Assistant Secretary John Trasviña receives the Superhero Award from MomsRising

Bringing a new child into a family and buying a house are two momentous and happy occasions for any family. When HUD’s Office of Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity (FHEO) learned that some mortgage lenders had policies or practices that make qualifying for a mortgage more difficult for pregnant women or parents on parental leave, we leapt into action. We knew that treating pregnant women and parents differently when issuing a mortgage could be a violation of the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender or family status, amongst other categories.

With the help of Moms Rising, a 1.1 million member strong virtual community, we are uncovering cases around the country. Our partners at Moms Rising describe the stories of mortgage discrimination their members report as “heartbreaking and infuriating.” I would add one more word: “Illegal.”

I got to know Dr. Elizabeth Budde, an Asian American immigrant who has become a top cancer researcher in Seattle. Dr. Budde initially received approval for a mortgage while she was pregnant, but the offer was rescinded when she took maternity leave after the birth of her child. Dr. Budde stepped forward to bring this issue to light, and inspired others to bring forward their own stories of discrimination. A dedicated team in our FHEO office is leading the way to provide relief to Dr. Budde and other victims of discriminatory mortgage policies and to foster industry changes so that families will no longer face roadblocks to qualifying for a mortgage.

This week, I accepted a Superhero Award from Moms Rising on behalf of our team, who did the real work. Together, all of us will continue to make progress for women and their families because fair treatment when getting a home loan is a real family value. Housing discrimination based on gender or against families with children was not covered when President Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act into law in 1968, but has since been added to the list of protected groups. These types of discrimination, along with disability, race, religious and national origin discrimination, constitute important parts of our work today.

For more information and HUD help on housing discrimination, call 1-800-669-9777 or visit www.hud.gov/fairhousing.

John Transviña is the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity administers and enforces federal laws and establishes policies that ensure all Americans have equal access to the housing of their choice. Prior to joining HUD, he was the president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

June is National Homeownership Month, a time reserved for honoring the symbol of stability for working families. This year, however, celebrations have been traded for defensive strategies as housing industry partners mobilize to defend broad access to homeownership now threatened by regulator rulemaking.

The proposed QRM risk retention rule now up for debate would require prospective borrowers to present a 20 percent down payment, spend less than 28 percent of their monthly gross income on housing and have total household debt capped at 26 percent.

Most people can’t afford a 20 percent down payment. In fact, a recent poll conducted by our friends at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling of mortgage borrowers came back with some surprising results. Over half of the 1000 people who participated in the survey said they would not be able to meet the down payment requirement to buy a home.

Framed another way: With renters having a median net worth of $5100, a recent white paper authored by the Mortgage Banker’s Association, the National Association of Homebuyers and the National Association of REALTORS estimated that it would take the average American family 16 years to save a 20 percent down payment for a median price home of $172,900. This essentially means that even the most creditworthy and diligent first-time homebuyer cannot qualify for the lowest rates and safest products.

Do you see where this is all going?

What would this do to home sales? How would this impact the recovery? What does this mean for depressed housing values? The answers are obvious. With the glut of homes on the market, with shuttered neighborhoods turning into ghost towns, we will make it more difficult for the next generation of buyers to get affordable financing.

This is like punishing America’s working class families for the sins of a few.

We are not standing still on this critical issue. The QRM rule has created an unprecedented alliance of dozens of civil rights, real estate, labor, mortgage and consumer advocacy groups and elected officials to speak out against this proposed regulation. NAHREP is part of this alliance. So are 320 members of the House and the Senate.

The heart and soul of this argument needs to come from you, the people who work in these communities. This is about more than just business; it’s about the future, long-term wealth and the quality of life we want our children and grandchildren to have.

Please join us in taking a stand in defense of homeownership now. Get informed! Download the White Paper from the Coalition For Sensible policy here. When you receive a call to arms from NAHREP, please take action. Your defense of homeownership now can make all the difference to tomorrow’s homebuyers.

