Gig workers, freelancers and self-employed New Yorkers are receiving assistance qualifying for mortgages and achieving homeownership through the Pathways to Homeownership Program, launched by the New York City Housing Partnership and funded by a multi-year partnership with Airbnb.
According to a news release from HP, the Pathways to Homeownership program offers gig workers tailored workshops and one-on-one counseling to help document income required for mortgage approval. The program will also provide access to city, state and private down payment assistance and training classes on how to create income, sustain ownership, avoid foreclosure and build equity.
Jamie A. Smarr, president and CEO of the nonprofit housing partnership, said he expects the program to assist 1,000 gig workers annually in buying their first homes.
“Affordable homeownership for first-time buyers is a component of a multi-faceted solution to New York’s housing crisis,” he said. “Home ownership strengthens the social and economic fabric of neighborhoods throughout New York City.”
The lack of regular paystubs, W-2s or 1099s to document income, Smarr explained, often puts gig workers at a disadvantage when applying for a mortgage to buy their first home. He noted that the economy has undergone significant shifts for middle-class Americans.
The goal for the new program, Smarr continued, is to help workers with non-traditional sources of income become homeowners. The program will also advise these workers how to present rental or hosting income to mortgage lenders when buying a house, he added.
“The Housing Partnership’s Home Ownership Counseling program provides all the necessary tools for first-time homebuyers to navigate the complex home purchase process,” Smarr said. “Our education and counseling programs are conducted by one of our HUD Certified Housing Counselors.”
Warren Gardiner, senior policy manager of Airbnb in New York, said the company is committed to its partnership with HP and making homeownership a reality for New Yorkers who have been performing work integral to the city for decades.
“Homeownership is one of the strongest pathways to building long-term financial stability and generational wealth,” Gardiner said. “But too often, low- and middle-income New Yorkers without traditional income sources have been shut out of the American Dream.”
Rafael Espinal, president of Freelancers Union, echoed Gardiner’s sentiment and pointed out that access to homeownership has long been out of reach for independent workers due to outdated mortgage systems that don’t reflect the realities of self employment. The Pathway to Homeownership program, he continued, helps bridge a critical gap by supporting gig workers who are ready to buy a home but face barriers due to how their income is reported.
“We welcome this new initiative and Airbnb’s investment as a meaningful step to close that gap,” Espinal said. “Freelancers are building the future of work — it’s time our financial systems caught up.”
The Housing Partnership, the news release said, collaborates with labor unions, organizations representing gig economy workers, and community and faith-based organizations to reach target populations and provide financial coaching, subsidy navigation and ongoing post-home purchase counseling. As a result, Smarr said, the partnership helps sustain mortgages, accelerate equity growth and build intergenerational wealth, as well as create knowledgeable and default-resilient buyers ready for a lifetime of homeownership.
According to HP, the Pathways to Homeownership program is an important expansion of its Homeownership Counseling Program, which was approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and established in 2005 to help low- to moderate-income New Yorkers become homeowners.
It also offers a Landlord and Tenant Training program for those purchasing homes that educate participants of the rights and responsibilities of being a landlord. This training is required to purchase a home with a Community Reinvestment Act mortgage.
The Housing Partnership has maintained its broad mission of creating and preserving affordable housing in the five boroughs for 44 years, the news release said, leading public-private partnerships as a nonprofit joined by private sector developers and financial organizations, as well as city, state and federal agencies. It has created and preserved nearly 100,000 low and moderate-income housing units in the five boroughs, the news release continued, leveraging over $11.1 billion in private financing and utilizing more than $550 million in subsidies for affordable housing.
