November 2, 2023 • 29 mins
Ever wonder how small-dollar loans can transform underserved communities and uplift the lives residents? Join us for an inspiring conversation with Michael Rivera, a loan officer for the Nuestra Casa program, who illuminates how this lending initiative is making a significant difference in South Texas Colonias. We uncover the realities of life in these communities, from limited internet access to homes not up to code, and how Nuestra Casa is empowering residents to better their living conditions.
We explore the Nuestra Casa program's mission, its achievements and the hurdles it has faced. Michael brings us into the heart of South Texas, sharing personal stories of the program's impact and the transformative power of small loans. From repairing roofs to improving credit scores, listen in as we discuss the tangible change this program has brought about in just one year. And it's not just about the loans; it's about trust, education, and enabling residents to take advantage of traditional banking products. Get ready for an episode packed with stories of resilience, community development, and financial empowerment.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
going to a small lending company or a payday loan
$500, you're going to end uppaying twice for that and for us
to be able to come in with nota lot of exposure, not a lot of
marketing, but to the actualcommunities building this
grassroots movement of me and acouple of other community
(00:22):
leaders going into thiscommunity and showing the
interest to help to provide thatfunding that is so necessary.
That is one of the mostsatisfying feelings that I've
had.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
All right.
Welcome to episode 17 of SmallTalk, the Community's Unlimited
podcast.
My name is Chris Baker, andtoday we are joined by Michael
Rivera, who is the loan officerfor our Noestercasa program.
Michael, how's it going?
Speaker 1 (00:51):
man, we're doing great Thank you for having me,
Chris.
I'm excited to be talking aboutour Noestercasa program and
what we've achieved in the lastyear and a half or so.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Well, let's start at the beginning.
Let's start at the very, verybeginning.
Noestercasa as a program whatis it?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
So the Noestercasa program is Community's Unlimited
had this particular programinstituted many, many years ago.
Unfortunately, with the way thehousing was working back about
six, seven years ago, thisprogram was suspended and last
year around the summer we wereable to restart this program.
(01:29):
The program just to give ahighlight of what we do it is a
small dollar lending program.
It is $2,500 that we're able tolend to lower income areas.
Specifically, we have startedthis program in the South Texas
area.
We work on three counties whichare Yiddalego County, Star
(01:52):
County and Cameron County.
In this program it is a very lowinterest rate on secured loan,
meaning we are not required tohave any particular collateral
to be able to lend the funds orto guarantee the loan.
In this program again, it isfor lower income individuals.
(02:14):
We are trying to help thecolonias resident to be able to
improve their property, which istheir biggest asset.
It is helping also individualsto improve their credit score.
We do report to one of themajor credit agencies.
That way these individuals areable to participate in the
(02:37):
traditional bank, in which inthe past they may have not been
able to enjoy this benefit.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
You can zoom out for a second and set the scene of
the colonias in South Texas.
Do you live down there, in thatarea?
What does that look like forsomeone that's not familiar?
Why is this necessary?
Tell me what it looks like.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Absolutely.
The colonias are underdevelopedcommunities in persistent
poverty, counties itself.
These are counties thatthroughout the many, many years
they have been underserved orhave not been able to get the
resources that they need to beable to improve their living
(03:18):
conditions.
Just to give you some examplesmost of these colonias, their
roads, are going to be dirtroads.
They won't have access tointernet or broadband.
The quality of the water thatthey receive might not be the
best quality.
These are areas close to theborder in Texas that actually do
(03:44):
need a lot of help to be ableto get into the new century, to
be able to have those resources,to have the ability to live in
better conditions that they'recurrently are.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Are most of the homes in the colonias.
I mean, is there a variety ofhome setups there or is it
standard, maybe like a mobilehome or put together piece by
piece?
Is there a standard?
Speaker 1 (04:12):
It depends on which colony you go to, but the most
prevalent type of housing thatyou will see in these areas are
going to be either mobile homes,manufacturer homes or you're
going to see homes that, yes,they are black, they might be
concrete, but they have beenbuilt by the same owner or by a
(04:35):
family member.
They probably are not the bestto code.
You can see that they have beenadding throughout the years
additional like a restroom or anextra room.
They're not a custom home thathas been built in other regular
communities.
(04:55):
You can see a huge differencebetween, once you go into a
colonia, the type of structures,the roofs you're going to see
some sink roofing.
You're going to see some woodwith tarp roofing because they
have had some damage on theproperties.
They're not the safest homesand that's what we're doing.
(05:16):
We're trying to get them thosefunds needed to be able to get
that structure, that safety andthat home feeling that they're
safe in their home.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Is it fair to say that and I'm making an
assumption here, michael butthey don't have access to
banking Typically.
Is that true?
Speaker 1 (05:34):
So that can be a correct assumption.
