Tag Archives: great articles

Helping Warrior Dogs Transition

Posted on by Laura Dietz

 

 

I was asked to speak about the amazing Warrior Dog Foundation of which I am honored to serve on their Board of Directors at the recent Five Star Conference. We live free because of the sacrifices of those with two feet and the ones with paws.

The Warrior Dog Foundation is dedicated to serving the special operations K-9 community. The K-9’s deployed with these special forces are of the top tier in the working dog world. They are expected to perform in the most austere of environments and face conditions that most humans cannot survive.
The Warrior Dog Foundation was founded by former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland. We believe Special Operation Forces (SOF) and law enforcement K9s deserve the highest level of care in retirement. We bridge the gap between service and retirement for these K9s. Once these retired warriors have completed their service and, for whatever reason, are unable to continue on with their handler, the Warrior Dog Foundation helps transition these K9 heroes from an operational environment into our state-of-the-art kennel facility. We then ensure the care of each individual K9 with dignity and grace, including both mental and physical rehabilitation for the rest of their lives with the goal to rehome, if possible.

The K9 warriors at the Warrior Dog Foundation are the top tier in the working-dog world. They perform in the most austere of environments and face conditions that most human beings cannot imagine. These K9’s are vital to the success of every mission. We strive to educate the public on the importance of K9s in combat and law enforcement, and showcase the level of sacrifice these dogs give in support of our troops and communities.To quote our founder, Mike Ritland, “These dogs are not only our best friends, they embody what’s best about us—the courage, loyalty, and heart of true warriors.”

To learn more about the Warrior Dog Foundation and our retired K9 heroes individual stories, please, visit our website at www.warriordogfoundaiton.org or email any questions to info@warriordogfoundation.org.

Laura Dietz
Broker/Owner
Summit Realty/ Merlin Enterprises, Inc.

Catching the Next Wave of Mortgage Borrowers

Posted on by Doring Lloyd
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05 Dec

Sometimes, a transition calls for a radical change, though some people try to avoid such shifts because they can be jarring. The sudden loss of refinance business has been that way for many lenders, and it will get worse in the future. How lenders respond to this transition into a purchase money market will set the winners apart from the rest.

The approaches loan originators will take to solve this problem will vary. Many will double their efforts to attract new refinance business, as writing that business has become their core competency. Others will seek out more purchase money business, pulling out old playbooks and relearning the rules of building strong business referral networks. A few will look for the radical change and catch the next wave of mortgage borrowers.

Speaking of catching waves, when learning to surf, even when you fail, you still learn something about yourself and become better for it. Mortgage lenders, on the other hand, cannot afford to fail. They must find the next wave of mortgage borrowers or face the threat of losing their businesses, which is all the more reason for them to consider the radical change.

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Women’s Advancement in Real Estate: An Interview with Sara Sutachan

Posted on by NAWRB
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05 Dec

What was the inspiration behind WomanUP!? What motivated you to become involved in the women’s movement?

I’ve actually always been a feminist. My mom is a single mom—my dad has always been around—but my mom was a really strong independent woman and she’s my role model. I came to work for the California Association of Realtors® (CAR) and had another amazing role model in Leslie Appleton-Young. I’ve always been attracted to follow strong women, and read books and articles about the women’s movement and the gender gap.

In my role at CAR, I oversee the industry and broker relations, and part of that is interacting and building relationships with the brokerage community and meeting with them on a regular basis. As I met with CEOs and some of the largest brokerage firms in California, I always wanted a balanced room. What I found was that I was hard-pressed to find that balance because the people who led the larger brokerage firms tended to be male.

I’d been noticing this, and even if it wasn’t a large firm, I would make sure women sat at the table. I thought to myself, “This is crazy. We should do something about this.” I couldn’t really drive it home until I got a call from Gretchen Pearson; she was going to speak at a women’s event and said, “I want to know data. Do you have any data on women leaders?” We really didn’t at that point. I had my own personal experience with not finding those women on the rosters, so then we dug into the data. I had my staff look at the largest brokerage firms in California and Google which leaderswere men and which were women. We found that 36 percent of firms were either run by women or had women at the C-level or in management at the top California brokerage firms with over 100 agents. We analyzed a list of approximately 200 of these firms.
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Driving Collaboration across the Health Care Continuum

Posted on by Mercedes Kerr

We all have those moments when our careers and personal lives converge. As a business leader at the largest health care real estate investment trust (REIT), I focus on investment projects in collaboration with senior living communities, health systems and medical groups to create the real estate infrastructure needed to deliver care for a growing number of aging Americans. As a wife, mother, sister and daughter, I also think about what my parents, aging relatives and even my future 80-year-old self will need when it comes to living well as we age.

