We have come from so far as African Americans, and even that is an understatement!

Last month we published an article detailing the struggles we’ve had to endure year after year, and to date, we are still hoping to live in the day Martin Luther King Jr had envisioned.

I cannot say that we aren’t in a good position than we were some five decades ago, many things have changed, and I honestly like it, but I believe we can do better. When African Americans are treated right and as equals to all other races… then we can rest easy. When a Hispanic isn’t viewed as a drug dealer on his way home from the grocery store… then we can rest easy. When the rate of homeownership for everyone is equal… then we rest easy.

Speaking of which, the homeownership rate for African Americans as of Q3, 2021 was 44.0, and apparently, it seems to be declining. Comparing this with that of Non-Hispanic whites, you realize a 30 percent difference which, by the way, has remained intact for the longest time. This makes me wonder, what are we doing wrong? Or rather, where did we get it wrong?

I think for the last three decades, we’ve been talking about doing something about these awful rates but doing very little about it. So when I see someone doing something to reverse this situation, I can’t help but applaud their efforts, and that’s why this month’s crown of The Power Is Now Hero of the Month goes to Ben Slayton.

Ben is no ordinary guy, he has seen it all, experienced it all-the good and the messy side of the mortgage industry. He has an unquenchable thirst to make sure that he changes the narrative for the African Americans. This is the inspirational story of Ben Slayton, the Vegas realtor on a path to close the homeownership gap for African Americans.

Let’s get started.

To Understand Legacy Home Loans, we need to understand its CEO and Founder

A quick look at Legacy Home Loans website, you are greeted with a statement that reads, “Having a place to call home is an inherent dream in us all” and I can’t help but nod in acknowledgment. And come to think of it, at the core of the American Dream is homeownership, without which this dream is as good as dead! Understanding this concept is perhaps the main drive and force behind the success of this company. But it did not start easy…

Back in the 60s, when discrimination was somewhat legal, there were no black members of the then National Association of Real Estate Boards. A delicate situation that Ben would find himself confronting from time to time. You see, then, Ben, in his early 20s, wanted to break into this industry, so you can imagine what affiliation with the organization would mean to this young man’s career. But, that wasn’t the only problem. To get into the organization alone, he needed a Realtor Sponsor, and rightfully so! Back then, the only way to survive this industry had to belong somewhere and the National Association of Realtors was extremely influential.

Imagine this situation, a black man, in a ‘sea’ of white men looking to join an all-white organization, who would vouch for him? It seemed impossible, but Ben, being the man who doesn’t take no for an answer had to do something, he wouldn’t be cornered? So what does he do, he solicits hundreds of potential sponsors until one white man agreed to vouch for him so he could join the National Association of Realtors and become one of the country’s first black realtors. This kind of determination and drive can be seen in all of his initiatives and campaigns especially fighting for the rights of African Americans.

This was his first breakthrough, nearly 60 years later, Ben is still on the vanguard fighting for equality and racism in an industry clotted by these social vices.

Ben is a prominent community leader and has been for over 55 years. A veteran in the mortgage industry who has built several mortgage and mortgage-related companies and sold them to publicly traded companies. Ben is one intentional guy because even the reasoning behind the use of ‘Legacy’ stems from the fact that it has a special meaning to the African American Community. As an African American person, I can tell you that we have a strong desire to leave wealth for our families and our generations to come. At the core of this wealth creation is homeownership.

Apart from being the president and CEO of Legacy Home Loans, a Mortgage banking firm whose Mission is to increase the homeownership of Black Americans, you should know that was also the first Black REALTOR® in America in 1964, the first Black owner/broker of a CENTURY 21 franchise in 1968, the first of (any race) to be approved as a Freddie Mac Multifamily Program Plus Seller/Servicer in the U.S. in 1986, and he’s a member of the Panorama Mortgage Group, LLC Board of Directors which oversees 6 different mortgage brands.

And that’s Ben Slayton!

Now Let’s Talk About Legacy!

I will start by quoting something interesting Ben said;

“If we work together, we can increase that 41% to something close to where the White population is at 72%, which is over a 30% homeownership gap. We all need to do something about this, and one way is to start building sustainable wealth through homeownership and start leaving legacies for our families.”

This speaks volumes about Ben’s passion for the rate of homeownership for the African American community. It explains why Legacy Home Loans exist today and its direction.

The company was founded about three years ago. It’s a division of Panorama Mortgage Group and was created primarily to empower the African American community through homeownership. Legacy Home Loans is the nation’s largest Black mortgage lender and for the few years it has been in existence, the company has partnered with many institutions including HBCU Career Development Marketplace with an aim of increasing the representation of Blacks in the Mortgage industry.

It’s noticeable that the company has enjoyed early success, but the task that lies ahead of it is enormous! I began by highlighting the plight of African American homeownership rates and we saw how that compares with that of the non-Hispanic whites. This is the space Legacy Home Loans is operating on. Trying to raise the African American rate of homeownership to a point where it is at par with the rest of the ethnicities in the country.

