Ep. 122 - Meet Tai Christensen. In 1936, Tai Christensen's great-grandmother, a housekeeper and widow in North Carolina with four sons, saved up $500 and bought a house at age 35. That decision, which changed the trajectory of her family's finances for generations to come, wasn't easy for a black woman facing racist housing policies. Mary Pherribo and her late husband, George Pherribo, were both born to parents who had been enslaved. Tai learned early in life from her great-grandmother that the way to build wealth was through homeownership. So what are the barriers, especially if you are an African-American family? Tai explains why the racial gap in homeownership must be closed and helps black families daily to close that gap. Home is not just where you live. It's where you tell stories around the kitchen table. Where you lovingly gaze at your sleeping children. It's where you feel most at peace. And as a homeowner, your home is typically your largest investment and asset.
Top Takeaways:
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- How homeownership and generational wealth is uncommon in the black community
- How not to allow challenges along the way to stop you from scaling higher in your career
- The importance of having a support system that helps motivate you when things get hard in your career
- How redlining can be addressed at the local, state, and federal levels to create opportunities for minorities to own homes
- The power of kindness and empathy that will help unify people in the world more
Listen in to learn the importance of homeownership for minority communities to be able to build generational wealth.
"If you don't like it, you have to change it. It is up to you to change the dynamics. You have to stand firm in your beliefs and conviction." -Tai Christensen
For over 17 years Tai Christensen has worked in the mortgage industry, assisting credit-worthy borrowers become homeowners. Whether working many years in retail, working with excited couples purchasing their first home or my years in loss mitigation, or working hard to help folks struggling financially modify their home loans, she has dedicated her career to maintaining sustainable homeownership. She is passionate about the creation of intergenerational wealth through homeownership and ensuring underserved communities receive the equitable access to credit they deserve.
She has held positions as a loan processor, the manager of a loan brokerage specializing in modifying loans for families facing foreclosure, and as a manager of a law firm specializing in negotiating mortgage terms for families facing trustee auction days. She is currently the director of government affairs for CBC mortgage agency, a national down payment assistance provider. She's committed to assisting underserved creditworthy communities of people to become sustainable homeowners and build generational wealth through homeownership.
Listen in to learn the importance of homeownership for minority communities to be able to build generational wealth.
You will also learn the importance of empathy and unity to achieve equality and diversity in America.
Key Moments:
Tai narrates the homeownership story of her great grandmother who set the tradition of homeownership in her family [2:26]
She narrates how she grew up with her mom traveling for work and family being the most important part of life [6:19]
How Tai got involved in the mortgage industry back in the early 2000s which stems from a very interesting story [10:05]
She explains the connections she's made with women in the mortgage industry considering it's a male-dominated industry [13:54]
The two mortgage stories that had completely different endings and yet touched her heart [15:54]
Why she is set on closing the racial wealth gap by pushing towards homeownership in the black community [19:27]
How redlining is affecting homeownership in the black community and continually increasing the racial wealth gap [21:40]
How racial inequity in the homeownership industry can be addressed to give opportunities to all people [24:02]
The importance of having leaders who advocate for American unity and diversity [25:37]
Tai opens up about the experience that changed how she views life especially now during the pandemic [29:24]
Why she dreams of unity and love in America and the world no matter the differences [31:38]
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