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The casa game

Former Phoenician helps Latinos turn a house into an asset and source of pride

We Latinos like to say, Mi casa, su casa. But in order to say that we must first buy a casa. And that’s not always as easy at it used to be. Housing prices are sky high in some of the hotter markets, especially Phoenix.

The casa dicho has guided me in my career as a housing advocate has taken me from Phoenix, where I was executive director at Urban Coalition West, a nonprofit organization that worked in the Eastlake Park area, to the suburbs of Washington, D.C., where I now live as a housing consultant. My most recent job was as a fellow for the Hispanic Ownership, A Growing American Reality Initiative, or HOGAR, a program of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.

I miss Arizona terribly. It is where I was born and raised. My kids were not excited about moving to northern Virginia. Nevertheless, if that is what it takes to help my Latino brothers and sisters become homeowners, the move was worth it. HOGAR seeks to achieve the dream of homeownership for a majority of Hispanics in the U.S. by the end of the decade.

I’ve learned that Latinos must be willing to go where the opportunities are, even if it means moving away from our families. And the same goes for housing. We need to move out of areas that make us house rich and cash poor to places that have homes we can afford and put that equity to work. Studies show that children in houses owned by their families are more likely to get higher education and better jobs. Homes and families are agents of change and can revitalize blighted areas.

The HOGAR initiative, created by CHCI in 2003, consists of three complementary elements: 1) a fellowship program that increases the number of Latino leaders in the housing field; 2) community housing events designed to educate consumers on building financial assets, the mortgage process and financial products in a culturally sensitive way; and 3) policy research that address homeownership barriers facing Hispanics and the opportunities that are available for them to become homeowners.

The HOGAR team accomplished a comprehensive study of the Hispanic housing market, which can be downloaded from the www.chci.org Web site. These reports are titled, An Assessment of Hispanic Homeownership: Trends and Opportunities, Focus Group Findings: Cross-Site Report, and HOGAR Best Practices Brief. They are full of important information written for Hispanics by Hispanics.

I am the author of two culturally specific educational programs. These tools were designed to promote consumer awareness and understanding of the home-buying process, as well as the importance of proper financial stewardship. These products are, If You Can Plan a Quinceanera, You Can Put Together Your Own Mortgage Package, and Financial Tips: Avoiding Common Mistakes Latinos Make. They are also available in Spanish. This culture specific information received widespread recognition. There were articles in Forbes, Hispanic Business, KnowedgePlex, the San Jose Mercury News, Medianet, and Web sites in Spain, Germany, and Ireland, among others.

The HOGAR fellowship took me to Chicago, San Jose, California, and McAllen, Texas, where I helped create another unique solution for first time home-buyers with nonprofit housing agencies Proyecto Azteca, La Union del Pueblo Entero, McAllen Affordable Housing and the University of Texas Pan American. Together we transformed the loteria game into teaching homeownership. We used the basic principle of the loteria but changed the concepts. For example, el arbol was used to talk about the value of trees, i.e., roots, growth, added home value, etc. El soldado carefully guarded the family savings account. When I saw comprehension in the eyes of the Latinos in that Tejano community, mostly Hispanic immigrant and first generation, my eyes welled up with tears of joy. That program is now being used in Organ, south Texas, and parts of California. Communities across the nation have requested information.

Because the HOGAR team was able to think out of the box, more Latinos are buying homes. Anyone can understand the dynamics of owning a home if it is explained to them in terms they can understand and can relate to. And more Latinos can now say, Mi casa, tu casa.

Rebecca Villalpando is planning a D.C. Capitol Hill briefing in March on “inclusionary housing” as a consultant for CHCI. She also sits on the Planning and Zoning Commission for Manassas Park, in Virginia. Someday she plans to run for a council seat there.