Working to ensure that the American Dream of homeownership has room for all
I’ve spent more than 40 years in the home loan business, and I’m still just as driven now as I was when I started four decades ago. One of the main things that still motivates me on a daily basis is helping people from diverse communities become homeowners.
It’s been a primary focus of mine for more than 30 years and a foundational principle of our company for more than 20 years.
Statistics show that homeownership is one of the biggest ways to gain wealth in the United States, so giving that opportunity to everyone will balance out the disparities that occur. We are passionate about eliminating those disparities and are working to erase the homeownership gap and ensure that all who want to buy a home are able to do so.
We’ve seen firsthand that those in diverse communities have different stories and face different challenges. That means that they each need to be treated uniquely.
Coming from a Latina background, I discovered that the Hispanic community has the same desires for homeownership as I did. The biggest thing was that people coming to the United States and those Latinos who already live here deserved the opportunity to learn how to gain access to homeownership.
What started out as a focus on boosting Hispanic homeownership quickly grew into a concerted effort to grow homeownership among other diverse communities, including the Black community and the LGBTQ+ community.
Increasing homeownership in these communities is a company-wide effort for us. We call it the NAF Promise, which represents our commitment to creating, cultivating, and sustaining equity for all. These efforts include diversifying our internal workforce and building programs to support team member growth and increasing homeownership rates with our commitment to equitable and sustainable financing for all communities.
We accomplish this through our NAF Latino Focus, NAF Black Impact, NAF Pride, and NAF Heroes initiatives. Each of these works increase homeownership among the Hispanic, Black, LGBTQ+, and military communities, respectively.
Each of these initiatives include dozens to hundreds of NAF team members who share our passion about growing homeownership among these communities.
I’m so proud that they share my passion for helping people from all walks of life buy a home. I know how impactful it can be for families, changing the course of their lives for generations. And we’re not going to stop until all the barriers have been broken down and everyone who wants to buy a home can do so.