It's not going to be everybodythat do not that they don't have
access to the banking, to thetraditional banking, but most of
these individuals tend to nottrust the banking system,
whether it is because of anylegal status or because they
(05:54):
grew up that way.
Wherever they came from theirancestors, they would not
necessarily trust the bankingsystem.
With Nuestra Casa, one of ourgoals is to be able to let them
know we are not a bank, we areCDFI.
We work a little bit differentthan financial institutions do,
but if we are able to teach youhow credit works, how you will
(06:19):
benefit, how you can make yourcredit work towards you so you
can take benefit of those otherinterest rates and those
products that the traditionalbank offer, now you can
participate in that.
Now you can start creating somewealth.
Now you can start going intothe bank and feel comfortable,
being helped and also bringingyour kids, your family members,
(06:45):
into that same traditional bankwhere now you are participating
in those benefits.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
As a loan officer with communities unlimited in
the far south Texas regiondealing with the colonists.
What kind of stuff are yourunning into?
Are you running into some trustissues or is it pretty easy to
get in there and be like, hey,we actually want to help?
Speaker 1 (07:07):
It does happen, you hit it right on the head of the
nail.
The trust part is a huge factorfor the individuals.
Again, these are individualsthat may not be trusting the
financial system.
They may have been hurt by thefinancial system before.
They may have gone into apayday loan or a small loan
(07:30):
company and gotten hurt by highinterest rates by not being able
to pay back.
So when I come in with our CasaProgram, the skepticism is
already there.
So it is a huge hurdle to beable to gain their trust, be
able to build that report, beable to tell them that we're
(07:51):
trying to benefit and help them.
It does become a challenge butwe have been able to overcome it
Most of the times.
It does help that most of thesecommunities the
Spanish-speaking community.
So with my Spanish language andskills I'm able to communicate
with them in their own language.
(08:13):
I'm able to talk to them alittle bit more about what our
mission is, what our vision isand why are we coming into their
community to help them.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Well, you brought it up.
What is our mission withNoyster Casa?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Our mission in Noyster Casa is to, like I
mentioned before, we want to beable to have this underserved
communities, this underbankedindividuals, these individuals
that have been affected and maynot have found a way to take
advantage of these resources, tobring it to them, teach them
(08:47):
about it With Nuestra Casa.
What we want to is not onlybuild wealth through their home,
through getting their houseimproved, having a safer
household for their entirefamily, but also to get them
into that traditional bankingwhere they are able to take full
advantage and benefit fromthose products that otherwise
(09:10):
they would not be able to knowabout or talk about.
So the Nuestra Casa programwants to teach these communities
how to take advantage of theresources that are available for
the community at large.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
The loan is capped at $2,500.
What are people using this for?
Speaker 1 (09:29):
So at $2,500, usually what we're able to and when I
talk to the individuals,depending on what type of work
they want to do, it might notcover the entire cost of what
they want to improve now andbeing a community that is so
close-knit and they have beendoing some of the work
(09:49):
themselves already, we're ableto help them getting that
material, which usually is thebiggest sticker shock, where
you're trying to buy, trying tofix your bathroom, but you don't
have $2,000 out of pocket to beable to go and purchase all
this.
They don't have a credit cardto put it on.
So we go there.
(10:10):
We provide that funding.
They can now get the materialsand the labor.
They can do it themselves, orthey have a family member or
they know somebody that might beable to help them, where the
labor is not costing them asmuch as the actual material
itself.
So they're able to takeadvantage that way.
(10:32):
But most individuals, with theweather, how it is here in South
Texas, they've been able to fixtheir air conditioning, they've
been able to fix their bathroom.
A lot of them have been able tofix their roof maybe not replace
the whole thing, but whereverthey have that leak, wherever
they have that damage, they'reable to fix that area itself and
(10:56):
now they don't have that leakgoing into their room or kitchen
, bringing mold into the houseor bringing some damage into the
wood, so they're able to atleast get started fixing that.
Not only that, now that we havebeen with the program for over a
year, we're seeing most of ourcustomers come back to us and do
(11:18):
a refinance to get additionalfunding to be able to fix that
extra part that they were unableto get the first time.
Or now they want a little extraproject on the side where now
we can go in and inject a littlebit more funds and they can
continue fixing.
We do have individualsthroughout the entirety of the
(11:40):
program itself that have done upto eight or nine loans and they
have been able to build rooms.
When their families keepgrowing, they're able to have a
program where they can go andtake advantage of that and build
that extra bathroom or thatcloset or fix the water system
that they have, where the kidsare going to be safe now.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
That was going to be my exact.
Next question was when yourepeat clients do you have in
this program?
And it sounds like it's onceyou can get them to understand
and trust the program.
It sounds like they reallyenjoy having it there and
accessing.
Because it may not be.
It's a weird dollar amountbecause banks like to do big
(12:22):
loans, they like to have bigcollateral type loans.
Small dollar loans aretypically super high interest.
