After Helping The Bruce Family Recover Its Land, This Attorney Launched A Fintech Company To Give Black Families Access To Homeownership

According to a press release, Fatheree — the attorney who played an instrumental role in the 2022 return of the Bruce’s Beach property in Manhattan Beach, CA, to the owners’ family — has launched ORO Impact.

The fintech company will make it possible for employers to provide loans to their employees that can be used to place a down payment on a new home. This is intended to target the racial wealth gap, while providing greater solutions for employers to retain their workforce.

Fatheree feels the company was needed even more so after hearing similar stories to what the Bruce family had experienced losing its property in California.

“After helping the Bruce family recover its land, I began hearing from African American families all across the country who had lost their property,” Fatheree explained, according to Black News. “I was able to see firsthand the tremendous impact that home and property ownership have on a family’s ability to create intergenerational wealth.”

He continued, “Homeownership is the path to building wealth for the majority of Americans. But too many are shut out of homeownership, not because they cannot afford the monthly costs of homeownership, but because they cannot afford a meaningful down payment. We started ORO Impact to address this need and help more Americans build wealth through homeownership.”

Fatheree’s hope is for ORO Impact’s down payment assistance to have the same ripple effect in the workforce as the 401(k) plan did with retirement plans.

ORO Impact will offer down payment assistance programs that will fit the company’s needs by arranging loans that are forgivable, repayable, or repayable through a piece of the home’s appreciation.

Additionally, ORO Impact will provide employees with resources beneficial to first-time home buyers and grant them access to credit repair if needed.

ORO Impact have partnered with Liberty Bank and Trust, one of the largest Black-owned financial institutions in the United States, as one of its primary lending partners, according to Black News.

“Liberty Bank is proud to partner with ORO Impact in the launch of its innovative platform to help remove down payment affordability as a barrier to homeownership,” Todd McDonald, president of Liberty Bank, told the outlet.