Ben, although originally from California lives in the Summerlin area of Las Vegas. The latest statistics from the Census Bureau show that in his market- Las Vegas- the rate of African American homeownership rate is just 28%, 33 points lower than that of the non-Hispanic whites.

“My mission is to try to close that gap,” Slayton said. “But we can’t close that gap by ourselves. It has to happen throughout the mortgage and banking industry. It takes a village.”

The company has operates nationally with about 60 employees 9 of which operate in Las Vegas. It has branches in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles among many other locations. Ben’s mission is to put an end to the dwindling homeownership rates for African Americans, a problem he says can be traced as far back as during the slavery days. “We weren’t able to own property during slavery, but it picked up again after WWII.”

“The government decided that they would make homeownership available to veterans who came from the war, however, they gave it to the banks to guarantee those loans.”

Even though this was the case, redlining was already taking roots even before WWII. At the time, the government was already into deep creating maps to grade different neighborhoods and areas for real estate investment desirability.

Educational Disconnect In the African American Community about Wealth Creation

They say education holds the key to the future and that statement couldn’t be clearer. Slayton states that there’s more at play than just a lack of education for the African American community about the basic principles of wealth creation and accumulation. One report from the National Association of Real Estate Brokers states that African Americans were more than twice as likely to have their mortgage applications denied. Additionally, the report stated that African Americans often paid higher interest rates for the FHA loans when they are approved.

Given such facts, you have to wonder, is the playing field leveled for everyone?  And I think so far, we have seen some major improvements in our sectors, but, is it not time that we started being intentional about the programs we are offering? The problem arises when we generalize our programs because, at the end of the day, it becomes a ‘survival for the fittest contest. And we all know that African Americans will fail terribly, hence the rates. When asked whether the mortgage industry was fair in its programs, Slayton had this to say;

“Absolutely not,” “If 80% of the mortgage-lending industry decided they would increase the rate of African American homeownership by at least 10% per year, compounded, the gap would be closed in 10 years. But, that’s a commitment the industry itself has to make and I don’t see that being made anytime soon.”

Since no one else is doing it, Slayton says that his firm is committed to serving Black households and the good news is that the company is making progress. One of the firm’s goals is to lend $1billion to African Americans by 2023 and today, the company is halfway there.

Currently, there are only 3% Black mortgage originators. Given the importance of loan originators in educating the public about the available lending options and the path to homeownership, the recent partnership with the HBCU Career Development Marketplace will boost Legacy’s efforts quite tremendously. So far, the firm has selected about 14 students from the HBCUs to be trained and employed as mortgage loan originators upon completion of the program. This partnership went into effect on December 15, 2020.

“We are profoundly pleased with our relationship with the HBCU Marketplace to help HBCU students begin a career in mortgage banking,” Ben explained. “We are so proud of Selena and her accomplishment of becoming the very first of our candidates to complete our training program and pass her state’s licensing examinations. We are ecstatic to welcome her to the LEGACY family and look forward to seeing her develop into one of the industry’s top mortgage loan originators.”

Expanding its reach

Recently, the firm opened two new branch offices in predominantly black communities. The new office locations are all over the country including one in Hyde Park Illinois, a suburb that was Obama’s hometown, and downtown Atlanta which is the hometown of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. What makes Legacy Home Loans unique is the fact that it uses the profits of its branches not only to open additional office locations but to be able to hire people in predominantly black communities and also donate resources that serve the community as a whole.

According to an article published by BlackNews.com, Slayton’s vision for the future of Legacy home Loans is to make a household name in the black American community “when it comes to the purchase of a new home or a refinance of an existing home, by opening branch offices in every city in the United States that has 25% or more of African Americans in the population. And, by hiring local mortgage professionals in the black communities and giving them the tools, loan programs, and resources, they can compete head-to-head with any mortgage lender in the United States.”

More Collaborations More Opportunities for Black Home Buyers

Earlier this year, the “Coalition to Make Homes Possible” hosted a series of virtual events to provide educational opportunities for African Americans interested in homeownership. The coalition is a child of collaboration between a number of organizations including NAREB, Urban Chamber of Commerce, and the city of Las Vegas. The coalition was sponsored by Homie, a tech-based real estate Company that recently entered the Las Vegas market.

“We’re being intentional about our outreach to the black community because of the decades of real estate discrimination that has prevented it from accessing homeownership,” said Elias Benjelloun of Homie. “Black families have been left out of the equation when it comes to the American dream of owning a home for decades. We know redlining provisions prevented blacks from buying homes for generations.”

Slayton says that he remains hopeful that the future for African Americans remains bright and that someday this homeownership gap will close.

“There are biases in our industry, just like in our society, that will attempt to prevent change from happening,” Slayton said. “We’ve come a long way since I wasn’t allowed to become a realtor because of the color of my skin. But when you think that only four of every 10 black families own a home they’re living in, and for white families, it’s seven of 10, that’s a huge difference. I’m hopeful because I have to be. I can’t do what I do without hope that things will change.”

And that’s the story of our Hero for the Month. That’s Ben Slayton, CEO, and President of Legacy Home Loans.