By day, I’m a real estate broker in Chicago where I specialize in REO listings. Like those of you who are also working in this space, part of what comes with the job is often the unpleasant task of advising delinquent homeowners that it’s time to leave their homes. The offer: financial incentives for relocation or more commonly known as “cash for keys.”

This week during one of those visits I encountered a Latino homeowner, who emphatically claimed that he had hired a “professional” firm to negotiate a loan modification for him after the foreclosure sale. I knew from the paperwork I had in hand that it was too late for any modification to help this client save his home. The trouble was that he had paid a firm $1,500 cash to help him. They promised him they would save his family’s home.

As luck would have it, he offered me the phone number of the firm he had contracted. So I called the number and to my surprise a Latina answered. I stated the purpose of my call and my role with the client’s property. The conversation that followed gave me a knot in my stomach.

A paralegal working on her own (and not affiliated with a legal firm), the woman had charged the homeowner for services knowing full well that it was too late to stop the foreclosure. She had no idea who I was or of my prior role on the Chicago Board of Realtors or at NAHREP. I was just another nosy Realtor to her. When she recognized that I am Hispanic, she tried to move the conversation to Spanish in hopes to make a cultural connection with me.

I managed to get her name and other contact info before we hung up. My next two calls were to the district attorney’s office and a local community taskforce where I have numerous contacts. This woman should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

I’ve seen enough of the heartache and loss these predators have caused our community. The Latinos that are guilty of these deeds should be doubly shamed. They know their in-language appeal woos desperate Hispanic families into believing them. They know their victims will go to any lengths to save the family home. They know the right heartstrings to tug.

I have zero tolerance for these predators. I can’t look the other way. With all my obligations I’m not too busy to make a phone call that puts these people in jail. I’ve had enough.

The fact that practitioners like this are still wreaking havoc in our community is a sign that we’re not doing enough. Those of us who do business ethically have the power to stop predators. We just need to have the courage to pick up the phone. Every time a Latino family gets victimized, we all pay the price. Families are derailed. Our community is weakened. And future business opportunities vanish.

I’m sick and tired of seeing our families preyed upon. When government regulations close loopholes, predators simply invent a new way to scam people. That’s the sad truth. Those of us who are entrenched in our local communities have the most power to drive these people out of business. We can do it by educating our clients, creating awareness for the latest scams and by bringing predators to justice. This is how I’m responding to predators in my community. What are you doing in yours?

About the author: Alex Chaparro is a second generation Realtor serving Chicago land homebuyers and sellers for over 17 years. He is co-founder and past president of the NAHREP Chicago and has served on the boards of the Illinois Association of Realtors and NAHREP national. He is also the first Latino appointed to the office of president of the 124-year-old Chicago Association of Realtors. He was listed in Hispanic Business 100 most influential Business leader. He now serves as the 2010 Chairmen of National Association of Hispanic Real Estate professionals.

For anyone who lives outside Arizona, the state’s controversial immigration law is probably just a current event that gets debated over drinks with friends. Unless you’ve been subjected to prejudice for who you are, this is a subject that’s easy to dismiss with all the other bad things that are happening in the world today.

It’s a different story for Latinos living in Arizona, however. Long before Governor Brewer signed the immigration law, the air of fear and bigotry toward Latinos existed. The now infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his posse of vigilantes have seen to that. The culture of prejudice these people have created here is something you don’t ever want to experience in your hometown. Trust me on this. The new law has only emboldened them and licensed their actions. Any dark skinned person here is fair game.

I’m Mexican. I speak Spanish fluently but have no accent. But I’m fair skinned with red hair. At first glance, no one will peg me for a Latino. So the chances are slim that I’ll get pulled over on suspicion for how I look. That’s not the case, however, for people who work in my office. Estevan Medina, who works at my Phoenix office, is a recent graduate from Arizona State University. He is a trained architect who can’t get work in this lousy economy. His loss, my gain. I’m delighted to have access to his talents. But Estevan’s brush with Sheriff Joe’s posse is a reminder what this law will create.