Carmen Mercado is the president of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. For a copy of “Proposed Qualified Residential Mortgage Definition Harms Creditworthy Borrowers While Frustrating Housing Recovery” from the Coalition For Sensible Housing Policy go to www.nahrep.org/coalition-against-proposed-qrm.php.

Let’s face it, at times we all have engaged in deficit spending, especially in the real estate business where times can be lean between closings. While some deficits are good, deficits by nature are risky and can take away future wealth building opportunities. To properly manage your business and personal finances, like anything else, you need to pay attention to the details and update your expectations frequently. Here are some things that you should consider when contemplating the affect of the real estate downturn on your business:

1. Income Trend: Start by clearly defining your last two years gross income. Has it gone down? If so, it is likely that you will continue to experience continued decline even if it is slight. When working on your financial predictions (i.e. annual budget) plan on the worst case income scenario.
2. Current Year Income Trend? In Real Estate we all deal with delays in realizing income due to pipeline (ships headed for the pier). Compute your average quarterly income for the past three quarters and track this trend for signs of growth or erosion. Don’t get excited when you close a big deal and have that feeling of euphoria, if the net of the quarter is the same as the last three, you are still in the same boat.
3. Metrics: Everyone should know his or her business metrics for success. You should be able to rattle these off in your sleep. If you can’t you are seriously missing the boat, in fact, you may be standing on the wrong pier. Here are some important metrics that you should know:
   1. Total Monthly Fixed Expenses — how much are my fixed monthly obligations?
   2. Total Average Monthly Discretionary Expenses (base on last immediate 12 months for a rolling average). This will give you insight to how your expenses rise and fall with the income that you are creating.
   3. How many deals do I need to close to “break even”? Everyone should (a) know exactly how many deals it takes to cover your expenses and your minimum monthly take home (or profit).
   4. Cash flow and Capital Requirements — I assume that all of you have created a budget of some type. In addition to income and expenses, you should include a cash flow analysis that simply shows additions to (when profitable) and subtraction from (when loss) on a monthly basis. This will identify potential gaps in your cash flow that could cause your pier to collapse.
   5. Balance your budget — don’t be like the Congress. Create a budget where income is actually greater than expenses. If your budget is out of balance because your fixed expenses exceed potential income, you have a serious problem that may require professional help. If it is your discretionary expense that is causing the problem — change it. You have to start with a balanced budget. Monitor your budget weekly. If you are in tune with your business, this will be easy and quick and will expose flaws in your predictions. Make course corrections to keep your ship headed the right direction.
4. Behavior — More powerful than all forces of nature is your desire to achieve more, consume more, and be more successful. Many entrepreneurs are quick to move on opportunities for growth when they are convinced that it “can’t lose”. Take heed and don’t make any Titanic moves; if you don’t update your budget and business plan including the new opportunity (add total income and expense and be realistic), you could be headed for a devastating iceberg.

If you try all of these recommendations, you will be more in tune with the reality of your business finances; the outcome of which makes you are a better decision maker. Making better decisions is the key to dollar efficiency, profit maximization, and wealth building.

Wait, what is that on the horizon? It’s your ship and it’s headed your direction.

About the author: John Beneventi is a founding national board member of NAHREP and its former chief financial officer. By day, he is a social entrepreneur with the focus on technology as a change agent. A financial literacy advocate, Beneventi owns 5x Software and has developed CounselorMax, a housing counseling tool used by Neighborworks’ nonprofit counselors, and more recently Renters Credit.

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Somebody pinch me please, because I feel like I’m having a bad dream.

In the shadow of the nation’s worst housing crisis, is it really possible that our nation’s lawmakers stripped away $88 million in funding for the HUD housing counseling services now available to the public? http://ow.ly/4EHQ8

Budget cuts are one thing — and necessary indeed to get the country back on track — but isn’t this cutting off our nose to spite our face? Seriously. Whatever figures you use — the latest research shows that the foreclosure crisis is far from over. http://ow.ly/4EHYs An estimated 2.5 million foreclosures have occurred, with another 5.7 million forecasted to happen before its over.