I mean there's a gap there,right, and so I'd imagine you
repeat customers are fairly high.
That is absolutely correct.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
So being that a personal loan or a credit card?
Right now, with the economy,you're looking on a personal
loan, minimum 15 to 16%.
On a credit card, right nowwith a variable rate, you're
usually looking at 20 plus.
On that with Nuestra Casa, evenwith the economy, even with the
interest rate changing orincreasing, we have been able to
(12:59):
keep it at a relatively lowrate, which is at 8%.
And when you're looking at anamount of $2,500, that's not a
huge impact.
It doesn't amount to a lot.
But being able to offer that tothe customers, being able to
give them a comfortable paymentwhere the whole payment is not
(13:19):
going into interest, only nowthey're able to feel gain the
trust from us, knowing that weare there to help them and not
try to gauge out them withhigher interest, but also
comfortable in the payment,knowing that they're not going
to have to penny pinch everysingle month trying to get that
payment, trying to not worryabout having to pay exuberant
(13:45):
amount of interest rates wherethey feel that they're not
helping themselves.
They can build that trust andgain that trust saying they are
Nozakasa is really here to helpus.
In communities, unlimited isdoing right by us.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Easy to become buried in debt.
When you're talking aboutthings like personal loans, I
mean that is so easy toaccomplish nowadays there's more
access than ever which you'lljust get buried man and a
program like this.
It feels so necessary,especially for that community
because of the challenges theydo face.
(14:20):
We're talking to Michael Rivera.
He is a loan officer atcommunities.
Unlimited runs a Nozakasaprogram.
Michael reset the counties forus that you guys work in
currently.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
We are working on Idalgo, cameron and Star County.
This is the Rio Grande Valleydown here in South Texas.
They're all border counties.
They have been in thepersistent poverty county list
for many, many, many years,decades, so these are counties
that we thought that needed thehelp immediately.
(14:54):
As far as colonias, these threecounties have the most colonias
in the entire United States andwe thought that this will be a
great place to start thisprogram, being that they do
deserve and help.
I need this help.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
What's your background?
Let's talk about Michael Riverafor a second.
How did you wind up withcommunities unlimited and doing
this program?
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Just a quick overview .
I am from Puerto Rico.
I was born and raised there.
I was a as most Puerto Ricans.
I was an athlete.
I was a baseball player thereand when I was about 16 years
old I came to the States on abaseball scholarship and started
doing that for until I wasabout 23.
(15:37):
And I had a pretty good career.
After that I met my wife and wegot married, obviously, and I
moved down here to South Texas.
I previously to that I residedin Florida, in Miami and in
Atlanta.
There are very, very differentcommunities over there when
(15:59):
you're looking at some of themajor cities in the United
States, urban areas where theeconomy is completely different.
Once we moved here to be closeto the family, then I was in
counter with this.
I did work for banks for 18years and mostly there were
(16:19):
major banks or credit unions,but all in bigger cities.
When I came down here, I didstarted facing the reality that
there is that area that isunderserved, lacking resources,
that most of the federal fundingis not coming to.
So there was that need.
(16:40):
I was lucky enough to belooking around job postings
while I was working at adifferent bank and this
disposition really caught myattention and the rest is
history.
I had a great meeting with ourdirector of lending, bryn
Bagwell, and she sold me onbeing able to make a difference
(17:06):
down here in South Texas.
Even I am considered somewhatof an outsider there's not many
of us Puerto Ricans down herebut she did believe in me and
being able to build this programback up and being able to serve
the community.
And it has been, chris, a hugeimpact to myself as far as being
(17:29):
able to talk to thoseindividuals, to those
communities, to those otherorganizations and leaders in
this community where they canreally express the gratitude of
this program, being able to help, even if it's $2,500, at a time
being that they know that goingto a small lending company or a
(17:52):
payday loan $500, you're goingto end up paying twice for that
and for us to be able to come inwith not a lot of exposure, not
a lot of marketing, but goinginto the grass to the actual
communities, building thisgrass-root movement of just me
(18:12):
and a couple of other communityleaders going into this
communities and showing theinterest to help to provide that
funding that is so necessary.
That is probably one of themost satisfying feelings that
I've had and I think communityis unlimited is doing a great
job in supporting this programand feeding those loans and
(18:35):
providing funding for it so wecan go into those communities
and continue doing thisimportant work.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
The number of loans, the amount you guys cranked out
in your first year, was shockingto me.
I think I know the number, butgo ahead and tell me.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
So for the first 12 months we were able to do 212
loans.
We just recently had a hugecelebration back in August just
to celebrate the success and tobring the community to let them
know that they have beenresponsible for the success of
this program.
Like I said, I don't have a lotof marketing that I do on the
(19:13):
program, but those individualswith the word of mouth have been
able to help us spread theprogram out.
