POINT OF VIEW: Mansell Report

Can-do spirit lives

Hope is an emotion for optimists. I’m one. But I’m also a pragmatist—and pragmatism is what the HOPE Awards are all about. HOPE stands for Home Ownership Participation for Everyone. The awards—given every two years by a group of seven real estate associations, including NAR—are for individuals and organizations that are making strides in increasing minority homeownership. This month, during the REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C., we’ll celebrate the accomplishments of our 2005 winners. I’ll tell you why I think honoring these individuals and organizations is so important.

NAR and its partners founded the HOPE Awards in 2001 because of the persistent homeownership gap that exists between whites and minorities. By recognizing those who are doing something positive to close the gap, we bring national attention to local success stories that can be emulated elsewhere. And thanks to contributions from our HOPE sponsors, we also help the winning programs flourish, with a $10,000 grant for each.

Reducing the homeownership gap will help close another gap—the socioeconomic one that stifles minority opportunity. We all know that homeownership is an effective path to wealth creation. But there are other benefits as well: pride of place for those who are helped, revitalization of housing stock, and a larger, healthier housing market. I commend both our past winners and this year’s six winners, selected from about 200 entries.

∙ Brokerage. Allen Chiang, CCIM, CRB, broker-owner, Presidential Real Estate Inc., Rowland Heights, Calif. Chiang, a leader in the REALTOR® organization, helps immigrants understand the buying process by writing articles, translating contracts, and publishing a monthly Chinese-language real estate magazine.

∙ Education. Little Haiti Housing Association Inc., Miami. The association helps Haitian immigrants understand and trust financial institutions. It also conducts homeownership training and credit counseling and rehabilitates abandoned and foreclosed properties.

∙ Finance. Partnership for Home Ownership Foundation, Illinois Association of REALTORS®, Springfield, Ill. The foundation’s two-year Quincy Initiative helped families in Quincy, Ill., with debt restructuring, downpayment and closing cost assistance, and low-interest loans.

∙ Leadership. Antonio Matarranz, broker-owner, Avangard Real Estate Services, Dallas. Matarranz meets the homeownership dreams of Dallas-area Hispanics one family at a time by running free seminars; counseling; and working with lenders, insurance and title companies, and inspectors.

∙ Project. Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, Indio, Calif. Under the leadership of John F. Mealey, the coalition serves low-income families through advocacy, research, construction and management of housing, and community development.

∙ Media. Los Angeles Times in Education, Chatsworth, Calif. The newspaper’s HomeWords program provides a curriculum on homeownership to teachers of grades 7–12.

The can-do spirit represented by these individuals and organizations is tremendous. I want to thank all who helped make the HOPE Awards program a reality—our partner organizations, sponsors, and distinguished judges.

MORE ONLINE
Visit the HOPE Awards Web site, www.hopeawards.org