|
Special Reports
Hispanic Marketing
Casa Capital Helping Underserved Hispanic Areas
By Amilda Dymi
LAWNDALE, CA -- The president and founder of Casa Capital Inc., James Jones, started
his mortgage broker business to serve the needs of the underserved Hispanic communities, because there is growing
short- and long-term demand for housing. Yet another reason is his belief that being of Puerto Rican and Mexican
descent he knows best how to cater to these buyers' needs.
"I know I can serve them best because I'm 100% Hispanic and fluent in Spanish,
and that's important," he said. "In addition, it is an underserved market."
Mr. Jones started the company based here in January 2004 aiming to serve primarily
the first-time purchase Hispanic market.
Currently, he says, despite all the interest shown by the mortgage industry about
Hispanics and their attractive business potential, he does not think "there is one dominant force or one brand
name that focuses on that niche.
"Also, Hispanics tend to gravitate towards brand names. That is something
typical of our culture," he said. "But there is not one brand that focuses on that market."
Countrywide, Banco Popular, Bank of America and many other large banks and some
smaller banks are going after that market, he said, "but no one has established a clear presence, because
even though a lot of people are interested in the Hispanic market, not everyone knows how to go after it. Nor do
they spend the time to go after it."
He believes that one of the most important aspects of dealing with this marketplace,
especially for brokers is that it requires getting involved in their financial education process and one-on-one
communication with clients.
"It is a little bit different," he said. "They want to see you
in person, they tend to have more questions, most of them are going to be first-time homebuyers, so you have to
earn their trust."
That trust building process usually takes time, he said, it may even take months
of talking with a perspective buyer before they actually make the decision and buy a house.
"But I'm not in this for the short term. This is what I'm going to be doing
for many, many years, so for me it's just part of the process I have to go through to take care of that niche,"
he said. "I'm pretty passionate about it because not only is it an underserved market, those folks have a
tough time finding people that understand them, that speak their language. Sometimes even if they speak English
they want to do the loan in Spanish because they feel more comfortable when speaking their first language."
For that reason all staff at CCI is bilingual. Up to 80% of the broker's clientele
is Hispanic. And he plans to keep his focus on the Hispanic market for years to come.
As to challenges in addressing their needs, he said, it all depends on what particular
homebuyer one is working with, because it certainly is easier to communicate with second- and third-generation
Hispanics, many of who are well educated and are very familiar with the banking process.
"A lot of the other folks who want to deal in Spanish only and may not have
access to a fax machine or e-mail, they do not want to deal with you over the phone," he said. "So I
go to their home and meet them and explain to them the process and make sure I'm there when they're signing the
documents, because they want me to be there."
He recognizes that the mortgage industry has changed over that past decade when
technology has taken it to another level, so much so that some brokers never meet their clients, or meet them once.
"With this niche market, you really need to be there, but I see it as a positive
thing, not as a hurdle, because if you're there and you do take care of them, they will stick with you. They're
very loyal," he said. "They'll keep coming back. Not only [that], they'll refer you to everyone they
know, everybody in their family."
And it is not just a matter of creating these long-term relationships, he said.
He does not mind the extra work because "not only are they underserved, sometimes they are not treated as
good as they could be, due to the fact that people do not speak their language for instance.
"They want to talk to you, keep in touch with you and meet you as a person,"
he said. "And I try to guide them if they are not yet ready to become homeowners, so I give them educational
material and try to avoid getting a subprime loan. Many of these clients are interested in 100% financing options.
Others may have the money but they do not trust the banks and keep the cash so they do not have credit history."
In other words, he said, it often requires a long educational process.
|
