Catapult Greater Pittsburgh and First Commonwealth Bank are proud to announce a new partnership aimed at strengthening homeownership outcomes through a proactive pilot program designed to prevent tangled titles and bolster economic mobility and sustainability by providing estate and succession planning education as a condition to close.
When Mission Meets Mortgage: Protection for First-Time Homeowners is a pre-purchase planning model that provides up to 25 first-time homebuyers with equity protection supports at the time of closing. Catapult Greater Pittsburgh will provide workshops with a comprehensive understanding of the importance of will preparation and proper succession planning. By requiring completion of the workshop as a condition to close prior to the sale, the program mitigates potential intestate cases and in turn reduces blight, vacancy, and the loss of generational assets.
The Problem We Aim to Solve
- Tangled titles leave households without clear ownership, jeopardizing family homes and assets.
- Many prospective homeowners lack wills or succession plans, putting properties at risk of legal disputes.
- Vacancy, blight, and abandonment disproportionately impact low-moderate income (LMI) families, reducing neighborhood market values.
Introducing the Pilot Program
- Up to 25 first-time buyers will participate.
- Each household must complete a required estate planning workshop before closing.
- Successful participants receive a certificate of completion aligned with national industry standards.
- First Commonwealth Bank said “yes” because of shared mission, reduced lending risk, improved borrower stability, and strong response during initial outreach.
Anticipated outcomes include tracking participant completion and feedback to measure knowledge gains, enhancing understanding of how to safeguard ownership and mitigate complex title risks, and fostering a shift in lending culture toward homeownership practices that prioritize family and community stabilization.
Long term, we believe this model could be an example of lender/community organization partnerships that improve a return on investments and create pathways to asset building for generations to come.
at First Commonwealth Bank