Estevan is dark skinned and a native of Mexico. He is bilingual and a proud U.S. citizen. The Sheriff’s posse pulled over Estevan and his college buddies one night. They handcuffed them with zip ties and shackled their feet. They bound them like criminals first; then they asked questions later. Estevan was humiliated. This practice and the discriminating way it is used to intimidate Latinos sends a loud, clear message to the Hispanic community: We don’t like your kind. Surely this experience will be an indignity Estevan will remember his whole life.

Latinos around here live in fear. You can feel the tension in the air. They don’t like the hostile climate and don’t want their children to grow up in this environment. Can you blame them? Many of them are leaving the state and moving to Colorado, returning home to Mexico or considering a move to other neighboring states.

Their exodus is causing a chain reaction and leading to losses for local businesses that rely on their consumer purchases. The housing market is no exception. Arizona is one of the leading foreclosure states in the nation. We have more empty housing than we can fill. We don’t need more problems that make properties harder to sell. At my office, we’ve had deals fall through at the last minute because investors were concerned about the hostile climate and the challenge with getting future renters or buyers.

Many undocumented immigrants here bought homes over the years, using an ITIN number or a fake social security number — back before Homeland Security began tracking such things. Right or wrong, these people are invested in our community. They pay taxes. They’re hard working. They’re current on their mortgages. But many are walking away from their equity out of fear of deportation.

I volunteer as a mentor at a local charter school and work with some special kids, many of whom are Latino. The stories that don’t make it to the news headlines are the heart-wrenching accounts of what happens to these kids when their parents are picked up and deported. Families are separated. The kids are left to fend for themselves in an unfriendly environment. They become orphans. Most of them are English-speaking, American-born citizens.

Misguided politicians make sensational claims that all undocumented workers are drug mules and criminals. They are fueling a culture of hate with untrue statements like these. My experience of the immigrants who come to this country is that they are hard working, family-focused people who are in search of economic opportunity. Some of them work seven days a week and juggle multiple jobs to provide for their families. They are not criminals.

I don’t have the answers that will fix this complex problem. What I do know is that we cannot lose our sense of humanity in our haste to fix a broken system. No matter where you stand on this issue, I can say with certainty that living in an atmosphere of hate is something you DON’T want to experience. If you live in one of the 20 states considering legislation like Arizona’s, it’s time to wake up and get involved. As a community, we can’t let this happen to other neighborhoods.

About the author: Gail Buck is a leading REO broker in Arizona with offices in Scottsdale, Tucson, Sedona and Goodyear. She is a long-time advocate for the Hispanic community and has spearheaded grassroots programs to educate and inform new homebuyers and distressed homeowners. Recently, she co-founded Foreclosure Prevention Angels, a coalition of real estate professionals that provide resources and guidance to families facing foreclosure.

Over a year ago, the nation’s housing sector and economy nearly collapsed. Since then, the Administration and Congress have taken significant steps to avert a deeper recession, stabilize home prices, and ignite the nation’s economic recovery. Record-low interest rates, rock-bottom home prices and a large housing inventory put homeownership well within the reach of thousands of home buyers. A new wave of foreclosures, boarded-up homes and blighted communities, however, threatens to reverse recent economic gains and increased home sales.

The recent decline in home values has already cost American homeowners $4 trillion in equity. The high loss of jobs, heavy household debt, and low income growth among millions of Americans has stalled significant economic progress.  At the same time, reluctance to effectively help many troubled mortgage borrowers who are erroneously believed to have acted irresponsibly continues to hamper government efforts to fully resolve the housing crisis.  We won’t revitalize the housing sector successfully until we dispel the myths about what created this crisis.

Myth #1: The bulk of subprime loans were made to irresponsible borrowers who knew they could not afford the homes they bought.

This statement is substantially incorrect. The Wall Street Journal has reported that 55% or more of all borrowers who obtained subprime loans in recent years could have qualified for less expensive conventional loans. Some reports have also shown that minority borrowers were more likely to get risky and higher-cost loans even if many of them qualified for prime mortgages.

According to a Washington Post article, for example, a newly released report by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that Latinos were 70% and African Americans were 80% more likely than their White counterparts to receive a subprime loan. This disparity was reported to exist even if the groups compared had similar credit scores, incomes, and loan sizes.

