Mortgage lender offers vaccinated borrowers a discount

With coronavirus vaccination rates plateauing and delta variant infections surging, one mortgage lender is throwing money at the problem.

Neat Capital will offer its purchase and refinance mortgage applicants a $500 discount on loan closing costs with proof of vaccination. Unvaccinated borrowers will also qualify for the credit as long as they present valid medical or religious deterrents to the inoculation.

Neat is also interested in starting or joining a coalition for promoting vaccinations industrywide, according to CEO Luke Johnson.

“Financial services companies are always slow to lead progress,” Johnson said. “Operating in a heavy regulatory environment diminishes a desire to take on important community issues, particularly in a heavily politicized context. Vaccinations are becoming a reasonable expectation of safety and companies face real risks if they make their clients sick.”

Based in Boulder, Colo., Neat is mandating vaccination for its employees, though they can be exempt for medical or religious reasons. All unvaccinated workers must wear a mask at all times while in the office.

Currently, official vaccination policies vary around the housing industry. Remax, a real estate brokerage with independently owned and operated franchises, has well-established remote work options and relies on its employees to make the best decisions for themselves, a company representative said. Multiple states are offering scholarship raffles and even lottery entries for vacation stays and cash prizes in order to boost vaccination rates.

“We have real conversations with our teammates about empathy and the importance of vaccinations,” ” Johnson said. “We have a colleague with a serious auto-immune deficiency that can’t be vaccinated — and I’m not sure any of us could live with ourselves if we caused her to become critically ill because we were too selfish to get poked.”

Neat’s approach to its staff’s vaccination status, and new $500 program, could just be the beginning of similar mandates. On Aug. 23, the Food and Drug Administration upgraded Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine to full approval from emergency use authorization for ages 16 and up, which provides companies the grounds to make it a requirement.