In my local community of San Diego, entire neighborhoods have been decimated by the foreclosure crisis. Back in 2007, I founded a mobile foreclosure prevention counseling community service (Home Owners Mobile Education Clinic) because I couldn’t serve the volume of distressed homeowners coming to my office in need of counseling.

To date, the HOME Clinic has served about 9,000 families and has delivered help to distressed homeowners thanks to the help of local HUD counselors. I shudder to think about where these families would have turned had these services not been available.

With all the people we’ve helped through the program, there are still many desperate families who have fallen prey to the clever scam artists and their offers to help avoid foreclosure. At one point, our local district attorney reached out to the real estate community because of the epidemic of swindlers. http://ow.ly/4EIEc Unconscionable acts of greed and opportunism.

But, guess what? Our elected officials have just opened the door of opportunity to these predators. In the absence of skilled housing counselors and legitimate services, the unscrupulous cast of characters will grow. And, guess who will be their best targets? People of color.

Seventeen percent of Latino homeowners are still at risk of foreclosure. The loss of wealth in our neighborhoods has been devastating. Where will our families turn for help now when they are fighting to hold on to their homes? Where will the next generation of new buyers turn for information on how to prepare for homeownership?

Think about the choices being made here by our lawmakers. How serious are we about fostering a housing recovery with decisions like this? How committed are we, as an industry and as a nation, to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future? It would seem, not so much.

Certainly cutting away vital services that offer families guidance on homeownership, foreclosure and renting — hardly seems like a move forward. With these actions, we’re leaving our families to fend off the wolves at a time when they need us most.

About the author: Yamila Ayad is a San Diego-based mortgage lender and a former two-term national board member of NAHREP. She is the co-founder of the Home Owners Mobile Education clinic and the vice chair of the Housing Opportunities Collaborative. She serves on the board of the San Diego Foundation.

A few weeks ago the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) released a major report which identified the major causes of one of the worst economic crises in the nation’s history: More than 26 million Americans are out of work, four million families have lost their homes, and nearly $11 trillion in household wealth has been lost.

What did the Washington Post do about reporting this important story? The Post buried it on page A14, while prominently displaying on its front page a story about the Senate Tea Party Caucus meeting for the first time. Worse, the Post’s reporters undercut the report’s significance by suggesting that the report did not contain “any major revelation that would fundamentally alter popular perceptions of the crisis.”

Nonetheless, the Post story emphasized that there was plenty of blame to go around, with the report blaming the Federal Reserve for failing to stop dangerous lending practices and blaming derivatives known as credit default swaps for amplifying risk throughout the financial system. The Post even listed the main causes of the Republican dissenters, including the proliferation of subprime and other high-risk mortgages, as well as excessive risk and massive leveraging.

Ironically, the Post story itself does not blame the government, immigrants, or “low-income” people with “weak credit” for the housing crisis. Were these accusations not the popular perceptions that Post editorials had long been asserting and promulgating?

Today, we know better. A week after the FCIC report was released, a Post editorial http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/06/AR2011020603413_pf.html once again blamed federal housing policy, this time for helping to “destroy” communities. Previously, Post editorials had concluded that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), had not created the subprime crisis but rather had enabled it to enrich their shareholders and management and to meet affordable housing goals. Since 2008, the Post has also strongly insinuated that the making of loans to “underserved” groups alone helped cause the housing debacle. The Post has never substantiated any of these accusations.

The problem with the Post’s posture as arbiter of the housing crisis is that it has inadequately addressed the issues while leaving many questions unanswered. For example, the Post needs to explain how the setting of affordable housing goals led directly to the GSEs’ purchase and sales of millions of costly and defective nonprime loans that were extended to all borrowers regardless of race, ethnicity, or income. Simply reporting that former GSE executives were encouraged by the government or the devil to do it does not count.

