Breakthrough: How One HFA Woke up the Media and Brought Attention to the HFA Way of Lending NCSHA Annual Conference October 20, 2014.

Breakthrough: How One HFA Woke up the Media and Brought Attention

to the HFA Way of Lending

NCSHA Annual ConferenceOctober 20, 2014

Background

• New home mortgage loan with no PMI• Record lending year in FY ’13• New loan product drove single-family

production up by 55%• News media was still fixated on doom and

gloom• Our record lending to LMI borrowers was an

unusual angle

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

Goals & Objectives

• Find someone in the media to write about HFA success in the wake of housing crisis

• Highlight that HFAs do responsible lending• Suggest that conventional lenders could learn

from HFAs

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

Implementation

• Issue press release announcing record year• Write the release so that it could stand on its

own (acknowledging that more and more are run verbatim)

• Send to news outlets that gravitate to substantial financial analysis

• CEO ready and willing to do interviews• Willingness within organization and among

partners to find borrowers quicklyMassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the

Media

Implementation

• Decent Iocal press coverage• Inquiry from Bloomberg– High degree of interest– Detailed and substantial questions– Story would go beyond us, extend to industry

• Inquiry from Boston Business Journal– Also wanted to write about the broader market– Wanted to touch on Fannie and Freddie

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

Bloomberg: Media relations at the most basic level

• Phone calls and emails• Lots of questions• Digging up data• Providing other contacts• CEO interviews (multiple)• Finding a borrower to be interviewed• Final fact checking before publication

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

Sample interactionsOther HFAs doing no-MI loans. We don't have a complete listing, although we know of ID and PA. Best bet is to contact Kristine Lewis, Communications Director at the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) at [email protected] or 202-624-7710. Market Share: I have attached a document (titled "Warren Purchases"), and on page 2 you will see market share information for two categories of MA cities and towns. One is Gateway Cities which are priorities of the current Governor's Administration and the second is the balance of the state. Check the fine print on the document and you will see that we only compare our loans with conventional loans that are similar to MassHousing loans in terms of income and loan limits. Our market share is somewhere between 5% and 7% of all loans made in MA that meet MassHousing lending criteria. Income Limits. I have attached a document. FHA vs. MassHousing (including APR). I have attached a document. Buy-back of no-MI loans. We have only had to buy back one loan since the no-MI product was launched in Jan. 2012. Contacts. Florence Zeman at Moody's: 212-553-4836. Valerie White at S&P: 212.438.2078. Barbara Thompson, Executive Director of NCSHA: 202.624.7710 Let us know if there is anything else we can help with.Eric

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

Sample interactions

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

Sample interactionsPrashant,It seems we have a borrower willing to talk to a reporter:Veronica xxxxxxx closed 12/31 on a MassHousing no-MI loan through NE Moves Mortgage. She can be reached at 617-599-xxxx or [email protected] -EricGreat. Was it 3 percent down?It was 5%. Hope you will find the borrower helpful to your story. 5% is still quite low, and there was no MI. Thanks Eric. I will try her but really hoping to find somebody who is getting 3 percent. Possible to see if you can find somebody? We've got the word out to our lenders so hopefully something will come in.

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media

Results

• Bloomberg story was syndicated across the country

• BBJ article online, other local trade press• Stories portrayed us and HFAs as emerging

leaders with a good track record • Highlighted unique partnership with Fannie

Mae• Numerous experts included in the article:

strengthened the argumentMassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the

Media

What we took from the experience

• Tie HFA’s work to what’s happening in the market

• Send releases to the right reporters• Be very responsive and thorough with responses• CEO participation critical• Provide other sources that will support your

claims• Some of it is luck. Be ready when you get lucky.

MassHousing: How One HFA Woke Up the Media