Certainly, many subprime borrowers acted irresponsibly, including affluent and more experienced homeowners who stripped away the equity in their existing homes. Many borrowers were mostly ill informed, however, and ill prepared to handle the risks and high costs involved in paying off their loans.

These new and unregulated exotic “subprime” loans were presumably offered in good faith to borrowers who were told they could legitimately pay them off. Far from true, these loans generally lacked transparency, featured misleading low “teaser rates” that rose dramatically over time and contained deceitful loan terms and conditions.

In fact, many borrowers who normally considered themselves well-informed were victimized by predatory lenders. For example, a recent study by the Federal Trade Commission found that 20 percent of borrowers who were shown mortgage disclosure forms could not identify the interest rate they would be paying, 44 percent could not tell if there was a prepayment penalty for refinancing, and 24 percent could not tell which loan was less expensive when looking at two different loan applications.

Millions of consumers have been fortunate and savvy enough to make sound decisions when financing a home mortgage. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has emphasized that unfair or deceitful practices by lenders caused the extension of many costly “loans that were inappropriate for or misled thousands of borrowers.” Until this is well understood, garnering the vigorous support needed to successfully implement streamlined loan modifications that can include reduction of principal will be difficult. Such loan modifications are essential to the recovery of housing and the overall economy.

Myth #2: A recent obsession with homeownership fostered subprime lending to “weak” borrowers who were likely to default.

Since 1934, our national housing policy has been “to reaffirm the long-established commitment to decent, safe, and sanitary housing for every American.” Although rental housing remains a top policy priority for meeting the shelter needs of the poor, homeownership itself has long been considered the cornerstone of the American dream and the first step towards the creation of long-term wealth.

Critics of homeownership fail to point out that the highest rate of homeownership for the entire US population was achieved six years ago, especially for minority members whose income gains were enabling them to achieve middle-class status. This singular achievement occurred long before millions of borrowers — regardless of race, ethnicity, or income — were cajoled into defective loans, which typically required little or no income documentation, and contained hidden fees and excessive interest rates.

According to Federal Deposit Insurance Chairman Sheila Bair, “a complex interplay of risky behaviors by lenders, borrowers, and investors led to the current financial storm. To be sure there’s plenty of blame to go around.” The federal government, for example, should not be faulted for promoting homeownership as a national goal but rather for failing to lay out well-defined policies for increasing homeownership appropriately.

Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. We need to eliminate predatory loans but not the benefits of owning a home. Homeownership builds equity and wealth, fuels economic growth, and creates jobs in the home construction and remodeling sectors, representing about 10 percent of US gross domestic product (GDP). The housing sector alone was responsible for over 75 percent of all job growth between 2004 and 2007. Studies have shown that benefits for children of homeowners include their likelihood of achieving higher levels of education and earnings, and a diminished probability of experiencing teen pregnancy and welfare dependence. Other benefits include improved maintenance of homes and enhanced neighborhood stability.

Myth #3: Because low-income homebuyers are riskier borrowers and in recent years had access to too much credit, they were bound to default on their loans.

According to this myth, low-income households are generally assumed to possess “less than stellar” credit. However, data on many low-income borrowers show that they are not riskier borrowers than those with higher incomes, especially when their actual credit worthiness is appropriately measured. Rather, when these borrowers do have access to credit and well-designed affordable homeownership programs, they pay their mortgages diligently, maintain their loans longer, and their mortgages often turn out to be fairly profitable and stable for lenders.

Over the past four decades, the US Department of Agriculture has successfully carried out the Section 502 Single Family Homeownership Loan Program, which has benefited hundreds of thousands of rural low-income families and experienced low default rates. Other examples confirming that lower income borrowers who are well-prepared and pre-approved for mortgage loans can achieve sustainable homeownership include:

In spite of the foreclosure debacle, a great number of mortgage-ready Americans should now be able to achieve sustainable homeownership. At a time of historically low interest rates and home prices, mortgage loans can and must be made the right way by providing home buyer education and counseling, reasonable loan terms, affordable down payments, and homeownership assistance to qualified home buyers.

