41%.
That number represents the homeownership rate of the black community in the United States.
It’s among the lowest of homeownership rates in the nation—and it has been going down for years. Homeownership rates improve slightly for other minority groups, but they still aren’t good (45–55%). From this, it is clear that many underprivileged Americans need help to access the benefits of homeownership.
Fortunately for Ohio, there is the Cleveland Realtist Association (CRA).
The Cleveland Realtist Association, a chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), dedicates itself to fighting inequity and injustice, and to building up its local community through service and education initiatives. The CRA knows the hardships that face black and minority Americans and seeks to raise their standard of living through homeownership.
The Cleveland Realtist Association also strives tirelessly to serve its communities in many other ways; here, I want to highlight two efforts that CBC Mortgage Agency (CBCMA) has supported the CRA in.
First, the Cleveland Realtist Association champions down payment assistance (DPA). DPA is a necessary resource for many black and minority families, as the down payment is becoming an increasingly insurmountable barrier to homeownership. CBC Mortgage Agency, provider of Chenoa Fund, applauds the CRA’s vision and strives to support the CRA and the cause of down payment assistance.
Second, the Cleveland Realtist Association provides many trainings to help real estate agents become certified realtist. In fact, one of the CRA’s recent trainings prepared over one hundred realtist to serve their communities in Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, Akron, Youngston, and Toledo. To support this effort, CBCMA provided a realtist training and certification course through CRA. Monique Winston, president of the CRA, had this to say about CBCMA’s training course:
“I have received nothing but amazingly positive feedback from those who attended the Chenoa [CBCMA] certification sponsored by the Cleveland Realtist Association (a division of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers—NAREB). The response was so encouraging that we added a second class, and word quickly spread among chapters throughout Ohio and other states, such as New Jersey. It far exceeded my expectations.”
Mark Williams, a branch manager at CrossCountry Mortgage, attended one of these trainings and had the following comment:
“As a lender who has used this program, I’m extremely pleased with the training. This training was informative and very useful in learning about various products available through Chenoa. Through this program, I was able to save several purchases for clients that otherwise would not have been able to purchase their first home. It is specifically useful for individuals who may not have savings, but have stable employment and responsible spending habits. Our clients are grateful for the assistance you offer.”
To further support these realtist, CBCMA offers the following to all realtist trained through its program:
- Free custom marketing
- Direct account representative available to answer borrower questions
- Account highlighted and marketed as a realtist, CRA- and CBCMA-trained
- Borrower leads
- Priority of company news and updates
This realtist training program is still available; schedule your CRA realtist certification with Chenoa Fund through realtor@chenoafund.org.
The Cleveland Realtist Association’s vision goes forth boldly with certified realtists armed with knowledge and a passion for their communities. To learn more about the Cleveland Realtist Association, NAREB, and their shared mission, visit https://www.clevelandrealtist.org/. There you can find the dates of future seminars and become a member.
