Helping Hispanics Buy Their Homes

Hispanic Trending:

Robb Heering, founder of Casa Latino Franchise Corp., believes his 2-year-old company can correct the injustice that’s been heaped upon the Hispanic home-buying community - and make a bundle.

Too often Hispanics, especially newcomers, fall prey to unscrupulous real estate brokers and lenders who induce them to buy homes they can’t afford, said Heering, a Connecticut real estate attorney. Heering, 47, has developed a real estate franchise business that he says will enable the nation’s Hispanic population to realize the American dream.

‘We’re trying to help create the Latino middle class in America,’ Heering said. ‘That’s best done through homeownership. Our goal is, we can do well by doing good.’

His remedy is simple: Clean up the market and the money will follow - the close-knit nature of the Hispanic community is your best ally. ‘Get it wrong and bad news will go through the bodegas and we’ll be out of business,’ Heering said.

His goal is to establish a nationwide network of Casa Latino real estate franchise offices staffed by bilingual agents and brokers, willing to translate documents and take the time to explain the home-buying process to clients.

The first Casa Latino franchise, in Las Vegas, opened last Thursday.