Interviews: Lender staff

Appendix I. Lender Interview Guide

Pre-Purchase Homeownership Counseling Demonstration and Impact Evaluation

Site Visit Lender Interview

Name of Interviewer: _ Date:

Lending Institution: Branch location:

Name of Interviewee:

Introduction

1. What is your role at the (insert lender’s name) in the Pre-Purchase Homeownership Counseling Demonstration and Impact Evaluation?

2. How long have your worked at (insert lender’s name and branch)?

Training

3. How did you first hear about this study?

4. How were you trained on the different components of this study? (Probe for participant recruitment, delivering the script, data collection)

   1. Was this method of training typical for all study participating staff?

5. How well did the training offered by the research team prepare you:

   1. To identify eligible clients for the study?

   2. Recruit eligible clients into the study?

   3. Transfer data to the study team?

6. Do you feel that any part of the training could have been better explained? (Probe for participant recruitment, delivering the script, data collection)

7. What could the study team have done to better prepare you to implement study recruitment at your site?

Study Participant Eligibility and Recruitment

8. How do you (or your staff) determine if a client is eligible to participate in the study?

9. Have you experienced any difficulties identifying eligible clients for participation in the study?

   1. If yes, what are the difficulties?

10. Do many of your clients meet the study’s eligibility criteria? (first-time homebuyer, low-to-moderate income, interest level in participating in study)

    1. If no, where are clients falling out?

11. Have you experienced any challenges in delivering the script or describing the study to potential borrowers?

    1. If yes, what challenges have you experienced?

    2. What have you done because of these challenges?

12. Have you experienced any challenges with the eligibility or recruitment process outlined by the research team? If yes, why?

    1. If yes, what challenges have you experienced?

    2. What have you done because of these challenges?

13. After you read the recruitment script to eligible clients, do you receive any questions or comments?

    1. If yes, what kind of questions?

14. If clients that are interested in the study have questions, how do they get answered? (Probe for branch representative, regional supervisor, study’s site liaison, study hotline, answer the question on your own, other)

15. Do you think there might have been a more effective way to explain the study to clients?

    1. If yes, what do you think would be more effective?

16. Should additional materials be provided about the study?

    1. If yes, what should be covered in those materials? What do you think would be helpful for clients? For lenders?

17. If you or someone on your staff have a question about the study, how does it get answered? (Probe for branch representative, regional supervisor, study’s site liaison, study hotline, answer the question on your own, other)

18. What happens if you do not identify a client as eligible for the study, but the client is eligible? How are these clients identified?

    1. If they are identified, how are they contacted? Who contacts them?

Transferring Data to the Study Team

19. How does your branch transfer contact information on clients who are interested in learning more about the study to the study team? How often?

20. Have you experienced any challenges with this process?

21. Do you have any suggestions on how to improve this process?

Overall Experience

22. Based on your experience, what have been the greatest challenges recruiting clients into the study? Have you been successful in overcoming those challenges? How?

23. Have there been any particular successes or accomplishments encountered during study participant recruitment?

24. Do you have any suggestions on how the recruitment process could be improved or strengthened?

25. Do clients ever come back to the lender with questions about the study?

    1. If yes, what kinds of questions?

    2. How do those questions get answered?

For Lender Management Staff:

26. Have loan officers or sales representatives expressed any concerns about integrating the study’s protocols into their normal business day or interactions with potential borrowers?

    1. If yes, what are they?

    2. Have you addressed these concerns? How?

    3. Has the study team been able to address these concerns in trainings or follow-up conversations?

27. Have there been any concerns from loan officers or sales representatives about approaching clients about the study?

    1. If yes, what are they?

    2. Have you addressed these concerns? How?

    3. Has the study team been able to address these concerns in trainings or follow-up conversations?

28. Have loan officers or sales representatives expressed any concerns in recruiting clients in the study?

    1. If yes, what are they?

    2. Have you addressed these concerns? How?

    3. Has the study team been able to address these concerns in trainings or follow-up conversations?

29. What is your branch’s process for resolving questions or concerns about the study?

Opinion Questions

30. Do you think it is a good idea to offer pre-purchase counseling to first-time homebuyers before loan origination?

    1. If yes, why?

    2. If no, why not?

31. Do you think before loan origination is an appropriate time to talk with first-time homebuyers about pre-purchase counseling?

    1. If yes, why?

    2. If no, why not? When would be a good fit?

32. Do you think a lender/bank setting is an appropriate venue to introduce pre-purchase counseling to first-time homeowners?

    1. If yes, why?

    2. If no, why not?

33. In your experience, what types of people are most likely to be benefit from pre-purchase education or counseling? Explain. (Probe for factors like: stage at which counseling occurs, level of income, level of education, motivation for purchasing, long-term life plan, etc.)

34. What do you understand to be the goals of the study?

35. Do you think the study is valuable? If so, why? If not, why not?

Pre-Purchase Homeownership Counseling Demonstration and Impact Evaluation  ▌pg. 6