Share
“What you actually do with the money you make matters more than the amount of money you make.”
This quote from financial guru Dave Ramsey sums up the economic reality for a real estate professional. As a small business owner, you must understand the fundamentals of budgeting, reducing debt and retirement planning if you want to achieve long-term financial security and career longevity.
A new member benefit aims to address this challenge. SoFi, an NAR REALTOR Benefits® partner, offers a range of financial products tailored to REALTORS® and their clients at various stages of their financial journey. Aside from offering mortgages, personal loans and student loan refinancing, Sofi also provides holistic financial education to more than 1,000 organizations.
“The goal is to help people reach financial independence and realize their ambitions,” says Nico Canova, head of partner marketing for SoFi at Work, the company’s corporate services arm.
NAR members and their clients get exclusive SoFI discounts, including:
- 0.125% student loan refinance rate discount
- 0.5% personal loan rate discount
- $250 principal reduction for private student loans
- $500 cash bonus for mortgage loans or mortgage refinancing
Other services include checking and savings accounts at a competitive APY and a special Parent PLUS Refinancing program with fixed rates starting at 4.99% APR.
But beyond exclusive rates, SoFi offers several key benefits:
- Client pass-through: “You can extend these benefits to your clients, which means they’ll be able to access SoFi’s products at discounted rates just like you can,” Canova says. “By helping clients secure competitive rates on student loans, personal loans and even credit card rewards that can be applied towards their dream home, you’re offering them an additional service they could see as valuable—especially right now as rates are higher.”
- Easy client prequalification: One of SoFI’s flagship services for real estate professionals is loan prequalification integration with the SoFi app and website. “Your clients need to have access to the landing page and then select the product that makes the most sense for them,” Canova says. “You can do a soft credit check to see what their rate might be. When you’re looking to buy a home, you don’t want to have additional credit pulls going back to the credit bureaus.”
- Access to exclusive blue-chip financing: “What’s great about this partnership is that it unlocks a whole range of financing options that has historically only been available to larger corporations, like Google and Microsoft,” Canova says. “For many small business owners, like real estate professionals, that’s huge. It could help you grow your business.”
- Financial education: SoFi also offers a wealth of educational resources on various financial topics, including student loans and personal finance. Monthly webinars and access to financial specialists—expertise previously only available to employees at large corporations—are now available to you and your clients. “NAR members really respond to this service,” Canova says. “Many of them don’t have a lot of personal finance knowledge. They want to get smarter about money matters, and they’re eager to learn more about growing their careers or expanding their business. And that’s crucial now more than ever as financial stressors, such as inflation and the rising cost of goods, continue to weigh on potential home buyers’ minds.”
Now is a great time to take stock of your financial situation. “The one-year grace period for federal student loans is about to expire at the end of September, which means the credit bureaus are going to start getting a report,” Canova says. “If you have a high school graduate in your household who’s preparing to attend college in the fall, you might take the opportunity this summer to get prepared for your child’s future education needs and start researching student loan options.”
By taking charge of your finances and leveraging the resources available through NAR and SoFi, you could be one step closer to achieving a thriving real estate career and a financial future that would make Dave Ramsey proud.