We've had help from otherorganizations, as I mentioned
before, where they have beengracious enough to share the
program with their individuals,customers, members that are part
(19:35):
of those organizations as well.
We were lucky enough to be inthe news several times in that
12-month period where they wererecognizing as well the great
work that we're doing in thecommunities, in the Colonial
specifically.
So it was a lot of work.
Most of that year I was doingthe loans by myself, so I was
(19:57):
doing everything fromapplication all the way to the
closing.
We do have a great supportstaff that does all the
servicing afterwards, but forthe first 12 months it was a lot
of work but it was, like I said, very, very satisfying work and
I was extremely happy to hitthat huge number.
(20:17):
That was not expected.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
More than a loan and a half a day.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
And I promise you I take the weekends off.
Sometimes these individuals,when they see this program and,
as you asked earlier, verywisely, the skepticism part is a
huge factor.
So I don't want to make theseindividuals wait and think that
(20:43):
they have provided theirpersonal information and now
it's taking two weeks, threeweeks, for them to get a
response.
So I do make it my mission forthem to get a turnaround within
24 to 48 hours.
If there's anything additional,I try to make it in less than a
week.
So it is very important toprovide an answer timely and to
(21:07):
provide that response and thefunding as quickly as possible.
So, yes, long days, sometimeslong nights, but it was all
worth it and I think that rightnow I do have two assistants
that are helping me and theyhave been huge, huge help as far
(21:28):
as being able to turn thoseloans a little bit quicker
without it all falling off on mylap.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Sometimes, when you're doing good work, the
infrastructure follows the work,right?
212 loans in 365 days is a lot,and to get them flowing through
the system.
I mean, think about it Ifyou're listening now.
Think about it when the lasttime you went and got a loan and
got it turned around in 48hours.
It doesn't happen.
(21:55):
To do that 212 times in oneyear is shocking and you need to
be commended for that work, man.
But also, the reason that youdid that is so that you could
build that trust in those people.
You said, hey, you got them.
And they said, yes, let's dothis.
And then you turn it around forreal quickly.
It makes them believers, right?
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Absolutely.
And one thing that I do want todifferentiate as well whenever
you go to a major bank,financial institution, you're
going to sit with a banker.
You will have that conversation.
Usually, that will input yourinformation in a computer and
that goes to somebody else.
That goes to a processor, anunderwriter.
(22:38):
That might be local, it mightbe in a different state.
You don't necessarily know Nowwhat I do.
I take the application, I talkto you, I listen to your story.
I want to understand what thatstory is and how COVID affected
you, how your housing, youremployment situation may be
(23:02):
different from the otherapplicants.
So end with no extra cost.
What we want to do is not onlybuild a report and trust, but I
want to know your story.
I want to know how can I helpyou, how can I build for the
next one?
You're not just gonna be acustomer that you come in and
then you go out and I mightnever see you again.
(23:24):
I want to have that conversationevery six months, every three
months, trying to see whereyou're standing.
How did this funds help you,where we able to help you, the
way that we promise you.
We wanna keep that promise aswell.
And then, whenever you needmore.
I want you to come back to meand say this is my situation,
this is what we want to do andhow can you help me?
(23:46):
They are.
I also want them to come back tome and ask me about other
situations.
If they're having difficulties,pain, I their, their utilities.
What other organizations do weknow out there that have been
contributing with us and I mightbe able to refer you to them or
we might connect you tosomebody that can help you.
(24:08):
So what I want to build is afamily, is a is a circle where
we have all this individualsthat we are invested in their
families.
We're not just gonna try to getinterest out of you and then,
if you ever need me, then youcome back.
Now we wanna know what yourfamily, how your family is doing
, how we're helping you and howcan we further help you if
(24:30):
someone is listening now andwants to get involved or share
the information about the way.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
striccosa, how do you recommend they go about doing
that?
Speaker 1 (24:38):
well, crazy.
You've been great help buildingus a facebook page, so we're
definitely on facebook.
Within the community isunlimited facebook page.
We do have our website as welland see you where you can go in
to our website communities, youdot org and you under under
loans.
(24:58):
You will see my picture, myinformation, my phone number, my
link, you are called.
All the information is gonna bethere on the program and again,
you call.
You call me directly or myassistant actually told us.
So this is no third party oranybody anybody else that you
might not know.
You gonna be calling Michael,you gonna be calling.
(25:20):
Actually we're gonna have thatconversation and the other way
is always.
I do have my cell phone whereyou can call me.
A nine, five, six, four, three,one, eight, eight, four, eight
and I will answer, unless you'recalling a midnight I do sleep
again and I do have threechildren, so I tried to get
those easy and but yes,definitely you can call me, you
(25:43):
can text me, you can go to ourwebsite, you can go to our
facebook and you can ask.
Maybe your neighbor has beenhelped by my name is already and
you know you don't know it.
You can, we can.