About the author: Author Alejandro Becerra is a recognized housing expert. He started his career working for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) within the International Housing and Mortgage Servicing Divisions, then in later years worked for HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, and most recently from 2000 to 2003 with the HUD Field Office in Tucson, Arizona. He has also held key positions in the federal government, including that of Policy Analyst within the Office of the Secretary in USDA where he helped preserve the federal government’s only rural homeownership program for low- and moderate-income families. To buy a copy of his book Hispanic Homeownership: The Key to America’s Housing and Economic Renewal go to www.barclaybryan.com

Historically, minority businesses have been on the outside of this process looking in, particularly as it applies to the complex federal government procurement process. Truth be told, most minority small businesses lack the expertise and human capital necessary to navigate this process. So we’ve stood by and watched as others have gotten the business. But the world of government contracts isn’t the only area we’ve missed out on; we’ve missed out on other business opportunities too.

Despite the fact that minority neighborhoods were broadly impacted in the foreclosure crisis, Hispanic-owned firms have acquired less than 1 percent of the total supplier contracts from financial institutions. This was the point of our testimony and there’s new evidence that suggests the message is being heard. There’s a new movement afoot to increase minority participation across the industry as the foreclosure saga continues. Supplier diversity is the new watchword in Washington, D.C. Fannie and Freddie have issued a new edict to asset managers that their broker networks must now include minority brokers. They want and need culturally savvy, bilingual service providers to help market and sell properties in impacted minority markets.

This represents a tremendous opportunity for you NAHREP members. Businesses are now being mandated to add competent, established, bilingual and bicultural brokers to their ranks. Do they know who you are? My best advice to you is: Make it easy for them to find you! Take the time and invest the money to get certified as a minority business enterprise. The process is simple and straightforward. The cost is negligible. And the credential helps corporations identify you among their ranks as a minority service provider. Here’s a link to the National Minority Supplier Development Council and the offices in their network: http://tinyurl.com/2adpert

Do yourself a favor and take action on this; it’s not just a good tactic for the current market but a sound strategy for the long term. As the buying power of the Latino market rises, the demand for competent, bilingual and bicultural brokers will only increase! The upcoming 2010 NAHREP/AREAA Real Estate & Marketing Conference will feature useful tips on how to attract new business this way. Stay tuned for more details to come.

About the author: Alex Chaparro is a second generation Realtor serving Chicago land homebuyers and sellers for over 16 years. He is co-founder and past president of the NAHREP Chicago and has served on the boards of the Illinois Association of Realtors and NAHREP national. He is also the first Latino appointed to the office of president of the 124-year-old Chicago Association of Realtors.

Racial profiling has an ugly history. Humankind’s darkest moments have been incited by fear, ignorance and racial hatred. Is it any wonder then that the spirit behind Arizona’s new immigration law (SB 1070) has incensed Hispanic America?

With one broad stroke, the new law has made all of Arizona’s Hispanic residents, which number 30 percent of the state’s population, a potential target. Illegal aliens come in all sizes, shapes and skin color because they hail from all corners of the world. But, for purposes of this fear-driven campaign, “aliens” are Mexican-looking people, which is a problem for American citizens that match that description.

Nothing about this law will solve the complex problem of immigration reform. But the audacity of it can and should galvanize the voice of people of color. Already thousands of Latinos have taken to the streets in protest. The nation’s Hispanic leaders are speaking out against the bill and joining forces in protest against it — and with good reason. The authors of Arizona’s bill would like us to think that this is just the state’s way to make up for the federal government’s failings on the issue. Make no mistake, my friends, this is licensed racism that has given anti-immigrant factions a pulpit to intimidate Latinos while doing nothing really to tackle the true problem.

“Police state” tactics will do nothing more than incite more anger, fear and hatred.