The growth of the aging population is the most significant demographic trend impacting the U.S. According to the Population Reference Bureau, the number of Americans age 65 and older is projected to more than double from 46 million today to over 98 million by 2060. In addition, the number of people age 85 and older is projected to more than triple from 6 million today to nearly 20 million by 2060.

This increase in life expectancy is accompanied by an increased prevalence of chronic conditions, including dementia. According to the CDC, in the United States alone, more than a quarter of older Americans are burdened with multiple chronic disease, more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease and countless family members spend their days serving as unpaid caregivers. The most expensive and at risk population for the health care system to treat are the physically and cognitively impaired. We need to rethink how to best deliver care for this growing segment of the population.
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Nonprofit Counseling: Protecting and Preserving a Vital Service to American Homeowners and the Finance Community

Posted on by Zeeda Daniele
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05 Dec

The past decade has taught us a great deal about housing loss and preservation. Many of us were personally affected, or know someone affected, by the 2007-08 economic downturn period our country experienced.

There have been several lessons learned. Most of all, we learned that too many U.S residents have too much debt and lack the necessary reserves to weather the slightest bump in their financial lives.

History will argue about what went wrong and who to blame. There were lots of mistakes but there were several good lessons. One was the reminder of the value and need for nonprofit housing advocates, educators and counselors.

We learned that homeowners and homebuyers who took advantage of homeownership, credit and financial literacy counseling fared far better during the housing and economic crisis and avoided foreclosure and delinquency more than homeowners who did not. We learned that pre-purchase education, credit and budgeting courses prevented many homebuyers from buying more than they could afford and taught them to avoid the pitfalls of over leveraging their home and excessive debt.
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4th Annual NAWRB Conference

Posted on by NAWRB
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05 Dec

Scores of executive women and industry leaders came together for women’s economic growth, million-dollar contracting opportunities and invaluable resources at the 2017 NAWRB Nexus Conference: Women’s Collaboration for the Future. From July 16th-19th, 2017, NAWRB’s expert panelists equipped attendees with actionable solutions and specialized forecasts, providing a comprehensive inside look at the near future of the housing ecosystem.

The excitement was palpable as attendees filtered into the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa and settled into their seats next to future strategic partners and collaborators. Desirée Patno, NAWRB CEO and President, kick-started the event by recognizing the hard work that went into making the conference possible and the professionals who made time in their busy schedules to be a part of the diversity and inclusion (D&I) movement.

The Investment Opportunities: Access to Capital Facilitator workshop commenced sessions with Robert Fragoso, Realtor, CEO, Investor, who with over 28 years of experience in real estate investing and flipping homes described the importance of recognizing industry trends when making investments that will maintain profitability in the future.

“I came with the intent to share some of my experiences and knowledge—having been a part of so many homes that have been flipped—and what I see in the marketplace,” stated Fragoso. “Not necessarily what’s going on today, because that’s ever-evolving, but to have attendees learn how to spot the changes and the next opportunity so that they can be not just following the trend, they’re essentially the trendsetter.”

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Addressing the Concerns of American Families

Posted on by Sarah Chamberlain
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05 Dec

Since founding the Women2Women Conversations Tour in 2014, I have joined six of Main Street’s Congresswomen and many state officials across the country to speak with local women business owners and community leaders who are a seeking a greater voice and role in their government.

I wanted the tour to give female members of Congress a chance to talk to women about what is happening on Capitol Hill; however, the most valuable piece has been the interest in legislative priorities and thoughtful, conservative governing from the next generation of female leaders. Together, we have used feedback from women across the country to move legislation on some of our nation’s biggest issues—from addressing the opioid epidemic and providing better mental health care to combating human trafficking.

After three successful years of the Women2Women tour, our mantra has become: “All issues are women’s issues.” Women make up more than 50 percent of our nation’s population and want to see action across a wide breadth of issues like increased job creation, improving access to health care and education, and helping those struggling with addiction to receive the help and resources they need.