We are in the community as well, so a lot of organizations will
have our information as well soright now it's Cameron star,
(26:04):
dog counties.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I say the age.
I can't.
I don't sound cool when I sayit all go.
What's the future for newyestergaster?
Look like if you had what wouldyou like it to?
Speaker 1 (26:14):
look like michael well, add right now we're in the
talks of expanding.
I don't know how muchinformation I can share this
this moment, but we'redefinitely looking at the option
.
It's expanding within texas andI'm taking it to another state
within our seven state footprint.
So it is something that isprobably gonna come this last
(26:37):
quarter.
So keep your years open, cuz itwill be probably in the next
few months that we will havethat announcement.
But this program needs to go toall the states that we can
serve Then that have this need.
This program can be verysuccessful in those states as
(27:00):
well, cuz they are community,are the persistent poverty
counties are all over the unitedstates, specially in the
southern states where we Serveare major community, unlimited
serves, are people.
So I would like to see it inluciano, would like to see it in
arkansas, alabama, mississippi,tennessee, all the states,
(27:25):
oklahoma as well and have arepresentative that really wants
to make that that this programas successful as it has been
here in south texas.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
So Hopefully, like I said, in a couple months will
hear some good news on that toif that happens, we're gonna
have to get you a different cellphone number, cuz you're gonna
stop giving it out.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I agree when.
I do well know when we when wewere in the news that the cell
phone was not stop, so I havegone through that.
But we are ready to take thosecalls.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
So anytime you guys wanna call Will be here to
answer it bone officer, michaelrevere, who's in charge of the
new aster cassa program,communities unlimited.
Michael, if you could just likeDistill new aster cassa down
into a sentence or two thatpeople can walk away with an
idea of what it is, could youwrap that up for me just?
Speaker 1 (28:17):
it is a small dollar loan For individuals that truly
need this assistant and willtake benefit of this resource,
and I promise you that you willbe taking care of and check them
out.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Communities you dot org.
I only have one more questionfor you, michael.
Since you have a baseballbackground, I know you are a
pitcher.
What was your best pitch?
Speaker 1 (28:40):
fastball, fastball, yes, sir not, not, not the
slider not.
It was decent, decent change up.
Curveball was not good, but thefast the fastball was
overpowering.
Now Just to add a quick thiswas a quick note.
This was twenty something yearsago, so my fastball at that
(29:01):
point, top down ninety six,that's a regular pitch today.
Back then we could do somedamage with a ninety six mile
fastball.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
As michael revere, he's a loan officer with the new
aster cassa program here atcommunities unlimited.
Again, if you'd like some moreinformation and to learn about
it, heck even contact michael.
All the information is acommunities you dot org.
You've been listening to smalltalk with communities unlimited
and we'll be back in a coupleweeks with another episode.
Thanks, michael.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Thank you for having me.
going to a small lending company or a payday loan
$500, you're going to end uppaying twice for that and for us
to be able to come in with nota lot of exposure, not a lot of
marketing, but to the actualcommunities building this
grassroots movement of me and acouple of other community
(00:22):
leaders going into thiscommunity and showing the
interest to help to provide thatfunding that is so necessary.
That is one of the mostsatisfying feelings that I've
had.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
All right.
Welcome to episode 17 of SmallTalk, the Community's Unlimited
podcast.
My name is Chris Baker, andtoday we are joined by Michael
Rivera, who is the loan officerfor our Noestercasa program.
Michael, how's it going?
Speaker 1 (00:51):
man, we're doing great Thank you for having me,
Chris.
I'm excited to be talking aboutour Noestercasa program and
what we've achieved in the lastyear and a half or so.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Well, let's start at the beginning.
Let's start at the very, verybeginning.
Noestercasa as a program whatis it?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
So the Noestercasa program is Community's Unlimited
had this particular programinstituted many, many years ago.
Unfortunately, with the way thehousing was working back about
six, seven years ago, thisprogram was suspended and last
year around the summer we wereable to restart this program.
(01:29):
The program just to give ahighlight of what we do it is a
small dollar lending program.
It is $2,500 that we're able tolend to lower income areas.
Specifically, we have startedthis program in the South Texas
area.
We work on three counties whichare Yiddalego County, Star
(01:52):
County and Cameron County.
In this program it is a very lowinterest rate on secured loan,
meaning we are not required tohave any particular collateral
to be able to lend the funds orto guarantee the loan.
In this program again, it isfor lower income individuals.
(02:14):
We are trying to help thecolonias resident to be able to
improve their property, which istheir biggest asset.
It is helping also individualsto improve their credit score.
We do report to one of themajor credit agencies.
That way these individuals areable to participate in the
(02:37):
traditional bank, in which inthe past they may have not been
able to enjoy this benefit.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
You can zoom out for a second and set the scene of
the colonias in South Texas.
Do you live down there, in thatarea?
What does that look like forsomeone that's not familiar?