More fundamentally, the Post needs to take into account prominent research groups such as the McKinsey Global Institute, who found that it was middle- and upper middle-income borrowers that propelled the housing bubble — not lending to low-income borrowers who were buying a home for the first time. According to the study, lenders had “determined” that such borrowers did not qualify for prime loans because of “poor credit histories” and instead made subprime loans to them that required no downpayment or low or no documentation of income.

By 2007, 60 percent of all “subprime” loans made to all borrowers required little or no income documentation. During the peak of the housing bubble, coincidentally, more than 60% of all borrowers who had received subprime loans could have qualified for less expensive conventional loans. It is hard to believe therefore that the sheer promotion of affordable homeownership and the making of “subprime” mortgage loans to low-income minorities and immigrants triggered more than $6 trillion in housing wealth losses.

Rather, one of the untold stories of the housing crisis is that for several decades working families have been able to achieve sustainable homeownership through the use of various affordable and appropriate loan products. For example, Housing our Communities (HOC), a nonprofit housing organization based in the Southwest, has successfully assisted hundreds of low-income families through homeownership programs such as HUD’s Voucher Homeownership Program, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), and the Federal Home Loan Bank’s Affordable Housing Goals Program. In 2009 alone, HOC created 186 first-time homebuyers. Remarkably, it has had only five foreclosures in its 22-year history. HOC provides quality home buyer education and one-on-one counseling, and fully prepares home buyers to obtain the right affordable loan product.

Overall, the Post can regain trust by demonstrating that any previous Administration actually coerced highly unregulated financial institutions into making and securitizing unaffordable and toxic unconventional mortgage loans. As long as the Post continues to insist that the “old government-sponsored enterprise” model is a proven failure, it also has a moral obligation to prove it and to report what did work well in the past that resulted in the accumulation of wealth and equity for millions of Americans and in unparalleled prosperity for the nation.

The establishment of a new mortgage finance system requires that Federal housing finance objectives be prioritized within the context of historical and well-grounded national housing policy. With respect to the nation’s historical commitment to decent, safe, and sanitary housing for every American, housing finance policy must balance the goals of affordable quality rental housing and sustainable homeownership. It should ensure not only the establishment of a safe, stable and reliable system of mortgage financing and securitization but also the availability of a constant and ample supply of credit to meet the nation’s needs for both rental and homeownership housing, particularly among low- and moderate-income households.

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

The midterm elections have brought into focus some interesting issues for the Hispanic community this year. Anti-immigrant sentiments have been part of the campaign rhetoric in states across the country as candidates hurl accusations and negative Hispanic images at one another. Arizona’s SB1070 law has sanctioned anti-Latino attitudes. http://ow.ly/2XuRp The slurs and innuendo are downright offensive, insulting and impossible to ignore.

With all the political discourse, it comes as a great surprise, of course, that one of our own would step forward and appeal to our community to stay home on Election Day and NOT VOTE. The conservative group Latinos For Reform ran a controversial ad in Nevada last week that encouraged Hispanic voters to do just this. http://ow.ly/2XrCT The campaign backfired, Univision pulled it from the airwaves and Hispanic leaders have condemned it, calling it an insult. http://ow.ly/2XrQc. I couldn’t agree more. But the anger it has stirred in our community may just prompt people to get to the polls.

I’m glad to proudly put on my hat as a Latino leader now. We’re not just talking about homeownership or the business of real estate here; this is about a fundamental right that can affect our community and the climate in which we raise our children. We cannot allow others to convince us that our voice doesn’t matter. It does mightily IF we turn out in numbers.