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Life of a Female Veteran: U.S. Army Combat Veteran Erica Courtney

Posted on by Erica Courtney
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05 Dec

I am proudly part of the 1.4 percent of American women who served in the military. The day I signed the paperwork to join as a teenager the Gulf War kicked off and I watched tanks fire through the night on TV thinking, “What in the world did I do?” Having grown up in surf city USA (Huntington Beach, CA), I was never exposed to the military. To emphasize this point, the first time I walked into an Army recruiting office I had sand in my hair and sun-kissed skin; I was with a friend of mine and said, “Hi, I am thinking about joining the Marines,” not even understanding the difference in services. The recruiter took a few looks at us, confused, and had to be thinking, “Sucker!” Having always been athletic and adventurous, I thought why not. I would rather try something and hate it than wonder what it would have been like. College was a bore and I was ready for the unknown.

“Get off the bus, you maggots!” Welcome to Military Police Basic Training. What was wrong with these people? Why so much yelling? Okay, bag in hand off the bus I went into the barracks. This is actually where Hollywood gets it right. There’s lots of yelling, climbing, learning, bonding and trying to stay under the radar. Except, I learned early on that was pretty hard for me. I was a runner breaking six-minute miles, and one particular drill sergeant could not stand that there was a female in his fast group and did whatever he could to break me. He was an infantry man where they did not work with women. There were many days of unnecessary hazing to the point he was counseled by the officers. He tried to make me cry, but failed. Many more attempts would follow. I learned early, never let them see you sweat and there is no crying in uniform.

Congratulations. First assignment, Germany. Away from everything I knew. I showed up and was nicknamed Private Benjamin. I was tasked with 12 to 15-hour patrol days and nights responsible for enforcing the Post Commander’s rules and regulations. I was 19 carrying a side arm and had authority most 19-year-olds couldn’t fathom. For any accident that involved an American within 200 miles I would drive out in my VW van with no heater and a blanket draped over me. I’d get out, wipe snow off signs, and arrive to some horrific scenes thanks to the autobahn and no speed limits. The Polezi refused to show up so I had to handle the situations; my first taste of being a first responder and having to show calm and exude control of situations. Our wartime mission dealt with POWs, security and convoy assistance. As the lowest ranking, I got assigned an M60 machine gun then a SAW and had to sleep with this metal thing in my sleeping bag. I was so cold at times I could barely get my fingers to work to shoot, but it’s amazing how warm it gets once in use. After winning over my superiors they assigned me to work with the Criminal Investigation Division infiltrating drug rings and other rackets. This was not my thing. I had a hard time lying about my identity and it did not help that I never touched drugs so I was very uncomfortable. They needed females but I could be put to use better somewhere else.

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The Gender Gap: Women as Mortgage Consumers

Posted on by NAWRB
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05 Dec

In the last 200 years, women’s voice and role in society has evolved quite substantially in the United States and around the world. The mortgage industry is no exception. As first-time homebuyers, women face patterns of discrimination. These discriminatory lending patterns, in violation of many regulations including those promulgated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), limit women from becoming homeowners and result in fair lending violations, regulatory actions and litigation against lenders.

As regulatory requirements in the mortgage industry have tightened, lenders are taking note that discrimination is having an adverse effect on the mortgage industry and our economy as a whole. In some cases, programs are being established to target specific categories of women in the market that are faced with discriminatory obstacles. Yet, there is much more that needs to be done.
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Attracting Millennials to Homeownership

Posted on by NAWRB

Are Millennials interested in settling down into homeownership? This question is subject to heavy debate in the housing industry. In the first part of our “Attracting Millennials” series, “Attracting Millennials into the Housing Ecosystem,” we discussed how we can encourage this young and thriving generational segment as leaders in the housing ecosystem. This second installment will explore how to incite their interest as homebuyers by addressing the perceived and real obstacles they face.

Myth: Millennials Are Not Buying Homes

NAWRB’s article “Millennials and the Homeownership Puzzle” explored whether this generation’s desire for homeownership has mitigated because they are delaying “independent living, marriage and parenthood much later than older generations did.” These three milestones, it continues, “all contribute to homeownership and the desire to own a home.”

Millennial women, especially, are prioritizing their education and careers over marriage and buying a home of their own. Many of them are college students still living at home. Of women living with their families, 56.1 percent are between the ages of 18 and 24. Moreover, women are marrying into their late twenties and older. In 1940, women on average married at 21.5 years of age; today, the average age has increased to 27.
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