Why is this necessary?
Tell me what it looks like.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Absolutely.
The colonias are underdevelopedcommunities in persistent
poverty, counties itself.
These are counties thatthroughout the many, many years
they have been underserved orhave not been able to get the
resources that they need to beable to improve their living
(03:18):
conditions.
Just to give you some examplesmost of these colonias, their
roads, are going to be dirtroads.
They won't have access tointernet or broadband.
The quality of the water thatthey receive might not be the
best quality.
These are areas close to theborder in Texas that actually do
(03:44):
need a lot of help to be ableto get into the new century, to
be able to have those resources,to have the ability to live in
better conditions that they'recurrently are.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Are most of the homes in the colonias.
I mean, is there a variety ofhome setups there or is it
standard, maybe like a mobilehome or put together piece by
piece?
Is there a standard?
Speaker 1 (04:12):
It depends on which colony you go to, but the most
prevalent type of housing thatyou will see in these areas are
going to be either mobile homes,manufacturer homes or you're
going to see homes that, yes,they are black, they might be
concrete, but they have beenbuilt by the same owner or by a
(04:35):
family member.
They probably are not the bestto code.
You can see that they have beenadding throughout the years
additional like a restroom or anextra room.
They're not a custom home thathas been built in other regular
communities.
(04:55):
You can see a huge differencebetween, once you go into a
colonia, the type of structures,the roofs you're going to see
some sink roofing.
You're going to see some woodwith tarp roofing because they
have had some damage on theproperties.
They're not the safest homesand that's what we're doing.
(05:16):
We're trying to get them thosefunds needed to be able to get
that structure, that safety andthat home feeling that they're
safe in their home.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Is it fair to say that and I'm making an
assumption here, michael butthey don't have access to
banking Typically.
Is that true?
Speaker 1 (05:34):
So that can be a correct assumption.
It's not going to be everybodythat do not that they don't have
access to the banking, to thetraditional banking, but most of
these individuals tend to nottrust the banking system,
whether it is because of anylegal status or because they
(05:54):
grew up that way.
Wherever they came from theirancestors, they would not
necessarily trust the bankingsystem.
With Nuestra Casa, one of ourgoals is to be able to let them
know we are not a bank, we areCDFI.
We work a little bit differentthan financial institutions do,
but if we are able to teach youhow credit works, how you will
(06:19):
benefit, how you can make yourcredit work towards you so you
can take benefit of those otherinterest rates and those
products that the traditionalbank offer, now you can
participate in that.
Now you can start creating somewealth.
Now you can start going intothe bank and feel comfortable,
being helped and also bringingyour kids, your family members,
(06:45):
into that same traditional bankwhere now you are participating
in those benefits.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
As a loan officer with communities unlimited in
the far south Texas regiondealing with the colonists.
What kind of stuff are yourunning into?
Are you running into some trustissues or is it pretty easy to
get in there and be like, hey,we actually want to help?
Speaker 1 (07:07):
It does happen, you hit it right on the head of the
nail.
The trust part is a huge factorfor the individuals.
Again, these are individualsthat may not be trusting the
financial system.
They may have been hurt by thefinancial system before.
They may have gone into apayday loan or a small loan
(07:30):
company and gotten hurt by highinterest rates by not being able
to pay back.
So when I come in with our CasaProgram, the skepticism is
already there.
So it is a huge hurdle to beable to gain their trust, be
able to build that report, beable to tell them that we're
(07:51):
trying to benefit and help them.
It does become a challenge butwe have been able to overcome it
Most of the times.
It does help that most of thesecommunities the
Spanish-speaking community.
So with my Spanish language andskills I'm able to communicate
with them in their own language.
(08:13):
I'm able to talk to them alittle bit more about what our
mission is, what our vision isand why are we coming into their
community to help them.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Well, you brought it up.
What is our mission withNoyster Casa?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Our mission in Noyster Casa is to, like I
mentioned before, we want to beable to have this underserved
communities, this underbankedindividuals, these individuals
that have been affected and maynot have found a way to take
advantage of these resources, tobring it to them, teach them
(08:47):
about it With Nuestra Casa.
What we want to is not onlybuild wealth through their home,
through getting their houseimproved, having a safer
household for their entirefamily, but also to get them
into that traditional bankingwhere they are able to take full
advantage and benefit fromthose products that otherwise
(09:10):
they would not be able to knowabout or talk about.
So the Nuestra Casa programwants to teach these communities
how to take advantage of theresources that are available for
the community at large.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
The loan is capped at $2,500.
What are people using this for?
Speaker 1 (09:29):
So at $2,500, usually what we're able to and when I
talk to the individuals,depending on what type of work
they want to do, it might notcover the entire cost of what
they want to improve now andbeing a community that is so
close-knit and they have beendoing some of the work
(09:49):
themselves already, we're ableto help them getting that
material, which usually is thebiggest sticker shock, where
you're trying to buy, trying tofix your bathroom, but you don't
have $2,000 out of pocket to beable to go and purchase all
this.
