Last night I attended an event held by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) at the very prestigious Union League at 140 S. Broad Street in Philadelphia, PA. 

The topic of the event was 'Building Hispanic Wealth Through Home Ownership.' The main presentation was given by Tino Diaz, a well respected advocate of providing AFFORDABLE home ownership to the Spanish community. Tino works for VERTEX Mortgage Bankers out of Miami Florida.

Approximately 65 members attended this event which started with a one hour cocktail hour to socialize/network. Fortunately, i was able to have some words with Nelson Ramos - the President of the local chapter of NAHREP in the Philadelphia area. In addition, I was approached and had a lengthy discussion with Walter Gonik and Enrique Lanz who work for the Spanish newspaper AL DIA. This conversation ended with a possible win-win for each of us, as Bertrum Settlements (with our Spanish bi-lingual closers to offer), may consider advertising in AL DIA.... and the AL DIA representatives have a LARGE pool of Realtor and Mortgage Broker leads I can tap into.

Tino Diaz is an EXCELLENT speaker - and he focused in two areas.

First, home ownership for the Hispanic community. He provided data showing population and financial growth, comparisons with the white/non-Spanish community, education statistics with regards to home ownership, dollars from the Spanish community as a percentage of GDP, how as 'going forward'..the baby boomer's may buy their 'last house'..... and once that trend from this demographic begins its inevitable downward move...there will be a void that needs to be filled. The Spanish community from a population standpoint, is prime to fill that void....BUT, he argues, they MUST be educated.  By the 3rd generation, nearly 100% of Hispanics are fluent in English..however, by the 3rd generation - the education level remains flat from the 2nd at only 12% getting a college education.  There WILL be disaster if the Spanish community does not address this problem.

Why is getting the first home so important for the Spanish person/family?  It will represent 61% of their net worth versus 38% for White Americans (as the White American invests in the stock-market).  Many of the Hispanic culture DO work in a cash business, thus verifying income is difficult....however... this demographic has LESS risk PROVIDED THEY ARE GIVEN A MANAGEABLE LOAN, as they have all of their worth (61%) IN their home. 

Anyone that is not looking hard at the Spanish market, (where it exists today - and where it may move), is doing themselves a disservice...and perhaps even America a disservice.  90-95 (?) percent of all Americans (all of us)...were born from immigrants within 4 generations ago.  Think of the Hispanic community  being generally in the 2nd generation at this time. Our ansestors came here with little, and helped create a great country. The Spanish community will continue to carry that torch. Do not ignore this market.

The second part of Tino Diaz's talk was about ethics.  No need to go into details, as it was along the same lines as we always discuss in ActiveRain.  He was adamant about getting predatory lenders of any ethnicity OUT OF THE INDUSTRY. And will be proposing a code of ethics for the NAHREP along with a 'stamp of approval' from this organization should a member meet certain guidelines. (Probably similar to NAR).

All in all - a GREAT evening. I hope to build a strong relationship with NAHREP members.