Just wanted to drop a quick hello to mi gente hermosa on Thanksgiving. I hope no one is burning the turkey yet and that the turkey is accompanied by tamales, pozole, arroz con gandules, pastelón or lechon. Hopefully there will be some good dancing after dinner and that you make yourselves heard over your loudest relative. (I don’t know about you, but our Thanksgiving dinner gets LOUD.)
NAHREP is a business organization, and it’s also an economic mobility organization committed to building generational wealth for our familias. But most importantly, NAHREP is an organization committed to building leaders.
A NAHREP member is not only successful in their business, they are also exceptional leaders, in and out of the NAHREP familia. But, to be exceptional, we have to push ourselves out of our comfort zone. It is the only way we grow.
First of all, Happy Veterans Day to all of our amazing veterans in our NAHREP familia. Thank you for your service, your sacrifice and your dedication to this country. All of you are our heroes and you are the embodiment of service to others. Today’s blog is about negotiations. My dad is an expert bargainer, I think its inherent in our culture. I used to get embarrassed by how much he would bargain for everything, but he taught me some valuable lessons.
Did you know that as of September 30 2021, the 1 million + individuals who participated in the COVID-related forbearance programs have started to reach their 18-month cap? There is a huge role for all of us to play here, not only because we need to ensure that we protect the wealth Latinos have created through homeownership over the past few years, but because we should always seek to be a part of the solution. Many Latinos will be confused over what happens next. We need to educate ourselves first so that we can be the best source of information for our clients. But aside from that, we might just have an uptick of inventory this Fall as a result of forbearance expiring and we have to be ready for that.
If you have read the State of Hispanic Homeownership Report, you’ll know that Latinos have been the engine behind population growth in America. Today, Latinos are the second largest racial/ethnic group in the U.S., second only to the non-Hispanic White population. Why am I bringing this up? Because something very consequential is happening right now that is directly tied to population and political power: the redistricting wars. And all of us should be paying close attention.
With only a little over two weeks since the end of our conference, there’s already so much going on. This is especially true when it comes to our advocacy. First things first, our President Sara Rodriguez represented NAHREP yesterday at the U.S. Capitol alongside U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (OH), Chairman of the Senate Banking and Finance Committee; and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-43), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee. NAHREP was at the forefront of this fight.
For all of you who attended NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE, I think you’ll join me in saying, “what an incredible rush!” The energy at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego was electric. The air was buzzing with connections, familia reunions, inspiration, empowerment, and love. Don’t think I didn’t see all of you! Everyone was standing a little bit taller, hearts were a little more open, and you all were walking the halls of the hotel owning your space with the rhythm of success that Gary always speaks of. THAT is what NAHREP is all about. I don’t know about you, but I think we all needed that.
Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! Well, at NAHREP, every month is Hispanic Heritage Month. T-minus 13 days until NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE! For those of you who have attended the NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE conference in San Diego before but have never left downtown, please make it a point to go to our beaches! They are truly some of the greatest gems we have in the country and given everything we have all been through these past two years, lost loved ones, life turned upside down, we all need some TLC.
It’s not too often that we have a week of good news when it comes to our housing inventory shortage. For a long time it felt like we were budding up against a brick wall and nothing was moving. It looks like something is finally beginning to move. Last week, I highlighted some of the zoning changes that came out of California, this week, I’m breaking down a big announcement that came out of the White House.
Bienvenidos a Septiembre, Labor Day, Hispanic Heritage Month, and of course: NAHREP at L’ATTITUDE. I hope you are getting excited, because I certainly am! If you haven’t registered yet for NAHREP at L’ATTITIDE, you can do so here. In other news, we had some big housing inventory victories in California! For the past two years, the NAHREP California Delegation has been working very hard to pass several state-wide housing bills that would address the housing inventory shortage.