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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 28 September 2023 I N D U S T R Y U P D A T E sustainable homeownership, and neighbor- hood stability in minority communities. "Homeownership is central to building wealth, but has been out of reach for many minority families as a result of systemic inequalities in housing and finance," said Kevin Reen, Head of Wells Fargo Home Lending. "One of the biggest barriers to achieving homeownership is coming up with the down payment. We're proud to make this dream a reality for families through our new $10,000 Homebuyer Access grant." The Homebuyer Access grants are avail- able initially to homebuyers who are purchas- ing homes in or who currently live in select areas in the following metropolitan areas: » Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington, Min- nesota/Wisconsin » Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington, Penn- sylvania/New Jersey/Maryland/Delaware » Dallas–Ft. Worth–Arlington, Texas » Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, D.C./ Virginia/Maryland/West Virginia » Baltimore–Columbia–Towson, Maryland » Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, Georgia » Charlotte–Concord–Gastonia, North Caro- lina/South Carolina » New York–Newark–Jersey City, New York/ New Jersey/Pennsylvania Homebuyer Access grants will be available to homebuyers who earn a combined 120% or less of the area median income in the county where the subject property is located. The grant funds can only be used toward the down payment on a Wells Fargo fixed-rate conven- tional loan secured by a property that will be the purchaser's primary residence. Home- buyers who are eligible for the Homebuyer Access grant can combine the grant with many other programs for which they may qualify, including Wells Fargo's "Dream. Plan. Home." closing cost credit and/or mortgage. As a result, homebuyers who qualify for both a Home- buyer Access grant and the closing cost credit could receive up to $15,000 from Wells Fargo to help them purchase their home. The Homebuyer Access grant builds on an SPCP initiative Wells Fargo announced in April 2022. That SPCP initially focused on helping eligible Black homeowners whose mortgages are serviced by Wells Fargo lower their interest rates and reduce their monthly mortgage payments. Through that program, Wells Fargo subsidized the rate and covered one-time expenses—such as nonrecurring closing costs or the VA funding fee—associ- ated with the program and has helped more than 3,200 customers who previously hadn't taken advantage of the low-rate environment to reduce their interest rate. MMI ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC ACQUISITION OF BONZO MORTGAGE/ REAL ESTATE CRM PLATFORM M obility Market Intelligence (MMI) has acquired relationship man- agement and mortgage marketing platform provider Bonzo. The Bonzo leader- ship team, including Founder and President Jason Perkins, Founder and COO/CRO Miles Miller, and CEO Chad Jampedro, will continue to guide the company as it operates as an inde- pendent service. However, current and future MMI and Bonzo customers will soon begin to benefit from a growing list of the two technology platforms' integrated services and features. "MMI's acquisition of Bonzo is the next logical step in the path we've been pursuing for the past year or more, which is to deliver cost-efficient, best-in-breed solutions to the mortgage industry in a consolidated, easy-to- use, integrated environment," MMI Founder and CEO Ben Teerlink said. "Built around how consumers want to communicate today, Bonzo is a breath of fresh air in what can often feel like a stale mortgage technology landscape, and we see tremendous potential in the potent combination of MMI's indus- try-leading data and Bonzo's new-generation marketing and technology." Founded by former mortgage profession- als keenly aware of industry pain points, Bon- zo is a reimagined CRM platform for modern mortgage advisors and real estate agents. The platform combines all the tools necessary to acquire, convert, and retain clients with a simple, easy-to-use interface that enables loan officers and agents to authentically and efficiently engage with clients and prospects. Key features include: » Campaign Builder to conduct personal, customized outreach at scale; » Messaging that supports voice, video, and