PTR: What do you think are the biggest misconceptions about the communities you serve?

Warren: There is one primary misconception – the South Side is depicted as a dangerous place to live. The South Side is huge and diverse, yet the entire area has that stigma. Folks are really starting to realize the value the South Side has, though, especially in regards to the area’s amenities and, relative to the rest of the city, its affordability.

PTR: According to NAR, 85 percent of Realtors are white. Why do you think diversity has been a challenge for the real estate industry?

LaShawn: When I started out as an agent, I was a single mother, and I was only allowed the opportunity because of a leave of absence; I knew I still had my job waiting for me in six months, after I gave real estate a try.

Even though I had been interested in a career in real estate since the early 1990s, I did not enter the field until 2001, because without any support factors – not having income or savings or a nest egg to become a self-employed individual working on 100-percent commission – it was a huge, huge risk.

The industry is very attractive to many, but from a diversity point of view, it would be interesting to know what the start-up factors are for individuals in terms of what their situation is – of the many peers I grew up with in the Englewood neighborhood, jumping into real estate full time and letting go of the assurance of a W-2 income would be risking homelessness. I know for me personally, that was the biggest difficulty, because I would not have had any other form of income aside from the small commission checks I was receiving on modestly priced sales in the South Side.

Warren: Another thing is that real estate is a field that a fair amount of people do well in, but in certain areas, you do not have that example of success. So folks may think, ‘Why do I want to go into something that I cannot do well in?’ They do not have that perception of success, but with the housing expos, people are able to wake up to fact that real estate is a good, viable career option for them, and that there are real estate opportunities in their community.

LaShawn: I have a client who I sold a foreclosure property to about five years ago. She was a wonderful, wonderful client, and we have kept in touch since then. She was between jobs, and she said to me, ‘I would love to become a Realtor. What does it take?’ We discussed the details on and off for a year, and now she’s selling her home for a huge profit, and will use that nest egg to work on her own career. So everything I discussed with her five years ago, when the market was still in rough shape, has come to fruition, and now she is studying for her exam to work as a Realtor. She was definitely inspired by the entire process, and I think she’s going to be very successful.

PTR: Finally, what is the most inspiring dimension of the housing expos, for both of you?

LaShawn: The biggest gratification for us is informing people on what their options are, and helping them make an informed decision; so many were victimized by the industry and mortgage market over the course of the last decade. We get a huge sense of gratification from the feedback and thank you’s we receive, and all the success stories in which we partake.

Warren: For me, it is fact that the VAR initiative can become a reality, based on the groundswell of support we are seeing and the impact it can have on millions of homeowners and homebuyers across the country.

Photo Credit: Everett Chinn, Five Three Photography