Sapphire Marketing Inc. and BMO recently partnered to host a two-part homeownership workshop series in the High Desert. The first workshop was held over the weekend in Hesperia and was very well attended by interested homebuyers and those looking for a second home or invest-ment properties. The second workshop of the two-part series will be held on Saturday, October 11, at 10232 I Avenue, Suite 17, in Hesperia, CA 92345. The workshop is scheduled from 11:30am to 1:00pm.
David Betancourt, Community Reinvestment Outreach Regional Manag-er, Southern California at BMO, was on hand to answer questions the at-tendees had about BMO products and services. Betancourt also dis-cussed the role BMO wants to play in the community in helping them achieve their financial goals. Ernesto Miranda, Mortgage Banker expert at BMO, delivered an exceptional presentation. Miranda touched on a number of key points that were beneficial to those in attendance. He ex-plained the BMO down payment assistance program and how to qualify. He also discussed the importance and benefits of buying a home and how it contributes to building generational wealth. Lastly, Miranda dis-cussed the process of qualifying to buy a home.
After the presentation, Betancourt and Miranda held a detailed Q&A ses-sion to answer many of the questions for the attendees. It was a back-and-forth conversation that provided a wealth of information that was ap-preciated by both BMO and those in attendance. The attendees, many of whom were residents of the High Desert, were most impressed by how the presentation included properties in the High Desert area. During the Q&A session, Victor Malone, President of Real Property Real Estate, also provided his expertise on the topic.
“These types of workshops are great for both the community and BMO. It allows BMO to connect directly with the community, and it also gives the community direct access to the industry experts they wouldn’t have ac-cess to otherwise,” said Willie Ellison, CEO of Sapphire Marketing Inc.
The attendees left the workshop with a wealth of knowledge and were educated on home buying information they were not aware of before-hand. It goes to show how important these types of corporate/community connections really are.
“I enjoy doing these types of community workshops. The information real-ly resonates with the audience,” said Betancourt.
By the end of the workshop, many attendees were surprised to learn that they are already in a position to buy a home, a fact that they were una-ware of when they arrived.
With its $30 billion investment in the California market and communities of color, BMO is taking a proactive approach in attempting to close the ra-cial homeownership gap. They are actively working with communities of color to discuss and host homeownership workshops and other financial literacy workshops. The second workshop of the two-part series is scheduled for Saturday, October 11.
