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REALTOR®: Silicon Valley Realtors prepare for Housing Industry Foundation benefit

HIF helps keep people in their homes

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

At a recent Realtor tour meeting, Niki Maroko, a member of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors and a Realtor with RE/MAX Real Estate Services, related a situation she encountered involving a couple who were desperate to sell their home.

Maroko was in a neighborhood playgroup chat room when someone sent out a message that she needed to find a Realtor because she and her husband desperately needed to sell their home. Maroko replied to the message and found out the South San Jose woman had been pregnant, had broken her leg and had to stop working. She then had her baby and was on maternity leave. Her husband, in the meantime, had lost his job. The couple was behind on their house payments and felt the only way to solve their problems was to sell their home.

Maroko remembered the Housing Industry Foundation (HIF), which the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors helps each year. She contacted HIF Executive Director Debbie Wade and told her about the couple's situation. Wade was able to obtain emergency funds for the family and she contacted a couple of agencies that were able to help the couple to get through the tough period and consequently, the couple was able to keep their home.

"The situation made me understand the importance of organizations like HIF and emergency situations families face," told her fellow Realtors. "I realize I could have helped the couple sell their home, but as a Realtor, my goal is to get people in homes and help them keep their home. I felt good being able to do that for this couple."

There are many individuals and families who face a crisis and are in danger of losing their homes, according to Wade.

"It doesn't have to be that way. We want to help them get past the crisis. Often they don't ask for help until they're desperate and it's the last minute. The Housing Industry Foundation's primary goal is to keep people in housing, and support programs that will get them into permanent housing," said Wade.

HIF is a non-profit charity which helps individuals and families in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties either remain in, or return to stable housing. Emergency Housing Grants, said Wade, are at the core of the Foundation's homeless prevention program. These are one-time grants that assist households facing emergency situations with rent, mortgage, utilities, security deposits and certain repairs.

HIF also assists local shelters with transitional housing programs. The Foundation recently helped the Support Network for Battered Women complete a project which will provide women and their children a safe place to live so they can begin the healing process. HIF likewise assists victims of natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina, with security deposits, so that they can have a place to live.

Wade said HIF is supported by apartment owners, builders, Realtors, mortgage bankers, accountants, attorneys, insurance companies and other related businesses. All administrative costs are funded by HIF's Board of Directors, so all donations that come to the Foundation go directly to people in need.

HIF helps approximately 250,000 households a year and Wade thanked the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors for being a major contributor to the Foundation. The association has donated nearly $100,000 to HIF annually.

Silicon Valley Realtors support HIF through Home for the Holidays, their association's largest charitable event of the year. The event ushers in the holiday season, featuring a Halloween theme and an evening that includes a gourmet buffet, live and silent auctions, a raffle, live music and dancing.

"Thank you for your support. Your support has been a very important part of our program for the last several years," said Wade.

The 10th annual Home for the Holidays will be held on Thursday, Oct. 18. Details will follow at a later date, but for those who would like to sponsor or donate to the benefit and, in turn, help individuals and families in need keep their homes, please contact Dale Anne Collings at (408) 861-8806; Robert Reid at  (650) 454-8555; or SILVAR Development Director Kelly Dadsetan at (408) 200-0100.
 


The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.

The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.

For further information, please contact Rose Meily at SILVAR Public Affairs, email , or phone (408) 200-0109.

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