They don't have a credit cardto put it on.
So we go there.
(10:10):
We provide that funding.
They can now get the materialsand the labor.
They can do it themselves, orthey have a family member or
they know somebody that might beable to help them, where the
labor is not costing them asmuch as the actual material
itself.
So they're able to takeadvantage that way.
(10:32):
But most individuals, with theweather, how it is here in South
Texas, they've been able to fixtheir air conditioning, they've
been able to fix their bathroom.
A lot of them have been able tofix their roof maybe not replace
the whole thing, but whereverthey have that leak, wherever
they have that damage, they'reable to fix that area itself and
(10:56):
now they don't have that leakgoing into their room or kitchen
, bringing mold into the houseor bringing some damage into the
wood, so they're able to atleast get started fixing that.
Not only that, now that we havebeen with the program for over a
year, we're seeing most of ourcustomers come back to us and do
(11:18):
a refinance to get additionalfunding to be able to fix that
extra part that they were unableto get the first time.
Or now they want a little extraproject on the side where now
we can go in and inject a littlebit more funds and they can
continue fixing.
We do have individualsthroughout the entirety of the
(11:40):
program itself that have done upto eight or nine loans and they
have been able to build rooms.
When their families keepgrowing, they're able to have a
program where they can go andtake advantage of that and build
that extra bathroom or thatcloset or fix the water system
that they have, where the kidsare going to be safe now.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
That was going to be my exact.
Next question was when yourepeat clients do you have in
this program?
And it sounds like it's onceyou can get them to understand
and trust the program.
It sounds like they reallyenjoy having it there and
accessing.
Because it may not be.
It's a weird dollar amountbecause banks like to do big
(12:22):
loans, they like to have bigcollateral type loans.
Small dollar loans aretypically super high interest.
I mean there's a gap there,right, and so I'd imagine you
repeat customers are fairly high.
That is absolutely correct.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
So being that a personal loan or a credit card?
Right now, with the economy,you're looking on a personal
loan, minimum 15 to 16%.
On a credit card, right nowwith a variable rate, you're
usually looking at 20 plus.
On that with Nuestra Casa, evenwith the economy, even with the
interest rate changing orincreasing, we have been able to
(12:59):
keep it at a relatively lowrate, which is at 8%.
And when you're looking at anamount of $2,500, that's not a
huge impact.
It doesn't amount to a lot.
But being able to offer that tothe customers, being able to
give them a comfortable paymentwhere the whole payment is not
(13:19):
going into interest, only nowthey're able to feel gain the
trust from us, knowing that weare there to help them and not
try to gauge out them withhigher interest, but also
comfortable in the payment,knowing that they're not going
to have to penny pinch everysingle month trying to get that
payment, trying to not worryabout having to pay exuberant
(13:45):
amount of interest rates wherethey feel that they're not
helping themselves.
They can build that trust andgain that trust saying they are
Nozakasa is really here to helpus.
In communities, unlimited isdoing right by us.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Easy to become buried in debt.
When you're talking aboutthings like personal loans, I
mean that is so easy toaccomplish nowadays there's more
access than ever which you'lljust get buried man and a
program like this.
It feels so necessary,especially for that community
because of the challenges theydo face.
(14:20):
We're talking to Michael Rivera.
He is a loan officer atcommunities.
Unlimited runs a Nozakasaprogram.
Michael reset the counties forus that you guys work in
currently.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
We are working on Idalgo, cameron and Star County.
This is the Rio Grande Valleydown here in South Texas.
They're all border counties.
They have been in thepersistent poverty county list
for many, many, many years,decades, so these are counties
that we thought that needed thehelp immediately.
(14:54):
As far as colonias, these threecounties have the most colonias
in the entire United States andwe thought that this will be a
great place to start thisprogram, being that they do
deserve and help.
I need this help.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
What's your background?
Let's talk about Michael Riverafor a second.
How did you wind up withcommunities unlimited and doing
this program?
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Just a quick overview .
I am from Puerto Rico.
I was born and raised there.
I was a as most Puerto Ricans.
I was an athlete.
I was a baseball player thereand when I was about 16 years
old I came to the States on abaseball scholarship and started
doing that for until I wasabout 23.
(15:37):
And I had a pretty good career.
After that I met my wife and wegot married, obviously, and I
moved down here to South Texas.
I previously to that I residedin Florida, in Miami and in
Atlanta.
There are very, very differentcommunities over there when
(15:59):
you're looking at some of themajor cities in the United
States, urban areas where theeconomy is completely different.
Once we moved here to be closeto the family, then I was in
counter with this.
I did work for banks for 18years and mostly there were
(16:19):
major banks or credit unions,but all in bigger cities.
