NAMB teams up with Hispanic real estate professionals: Partnership with NAHREP will help NAMB reach underserved communitiesMortgagePress.comNational Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals
To broaden and diversify the National Association of Mortgage
Brokers' (NAMB's) membership and its outreach to the Hispanic
community, NAMB has announced the signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with the National Association of Hispanic Real
Estate Professionals (NAHREP), a non-profit trade association whose
mission is to increase the rate of homeownership in the Hispanic
community through the education and support of the real estate
practitioners who serve it.
"We must take active steps to encourage Hispanic homeownership
in our country," said NAMB President Jim Nabors II, CRMS. "This
partnership will improve consumer outreach and help educate
mortgage professionals to better serve the Hispanic market."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 figures, 40 million
Latinos live in the United States, and that number is expected to
grow by four million in just four years. Gary Acosta, NAHREP
co-founder and former chairman, said that mortgage brokers are an
important link to Hispanic homebuyers and are often the primary
conduit to this population segment. "Because of the significant
role brokers play in the home buying process, it's vital that we
have the latest information and tools to help their Latino clients
overcome the challenges to homeownership," said Acosta.
NAMB and NAHREP signed the agreement in February at the
California Association of Mortgage Brokers 2006 Sales and Marketing
Conference at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Calif. More than 30
percent of the nation's Hispanic population resides in
California.
"The MOU between NAMB and NAHREP is a significant step in
finding ways to serve the needs of the Hispanic homebuyer," said
CAMB President John Marcell Jr. "NAMB and CAMB are focused on
providing programs and opportunities that benefit consumers. We are
proud to partner with NAHREP to find solutions that will allow
families the opportunity to live the American dream."
The MOU marks the first time the two organizations have agreed
to formally work together. The two organizations agreed to:
• Identify existing professional and consumer educational
programs and implement action plans to meet the needs of the
Hispanic homebuyer market;
• Review all existing programs to improve the
understanding of loan originators in meeting the needs of Hispanic
homebuyers;
• Provide membership opportunities to their respective
membership;
• Explore joint legislative opportunities that support
increasing homeownership opportunities, especially for minorities,
and that benefit consumers and members of NAMB and NAHREP; and
• Provide opportunities for services to the members of
both organizations, including promoting any conferences and
conventions of the other organization.
For more information, visit www.namb.org or www.nahrep.org.