NAHREP has worked diligently on the legislative front this year to have a voice in the political conversation about housing and Hispanic homeownership. We’re making strides. But what is central to our success is that we all participate in the process by casting our votes. It’s vitally important that you and your family members exercise your voice at the ballot box. It’s just as important that you encourage your clients to do the same. Nationally, 19.3 million Latinos are eligible to vote, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. http://ow.ly/2XGjK Imagine the difference we can make and the elections we would influence if we turned out in force at the ballot box?

In a few short weeks, NAHREP will be rolling out a new initiative that takes a more active role in getting you, our members, to express your opinions to elected officials on issues that affect our business and homeownership. We’ll be using a set of tools that will make it easy for you to click and send messages to legislators who have the power to act. We’ll be looking for your support, by way of your participation, in this effort. Sitting it out is only an option if you don’t care about what happens to our business and the community we serve.

Voting is a privilege. So please make it a point on November 2 to exercise your right because your vote DOES MATTER.

About the author:Alex Chaparro is the Chairman of National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals NAHREP. He is a second generation Realtor serving Chicagoland homebuyers and sellers for over 17 years. He is the co-founder and past president of NAHREP Chicago. Alex had served on the boards of the Illinois Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors, Chicago Association of Realtors and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. He is also the first Latino and the youngest president to be elected to Chicago Association of Realtors in its 126 year history. Alex was listed on Hispanic Business 2007 list 100 most influential Hispanics.

Within days of major lenders putting foreclosures on hold, I began to hear from NAHREP members about the problems the embargo was causing new buyers in the hardest hit markets. Like you, I was relieved to hear the news that the White House opposes a national foreclosure moratorium and applaud the Administration for not overreacting to the recent document/recordkeeping issues. http://ow.ly/2WLYx The unintended consequences of a broader moratorium would certainly deal a blow to an already fragile housing market.

Without question no family should ever lose a home due to a bank error. There must be checks, balances and reporting that prevent mistakes like this from ever happening. This recent hiccup offers us a good opportunity, however, to step back and reevaluate our priorities in the recovery. Vacant, unsold homes undermine the stability of our neighborhoods and our communities. More gridlock isn’t the answer. A moratorium would only elongate the process for distressed homeowners, create a backlog of homes and further drive down neighborhood values when they eventually hit the market.

With nearly one million foreclosure listings on the market, it’s clear that we need to make it a national priority to deal with this historic level of inventory. The only way to achieve recovery is to sell these vacant homes. In the worst foreclosure markets, many homeowners live in ghost towns surrounded by shuttered homes. They’ve seen their home values plummet. They’re struggling to hang on. And the best thing that can happen in their neighborhood is for a new homeowner to move in. Only then will housing values stabilize. I commend Secretary Donavan for recognizing that this is the way we need to help homeowners in his blog post in the Huffington Post this week. http://ow.ly/2XjiZ

We’ve lived through enough months of this crisis to recognize the long-term impact it will have on communities if we don’t choose wisely. I, for one, think the industry needs to place more emphasis on “first look” programs that make it possible for more owner-occupant buyers to buy these REOs. Let’s get more aggressive and widen the first option window from 15 days to 30. Let’s make a bigger effort to remove remaining roadblocks to selling off these REOs. Let’s start treating our communities as clients by putting what’s best for them first.

Many of us grew up in family homes that our parents owned for decades.

Our family names were part of the story of local neighborhoods. In that context, there is nothing scary about homeownership, just the benefits of feeling safe and rooted. As practitioners, it’s up to us to help rebuild faith and trust in homeownership. Negative news headlines have people believing that there is no longer value in homeownership. In the trajectory of the boom cycle homes became a commodity instead of an economic and emotional anchor for families. http://ow.ly/2XjMn

With historically low interest rates and housing affordability at a peak, we have to get people off the sidelines and back into neighborhoods as homeowners. http://ow.ly/2Xiyn Some people are still waiting for the bottom of the market. We must turn this trend around. It’s the best way we can help our communities recover.

