Back in 2015, CNBC reported in an online article that mortgage rates were near historic lows, interest-only loans were back and everyone loved real estate as an investment again. It went on to report that more than 1 in 4 Americans (27 percent) said real estate was the best investment for money they would not need for at least a decade.
Real estate advocate and licensed real estate agent Lisa Puerto believes so much in the power of investing in real estate to change communities and create generational wealth that she wrote a book to empower young people to become educated about real estate and to inspire them to invest in it as early as possible. ?Real Estate 100: The Teen and Millennial Investment Blueprint,??which she co-authored with Anthony Lee, is her testament that real estate literacy is a must-have tool for parents to teach their kids about real estate as well as a guide for millennials to get smart about one of the best investments they can make. In fact, it?s the second book she?s written on the subject. In 2015, she released the first-ever real estate book published for young people, ?Real Estate 100: The Teen Home Buying Experience,? which was co-edited with her daughter who was 12 at the time.
Inspired by the housing crisis of 2008, which Puerto refers to as ?American history?s largest white-collared crime as we know it that steered and targeted Black communities,? her books are part of a movement she formed called Real Estate 100.
?We are excited to launch our new book as part of the Real Estate 100 series. This is a genre that is trendsetting the real estate industry where we have authored and introduced real estate literacy to the younger generation. In doing so, we are simplifying real estate terms and concepts,? Puerto told TNJ.com in a recent interview. ?As a real estate professional in the industry for over a decade, I saw that a bulk of my time was spent consulting clients and dispelling myths and fears. Also, there was a new program put in place that I felt was created to hinder people from taking that venture into real estate. I realized we can?t wait until college happens or until after the career happens. We need to start planning very early on and introduce this concept prior to high school culmination. So, we released the book, and now we?re growing and spreading the word about the importance of real estate. We recently even formed a movement called Real Estate 100.?
CEO & founder of Real Estate 100 Youth Foundation Inc., Puerto, also known as superhero cartoon character ?Super Agent? which she debuted in 2015, knew early on that she wanted to deal with money and people, so in college at California State University, Los Angeles, she studied psychology and finance and later, as a Notary Public, witnessed the psychology involved when people are signing documents and engaging in high-stakes money transactions such as real estate. It was then that she began referring to the purchase of real estate as the ?home buying experience,? a term she named her first book after.
Today, in partnership with Lee, a Philadelphia-based realtor, Puerto and her team have been reaching out to local community organizations to share information about possible careers in real estate and entrepreneurship for those who are finishing high school. ?This has birthed Real Estate 100, this country?s first non-profit organization that focuses on real estate development for young adults. We were excited to give them a scholarship that they can use towards their real estate classes or getting licensed or their higher education as they pursue college. We are creating a real estate family, and in any way we can, we want to bring real estate to the dinner table or the breakfast table or as part of a lunch conversation, so that we can continue to nurture and build our communities because it starts right at home. This is where we want to introduce this concept as part of the family setting,? shares Puerto.
