CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Anyone who's bought a house knows there is a big difference between buying and renting.

Courtney Hill has wanted to know the feeling for a while.

A few years ago she purchased her first house, but it almost didn't happen.

When she applied for her loan from a mortgage company, she was denied. That was despite everyone around her saying she was financially fine.

“I was disappointed,” Hill says. “If a person isn't qualified, they should tell you what is needed to become qualified. I didn't get any of that.”

Two days later, another mortgage company approved her right away.

That led her to wonder why it happened. She says she honestly doesn't know.

“Blacks have, for years, had to work higher hurdles or jumping through higher hoops than Whites in getting a home loan,” real estate broker Valarie Brooks says.

Brooks has been in the industry for over 20 years, and while she didn't work with Hill, she says early in her career she also came across Black clients who were denied loans.

“It's simple. The color of your skin. It's no secret,” Brooks says.

In 2015, Pew Research found 27 percent of Black applicants and 19 percent of Hispanics were denied mortgages. That compares with 11 percent of White and Asian applicants.

Lenders cited poor credit history as the number one reason why they turned down Black applicants.

But Brooks says it's not so clear cut, and it's also hard to pinpoint why someone is turned down.

“You can't just say, 'I was turned down because I'm Black',” Brooks says. “Someone with an 800 credit score, has a good job, and good history of paying bills, you shouldn't have to produce an excessive amount of documents than the next person.”

It's why Brooks vets her mortgage lenders and now only refers select companies to her clients.

Hill learned a lot during the home-buying process, and while she can't say for sure why she was denied that initial mortgage, she does think skin color may have played a role.

One reason is years before she bought a house she says she got a letter from the financial group handling her car loan explaining it had been sued for charging minorities higher interest rates.

“It was camouflaged with a higher interest, so it wasn't so up front in my face,” Hill says.

Hill is now a real estate investor with her business partner and uses her experiences to help her clients.

“If I had quit, first of all, I wouldn't have my home...nor would I be able to provide affordable housing for others,” Hill says.