About the author:Alex Chaparro is the Chairman of National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals NAHREP. He is a second generation Realtor serving Chicagoland homebuyers and sellers for over 17 years. He is the co-founder and past president of NAHREP Chicago. Alex had served on the boards of the Illinois Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors, Chicago Association of Realtors and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. He is also the first Latino and the youngest president to be elected to Chicago Association of Realtors in its 126 year history. Alex was listed on Hispanic Business 2007 list 100 most influential Hispanics.

An effective new national housing policy requires balancing affordable quality rental housing and sustainable homeownership goals. Public perception of an existing imbalance results from misunderstanding the effectiveness of our current policy. Advocates of rental housing incorrectly compare the total government funding available to support homeownership for all households with the tax incentives and subsidies available only for low- and moderate-income renter households.

In contrast, proponents of sustainable homeownership do not discern an imbalance in policy but point to an insufficient level of funding historically for both rental housing and homeownership for low- and moderate-income households. Because these programs are inadequately funded, sellers of highly unregulated toxic loans were able to ensnare thousands of American households who would have otherwise benefited from government housing programs.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair has recently hailed the merits of the 30-year, fixed-rate, non-callable mortgages that have been popular for decades. According to Bair, these loans gave homeowners certainty they could plan on. The GSEs linked these loans to the global capital markets, creating a secondary market that gave lenders the confidence that their mortgages were truly liquid, bankable assets. These mortgage products and practices helped to lay the foundation for a remarkable period of economic expansion in the post-World War II era. We must return to making mortgage loans the right way and properly securitized in order to achieve sustainable homeownership for an increasing number of Americans.

Chairman Bair says that sustainable homeownership and rental housing are equally worthy national goals. http://ow.ly/2IqSq She calls for a better balance between rental and owner-occupied housing, stressing that rental housing must remain a top priority. We must also acknowledge, however, that homeownership has long been considered the cornerstone of the American dream and the first step towards the creation of long-term wealth.

Minority Homeownership in Recent Years

The highest rate of homeownership in the United States was achieved 2004, especially for minority groups whose prior income gains had enabled many of them to achieve middle-class status. This accomplishment 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. Since then, however, the Wall Street Journal, has reported that in recent years as many as 60 percent or more of all borrowers who obtained subprime loans could have qualified for less expensive conventional loans.

Recent reports have shown that minority borrowers were more likely to get risky and higher-cost loans even if many of them qualified for prime mortgages. A 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. http://ow.ly/2IqZs This disparity was reported to exist even if the groups compared had similar credit scores, incomes, and loan sizes.

Chief Causes of the Housing Crisis

Bair asserts that 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 but rather for failing to lay out well-defined policies for increasing homeownership appropriately. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has also said that unfair practices by lenders caused the extension of many costly loans that were inappropriate for thousands of borrowers.

Major newspapers such as the Washington Post have made unsubstantiated claims that recent homeownership gains resulted from extending credit to people who could not afford it http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/06/AR2009080603197.html

and that promoting homeownership for minorities and immigrants caused the housing crisis. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/14/AR2008061401479.html

These allegations ignore the roles that massive borrowing in the private financial sector, poorly rated mortgage-backed securities and the proliferation of defective Wall Street financial innovations had in causing the housing crisis.

A study in January by the McKinsey Global Institute found that lending to middle- and upper middle-income borrowers propelled the housing bubble — not lending to first-time low-income home buyers. http://ow.ly/2Ir4G According to the study, lenders had determined that these borrowers did not qualify for prime loans because of “poor credit histories” and instead made defective loans to them. It’s quite a stretch to suggest that mortgage loans made to low-income minorities and immigrants triggered the $6 trillion in housing wealth losses.

The Road Ahead

We need to minimize the existence of toxic mortgage loans but not the benefits of owning a home properly financed. Homeownership builds equity and wealth, fuels economic growth and creates jobs. In addition, children of homeowners have been shown to achieve higher levels of education and earnings.

