.

That’s not to say that all these things are outright scams. But we know that most are at best not a good value, or offer services you don’t need or already have. And of course there are lots of scams out there, and they can put together some pretty convincing letters just using publicly available data.

Credit unions would be wise to warn new homeowners that much of their mortgage data is now public record, and to brace for a flood of junk mail. Heck, why not tell your members to bring in (or text or email) suspicious letters so you can look at them?

And, of course, it’s an opportunity for the credit union to offer services through trusted, well-vetted providers for those who are interested.

Look for little goofs

Getting a mortgage is a huge, complicated process and there are bound to be minor errors and oversights. When a letter about my new mortgage was sent to my previous address, I thought it was just a mistake. But then more letters arrived, and I realized my credit union had not changed my address in their system. It felt particularly silly because, well, that’s where I got my mortgage. Obviously this was an easy fix, but it was a minor speed bump that probably shouldn’t have happened.

In my opinion, it would be worth the trouble to create a short checklist of “after closing” housekeeping items for your credit union and your members to reference. New homeowners have so much to pay attention to, and they can use all the help that an experienced person can offer.

Sam Dicken
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