We are a nation built on the hard work and character of generations of immigrants that came before us. It’s about time that we act like it. We owe it to our ancestors to speak up now. Latinos must pick up the mantle on this civil rights issue and demand comprehensive and intelligent immigration reform that:

The Senate Democratic leadership unveiled a proposal last week that contains many important elements of a new policy. This is a good place to resume the conversation. The nation’s Hispanic leaders must be fully engaged in the debate and have a seat at the table for this — otherwise we’re leaving the fate of our community to others.

It doesn’t hit any closer to home than this, NAHREP members. Get involved. Join in the debate — whether it’s at rallies, on blogs or by picking up the phone and calling your local lawmaker. Make a statement at the polls with your vote. Anti-immigrant groups have forced the issue with this new law. Now it’s up to us to demand reforms that protect and preserve the rights and dignity of the Hispanic community today and in the future.

About the author: Alex Chaparro is a second generation Realtor serving Chicago land homebuyers and sellers for over 16 years. He is co-founder and past president of the NAHREP Chicago and has served on the boards of the Illinois Association of Realtors and NAHREP national. He is also the first Latino appointed to the office of president of the 124-year-old Chicago Association of Realtors.

The buying power of minority homebuyers is expected to help fuel a thriving housing economy, especially if reinforced by government initiatives geared towards mortgage ready individuals and families. Although the economic crisis has masked their significance, minority homebuyers will continue to affect the market tremendously.

Overall, lower housing values, a large housing inventory, and historically low interest rates put the potential for homeownership well within the reach of minority buyers. Some housing experts are predicting that the sheer population size of minorities is considered large enough to absorb the increasing housing inventory now being vacated in the market.

The financial sector should now make loans the right way by providing borrowers with reasonable loan terms and conditions, affordable down-payments, counseling and homeownership assistance for eligible borrowers. If mortgage ready minority homebuyers are reached effectively with affordable loans, they can achieve sustainable homeownership and reinvigorate the housing sector.

Impact of the Economic Recession on Minorities

During economic downturns, minorities experience higher unemployment rates and job losses. For example, when the national unemployment rate peaked at 11 percent following the 1982 recession, joblessness among Black workers was nearly twice as high at 21 percent. In early 2009, the unemployment rate was 15 percent for Blacks and 11 percent for Hispanics, compared with 8 percent for Whites.

High-cost sub-prime loans and foreclosures have also been heavily concentrated in low-income minority neighborhoods. For example, according to HUD, the median foreclosure rate from January 2007 through June 2008 was approximately 8.4 percent in low-income minority neighborhoods, considerably higher than the 6.3 percent in low-income White neighborhoods.

Minority Population Growth and Purchasing Power

While the economic crisis has decreased household growth, the emergence of the echo-boom generation, which includes minorities and immigrants, will help trigger long-run housing demand. As the echo-boom generation reaches adulthood and immigration continues to augment other generations, household growth among Hispanics and Asians, especially among married couples with children, will continue to accelerate. The housing now occupied by many older White baby boomers is expected to be well suited to the needs of younger and generally larger minority households. While home prices at the lower end of the market will improve affordability for minority homebuyers, instituting economic policies that will help improve their jobs and incomes will be critical to their ability to afford these lower-priced “starter” homes. Baby boomers are expected to be turning over their homes to younger households in the suburbs of large metropolitan areas, especially as baby boomers start to downsize.

Overall, the vigorous work ethic and burgeoning purchasing power of minorities have the potential of vastly stimulating America’s economic growth. The work ethic of minorities has long been legendary — beginning with African Americans who toiled the land from the time of the American Revolution, continuing with Chinese workers who built America’s railroads, and culminating with Hispanics who help harvest America’s crops and serve as the engines of growth in the service industry. Today they often hold more than one job and/or work long hours, with an impressive record of high labor force participation, low turnover and low absenteeism. Over the past decade, their labor and their earnings, contributed enormously to the nation’s housing boom and economic prosperity.

Minorities also continue to make steady gains in income, education, and new business formation. In 2008, the purchasing power of the three major minorities was nearly $2.4 trillion.

Prospects for Minority Homeownership

By the year 2004, Americans, including minorities, had achieved historically-high rates of homeownership. The rate of homeownership for the entire U.S. population, however, decreased from a record level of 69 percent in 2004 to 67.4 percent in 2009, erasing all gains made since 2000. During the same time span, the rate of homeownership for African-Americans declined from 49.7 percent to 46.2 percent, while that of Asians, declined from 59.6 percent to 57.8 percent.

