Relationships are key to working with Latino market

Kelle Sparta

There are significant cultural differences when working with the Latino community, according to Kelle Sparta, a real estate trainer based in Boston.

Sparta, author of The Consultative Real Estate Agent, said while each Latino culture, Mexican, Cuban, Brazilian and others have their own differences, there are some common threads throughout most of the Latino cultures.

First and foremost, she said many Latino clients will make their decision on choosing a Realtor® based on relationships.

“Latino clients will want to know who you are before they want to know about your business,” she explained. “They’ll want to know about your family, your life and they’ll want to know you as a person because that’s what’s important to them.

“The more they know you and like you, the more likely they are to stay with you, even if they could get a better deal somewhere else,” she said.

Sparta, who has lived in Mexican, Cuban, Brazilian and Peruvian communities throughout the U.S., says, “Once you’ve established yourself with someone in a Latino community and they like you, they’ll refer you to everyone they know. That’s how they do business.”

As part of the extended family, many Latino clients will invite you to family gatherings as well. “You’ll get invited to events and you’ll need to go and bring food,” she said. “The Latino culture is far more family centric than many other cultures.”

This means many Latino families will have multiple family members purchasing a home together. Sparta said it’s not uncommon to have two parents with children buy a home with another family, perhaps an aunt and uncle or grandparents. “They’ll buy one house, pay it down and leverage that home to buy a second home later,” she said.

It may be challenging to work with Latino families who are first generation in the U.S. Many Latino countries have an informal financial system so immigrants often don’t understand the financial structure here. “I had a client who co-signed for a car loan for another family member, who then defaulted on the loan. My client didn’t understand why that affected his credit report,” Sparta said. “When you’re working with some Latino clients, you may have to help them get their credit history cleared before they can qualify for a mortgage. It’s often their understanding of financial issues that causes them to have problems.”

She said in many countries the payment due date for bills aren’t strict deadlines. “Once you explain to them that bills must be paid by the date, they’ll follow that but it’s a cultural difference,” she added.

Sparta recommends that Realtors® who are interested in working within a Latino community find a mortgage lender or real estate attorney who’s already established in this community to make the introductions.

“It’s not about advertising to establish clients,” she said. If a Realtor® doesn’t have contacts, then he should consider attending a Hispanic Appreciation Celebration or other cultural festival to get to know people in the community. This helps the Realtor® learn more about the culture and people who live in the neighborhood.

“And when you do meet people, it’s still about establishing a personal relationship first,” she added. “You talk about your family, passions and hobbies before you tell them about your job.

“The Latino communities are usually friendly and welcoming – the antithesis of what we are used to working with on a daily basis,” she said. “And I’ve found that it’s been a very rewarding process for me, both emotionally and financially.”