Real Estate Investing for Personal Wealth AND Housing Equity
I am interested in thinking about how people seeking financial freedom through real estate investment might be able to align their efforts and decisions with their values. Is anyone thinking or talking about strategies or models of REI that both build wealth AND have a positive social impact/outcome on racial and housing equity and access...?
I recently closed on a triplex in NH and my career is focused on racial and economic equity. I'm curious if there are any companies or groups challenging the presiding assumption that building individual wealth through real estate inherently reinforces and exacerbates housing equity/justice issues... maybe there are strategies that allow people to align REI teams and rental approach with social impact objectives? Are any BP members interested in or aware of groups talking about this concept?
I am in initial conversations with a small, regional group exploring this idea; if you have thoughts or are interested in being involved, please let me know!
Hi @Maya Grevatt, this is a great question that does not get talked about enough.
There are a lot of nonprofits and local governments that help with this cause. I am not super familiar with the ones in New England but I know they are out there.
You can look into the Rapid Re-Housing program. There is also a great private REI solution by David Grabiner that you can look into.
Hope this helps! Let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Hey @Maya Grevatt our Baltimore branch of Hometown Lenders is really focused on that exact issue. Our motto is "Building Generational Wealth" and we work with a lot of minorities in the area to not only be the first in their family to own a home, but also to think about the next steps financially to help themselves and their children be better off.
We are trying to do this by putting out a lot of education to help people better understand real estate and finances in general. We are putting on a basketball camp in July that will tie in playing basketball with all the different career paths related to the game, not just being an NBA player.
Quote from @Maya Grevatt:As an agent in Baltimore, I've worked with a few investors looking to sell off their investment properties. In this scenario my dream is actually not to sell the property to another investor, but help the tenants (usually voucher/section 8) buy the property themselves via TOPA and/or using city home buyer programs available to low income households. In Baltimore there are numerous first time home buyer incentives worth tens of thousands for this type of buyer, but there is little to no education about them that is readily accessible, and almost no staffing to support the programs. It would take months and a few too many headaches to get a deal like that done, so usually they just get sold off to another investor and the cycle of poverty continues.
I am interested in thinking about how people seeking financial freedom through real estate investment might be able to align their efforts and decisions with their values. Is anyone thinking or talking about strategies or models of REI that both build wealth AND have a positive social impact/outcome on racial and housing equity and access...?
I recently closed on a triplex in NH and my career is focused on racial and economic equity. I'm curious if there are any companies or groups challenging the presiding assumption that building individual wealth through real estate inherently reinforces and exacerbates housing equity/justice issues... maybe there are strategies that allow people to align REI teams and rental approach with social impact objectives? Are any BP members interested in or aware of groups talking about this concept?
I am in initial conversations with a small, regional group exploring this idea; if you have thoughts or are interested in being involved, please let me know!
The government doesn't seem to understand that it's not enough for these programs to exist, they need to be staffed, funded and be advertised more than just a convoluted page on the city website. Like tax law, it seems these new and shiny programs are getting increasingly difficult for the end consumer to digest, and that's no coincidence. It's meant to confuse and dissuade, to intimidate. These housing issues are pushed to the back burner because Baltimore is suffering from what, on the surface, appears to be far greater challenges such as gun violence and crumbling schools. But if you take enough steps back, you'll see that every single issue the city faces today is in direct lineage with the racist housing policies that took effect 100+ years ago. All this to say -- the only way to bring change is to continue to bring attention to the issue and support the work being done by fair housing groups and push for clearer and more accessible housing programs. As investors, our greatest responsibility is to landlord ethically and to identify and address our own biases, especially when it's uncomfortable.
Agreed @Sara Frank we are a preferred lender for LiveBaltimore, which has many of those down payment assistance programs. It would be immensely beneficial to not just educate the tenants but also the investor base about these programs because it is in investors best interest to have Baltimore thrive and helping lifelong Baltimoreans become homeowners would help that. Our company is starting to get that ball rolling, but we should connect on how to improve upon it and get investor buy-in.
A topic aimed at my own heart. What makes this so difficult for me to navigate is the need for profitability... Call me selfish I guess. I do believe we MUST do a better job of conveying the vectors that will get Americans into homes with a plan of action for ownership.
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Quote from @Maya Grevatt:
I am interested in thinking about how people seeking financial freedom through real estate investment might be able to align their efforts and decisions with their values. Is anyone thinking or talking about strategies or models of REI that both build wealth AND have a positive social impact/outcome on racial and housing equity and access...?
I recently closed on a triplex in NH and my career is focused on racial and economic equity. I'm curious if there are any companies or groups challenging the presiding assumption that building individual wealth through real estate inherently reinforces and exacerbates housing equity/justice issues... maybe there are strategies that allow people to align REI teams and rental approach with social impact objectives? Are any BP members interested in or aware of groups talking about this concept?
I am in initial conversations with a small, regional group exploring this idea; if you have thoughts or are interested in being involved, please let me know!
we run a mortgage note fund where we are buying distressed debt. We look to keep the borrowers in their homes by restructuring the deal. This allows us to build wealth but also do social good as well. I would be interested in discussing more about this and joining these types of groups.