Since 2004 the rate of homeownership for Hispanics, however, actually increased from 48.1 percent to 48.4 percent notwithstanding the severe impact of the predatory lending practices of recent years. According to the Wall Street Journal, more than sixty percent of all borrowers — not just minorities and immigrants — who had obtained sub-prime loans in recent years would have qualified for safe, conventional loans. Despite the harmful effects of the nation’s housing debacle, homeownership continues to represent the cornerstone of wealth for a majority of Americans.

Nonetheless, many obstacles remain for minority homebuyers. Amassing the down payment, stringent credit requirements, and mounting job losses will continue to impede progress. Down payment assistance and savings programs will therefore continue to be critical to enabling buyers to purchase homes even at today’s lower prices.

In the face of such obstacles, how minorities respond when home prices stop falling and the economy improves will determine to what extent their rates of homeownership will go up again. If the real estate sector can convincingly regain the trust of minority home buyers by actively seeking to loan to well prepared, mortgage ready borrowers, rock-bottom prices, historically low interest rates, and government assistance incentives could well encourage many of them to buy homes.

The majority of employment growth from 2006 to 2016 is expected to be in low-paying service and in high-paying professional occupations. Even if wage levels can be increased and minorities can move into better paying jobs, it will still be difficult for many minority homebuyers to overcome affordability problems.

It is therefore imperative that minorities continue to play a pivotal role in the growth of housing as a consequence of their expanding population growth, rapidly growing purchasing power, and significant employment and entrepreneurial contributions. Accordingly, government policies must focus on improving the education, jobs, and entrepreneurial opportunities of minorities. Over the past several decades, the increasing capacity of minorities to achieve homeownership has contributed substantially to the housing boom in the suburbs, prevented a decline in urban housing markets, and helped stabilize housing markets and communities in many declining small towns and rural areas.

About the author:
Author Alejandro Becerra is a recognized housing expert. He started his career working for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) within the International Housing and Mortgage Servicing Divisions, then in later years worked for HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, and most recently from 2000 to 2003 with the HUD Field Office in Tucson, Arizona. He has also held key positions in the federal government, including that of Policy Analyst within the Office of the Secretary in USDA where he helped preserve the federal government’s only rural homeownership program for low- and moderate-income families. To buy a copy of his book Hispanic Homeownership: The Key to America’s Housing and Economic Renewal go to www.barclaybryan.com

Much has been said about the housing crisis and the tales of personal tragedy. After all, it’s easy to focus on the bad when there’s so much negative to go around. But with challenges also come silver linings. With despair comes compassion. With crisis comes strength and unity.

The unified strength of the 700 Hispanic, Asian and African American real estate professionals that gathered at the 2010 Multicultural Real Estate & Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. two weeks ago was undeniable. NAHREP, AREAA and NAREB members have joined forces before, but never in this way. The mood was electric. The energy was palpable. And the message was unmistakably clear: We will not let communities of color perish in this housing debacle.

From member visits to Capitol Hill and a White House briefing to the leadership forum with national figures like FDIC Chair Sheila Bair, FHA Commissioner David Stevens and Rep. Barney Frank, multicultural real estate leaders shared their concerns about the disproportionate impact to the minority community and the type of solutions needed for recovery. C-SPAN broadcast parts of the program, including Congressman Barney Frank’s response to the Five-Point Plan presented earlier by NAHREP, AREAA and NAREB leaders.

Click Here to Watch the C-SPAN Broadcast

Necessity unites. And nowhere is that more evident than in the recovery plan presented by the three groups. In a nutshell, the plan advocates:

• Expansion of CRA functions to include loan servicing and REO disposition management;
• Required face-to-face homebuyer education and household budget management training;
• Principal forgiveness for homeowners that are underwater on their mortgage and have more than 10 percent negative equity;
• Support for the continued role of the GSEs and FHA
• The creation of a consumer protection agency with robust power to drive industry reform that aligns practices with values that serve the common good.