For several decades sustainable homeownership has been attainable to working families through affordable loan products. For example, Housing our Communities (HOC), a nonprofit housing organization in Arizona and Nevada, assists low-income families through various homeownership assistance programs, including HUD’s HOME block grants and Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).

Last year HOC created 186 first-time homebuyers. It has had only five foreclosures in its 22-year history. HOC counsels working families who want to become homeowners and prepares them to obtain affordable loans.

Despite the foreclosure debacle, many Americans are now mortgage-ready and capable of achieving sustainable homeownership. At a time of record-low interest rates and historically cheap home prices, mortgage loans must be made the right way by providing quality home buyer education and counseling, reasonable loan terms, affordable down payments, and homeownership assistance to qualified first-time 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

Recently I appeared on Chicago TV news show Garrard McClendon Live http://ow.ly/2AJwG to offer comment on a high profile court case involving a Chicago couple and two real estate practitioners who have been charged with violating the Fair Housing Act. The sellers refused to sell a home listed for $1.7 million to local radio personality and comedian George Willborn and his wife, a businesswoman. The Willborns are African American.

HUD’s investigation of the case showed that the owners expressed a preference to their Realtor not to sell their home to an African-American. The case just goes to show that discrimination can happen in any price range. This is an important reminder why the Fair Housing Act is so important to preventing discrimination in the sale, lease, or rental of housing. No one is immune to bigotry. It’s time we make a stand and view this as a call to action. We must say clearly and without reservation, “NO!” we will not stand for discrimination in housing. One report or one conviction is one too many!

Though the lawsuit is still in progress, the circumstances raise some important questions for practitioners: Do you know your rights and obligations under the law? More importantly, do you recognize when it’s prudent to walk away from a listing? If the agent in the situation mentioned above had cut ties with the sellers as soon as their intentions were known, he’d have fewer headaches today. Here’s a link to a quiz that will test your understanding of the law. See how you score.
http://ow.ly/2AKEU

One of the cornerstones of the American dream is fair housing. The onus is on you NAHREP members to educate yourself and your buyers, sellers and landlords about the law. HUD has a wealth of information online for buyers and sellers that you should share with your clients. http://ow.ly/2AKzC Change begins with awareness, education and personal responsibility. Without question, ethics and fair housing practices are central to preserving and promoting the future stability of our minority communities. Check out some of the comments that Assistant Fair Housing Secretary John Trasviña offered on the topic recently during his guest appearance on The Voice of Hispanic Real Estate blog radio show http://ow.ly/2AKP1.

As a practitioner, your vigilance for infractions of these laws is a vital part of the service you owe your clients. NAHREP has recently updated the Code of Trust Certification course and it will be offered for FREE to all registrants during the 2010 NAHREP/AREAA Real Estate & Marketing Conference. The course includes important information about Fair Housing principles that every real estate practitioner should know. No excuses now! The training is only one of many advantages you’ll gain by attending the conference. http://ow.ly/2AMSG Remember your commitment to staying on top of the standards is a direct benefit to your practice and the Latino community.

This blog is the first of a few on fair housing and standards in the real estate industry. I’d like to know what you’re experiencing in your local market. Are Fair Housing violations occurring in your neighborhood? Share your story with me and other NAHREP members here!This blog is the first of a few on fair housing and standards in the real estate industry. I’d like to know what you’re experiencing in your local market. Are Fair Housing violations occurring in your neighborhood? Share your story with me and other NAHREP members here!

About the author: Alex Chaparro is the Chairman of National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals NAHREP. He is a second generation Realtor serving Chicagoland homebuyers and sellers for over 17 years. He is the co-founder and past president of NAHREP Chicago. Alex had served on the boards of the Illinois Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors, Chicago Association of Realtors and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. He is also the first Latino and the youngest president to be elected to Chicago Association of Realtors in its 126 year history. Alex was listed on Hispanic Business 2007 list 100 most influential Hispanics.

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.