Check it out here

This is the second time in the last three years that Hispanic, Asian and African American practitioners have collaborated on a proposal. Judging by the tenor of the meetings, it won’t be the last. What became most evident at this forum is the strength of our collective voice. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much,” Helen Keller once said.

How true. In peril, we have found a common purpose.

The future is sooner than we think. This year the births of minority children will outpace that of Whites. For sake of the greater common good is no longer about someone else, it’s now about the legacy we leave our children and grandchildren. Getting the housing economy back on track is about preserving and enriching minority neighborhoods for future generations. By all indicators, we have no time to waste.

About the author:
Alex Chaparro is a second generation Realtor serving Chicago land homebuyers and sellers for over 16 years. He is co-founder and past president of the NAHREP Chicago and has served on the boards of the Illinois Association of Realtors and NAHREP national. He is also the first Latino appointed to the office of president of the 124-year-old Chicago Association of Realtors.

Let’s be honest: We are in this economic mess because too many people lost their moral rudder. When the common good takes a back seat to self-interest, the equilibrium of our free market system gets thrown off and the market crashes.  This is exactly what happened in the foreclosure crisis. Too many people were eager to make a profit at the expense of others without regard for the consequence of their actions. Now we’re all paying the price.

As real estate professionals, we lost sight of our moral and ethical duty to our customers. Our job is to help people find homes they want to buy; locate affordable financing for their home purchases and ensure that people can keep their homes. In the boom era, we did a great job of helping people buy homes, but we failed miserably at helping them keep their homes. In the Latino community, the financial setback has been devastating.  Not only have we squandered their trust, we have led them to question the value of homeownership. What a shame.

Now as our community struggles to recover, we have our own work to do to make amends. No matter how much regulation comes out of this era, what this boils down to is that it’s still up to us to regulate ourselves. Legislation doesn’t sit at the table with you; your conscience does. When you choose to do the right thing for your customers; when you elect to run your business ethically, when you choose to use your talents and skills for their highest good, in service to your customers, your community gains.  I’m appealing not only to your conscience but also your logic, this experience has allowed your own eyes to see the results of choosing poorly. All real estate is local and, at the end of the day, it comes down to YOU and your clients. The housing recovery starts with YOU NAHREP members.

As Latinos, you have a greater responsibility to your community than other practitioners.  Our Hispanic community is still struggling to get past some of the inherent biases that prevent them from having equal access to the tools and programs that make homeownership possible. So many people in our community are immigrants and are still in the early years of adjustment to the language and culture of our nation. For these reasons alone, you have a duty to be an advocate in your role with your clients.

Why? If we NAHREP members don’t look out for our Latino homebuyers then who will? It’s up to you and I to make sure the next wave of Latino buyers learn from the mistakes and losses of others. It’s your job to watch out for unscrupulous practitioners in your area and call them out on their deeds. We can’t afford to be silent, my friends. The future rests on our shoulders. We cannot let it be business as usual in the recovery era for those people who made a living preying on our people.

The future offers us the opportunity to choose again, especially in this wonderful country we have adopted as our home. The real recovery starts with a new code of behavior, not new laws. Every day, you have the choice to empower a family and someone’s financial future. In every way, you can make a difference by caring enough about the clients you help. I’m calling on you to join me in leading the way and creating a new era of responsibility and integrity for our business. I’m calling on you to act out on what brought you or your ancestors to this wonderful nation, to BE “beacons of hope and opportunity” for those you serve through the example of your service.

Join other like-minded professionals that want to serve our community by embracing NAHREP’s Code of Trust and developing business with a superior set of standards. Be proud of your profession and your culture and care enough about your community to build a legacy that is erected on ethical values and DEEDS that empower others to achieve their dreams. Sustainable homeownership begins with YOU, NAHREP practitioners. Let your personal commitment to integrity and the highest professional skills be the real edict that makes a difference for our industry and the Latino community. Now that’s what builds TRUST! That’s what builds a sustainable business! Those are the pillars of a great society that cast a “beacon of hope and opportunity” for all the world to see.