When I came down here, I didstarted facing the reality that
there is that area that isunderserved, lacking resources,
that most of the federal fundingis not coming to.
So there was that need.
(16:40):
I was lucky enough to belooking around job postings
while I was working at adifferent bank and this
disposition really caught myattention and the rest is
history.
I had a great meeting with ourdirector of lending, bryn
Bagwell, and she sold me onbeing able to make a difference
(17:06):
down here in South Texas.
Even I am considered somewhatof an outsider there's not many
of us Puerto Ricans down herebut she did believe in me and
being able to build this programback up and being able to serve
the community.
And it has been, chris, a hugeimpact to myself as far as being
(17:29):
able to talk to thoseindividuals, to those
communities, to those otherorganizations and leaders in
this community where they canreally express the gratitude of
this program, being able to help, even if it's $2,500, at a time
being that they know that goingto a small lending company or a
(17:52):
payday loan $500, you're goingto end up paying twice for that
and for us to be able to come inwith not a lot of exposure, not
a lot of marketing, but goinginto the grass to the actual
communities, building thisgrass-root movement of just me
(18:12):
and a couple of other communityleaders going into this
communities and showing theinterest to help to provide that
funding that is so necessary.
That is probably one of themost satisfying feelings that
I've had and I think communityis unlimited is doing a great
job in supporting this programand feeding those loans and
(18:35):
providing funding for it so wecan go into those communities
and continue doing thisimportant work.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
The number of loans, the amount you guys cranked out
in your first year, was shockingto me.
I think I know the number, butgo ahead and tell me.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
So for the first 12 months we were able to do 212
loans.
We just recently had a hugecelebration back in August just
to celebrate the success and tobring the community to let them
know that they have beenresponsible for the success of
this program.
Like I said, I don't have a lotof marketing that I do on the
(19:13):
program, but those individualswith the word of mouth have been
able to help us spread theprogram out.
We've had help from otherorganizations, as I mentioned
before, where they have beengracious enough to share the
program with their individuals,customers, members that are part
(19:35):
of those organizations as well.
We were lucky enough to be inthe news several times in that
12-month period where they wererecognizing as well the great
work that we're doing in thecommunities, in the Colonial
specifically.
So it was a lot of work.
Most of that year I was doingthe loans by myself, so I was
(19:57):
doing everything fromapplication all the way to the
closing.
We do have a great supportstaff that does all the
servicing afterwards, but forthe first 12 months it was a lot
of work but it was, like I said, very, very satisfying work and
I was extremely happy to hitthat huge number.
(20:17):
That was not expected.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
More than a loan and a half a day.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
And I promise you I take the weekends off.
Sometimes these individuals,when they see this program and,
as you asked earlier, verywisely, the skepticism part is a
huge factor.
So I don't want to make theseindividuals wait and think that
(20:43):
they have provided theirpersonal information and now
it's taking two weeks, threeweeks, for them to get a
response.
So I do make it my mission forthem to get a turnaround within
24 to 48 hours.
If there's anything additional,I try to make it in less than a
week.
So it is very important toprovide an answer timely and to
(21:07):
provide that response and thefunding as quickly as possible.
So, yes, long days, sometimeslong nights, but it was all
worth it and I think that rightnow I do have two assistants
that are helping me and theyhave been huge, huge help as far
(21:28):
as being able to turn thoseloans a little bit quicker
without it all falling off on mylap.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Sometimes, when you're doing good work, the
infrastructure follows the work,right?
212 loans in 365 days is a lot,and to get them flowing through
the system.
I mean, think about it Ifyou're listening now.
Think about it when the lasttime you went and got a loan and
got it turned around in 48hours.
It doesn't happen.
(21:55):
To do that 212 times in oneyear is shocking and you need to
be commended for that work, man.
But also, the reason that youdid that is so that you could
build that trust in those people.
You said, hey, you got them.
And they said, yes, let's dothis.
And then you turn it around forreal quickly.
It makes them believers, right?
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Absolutely.
And one thing that I do want todifferentiate as well whenever
you go to a major bank,financial institution, you're
going to sit with a banker.
You will have that conversation.
Usually, that will input yourinformation in a computer and
that goes to somebody else.
That goes to a processor, anunderwriter.
(22:38):
That might be local, it mightbe in a different state.
You don't necessarily know Nowwhat I do.
I take the application, I talkto you, I listen to your story.
I want to understand what thatstory is and how COVID affected
you, how your housing, youremployment situation may be
(23:02):
different from the otherapplicants.
So end with no extra cost.
What we want to do is not onlybuild a report and trust, but I
want to know your story.
I want to know how can I helpyou, how can I build for the
next one?
You're not just gonna be acustomer that you come in and
then you go out and I mightnever see you again.
(23:24):
I want to have that conversationevery six months, every three
months, trying to see whereyou're standing.
How did this funds help you,where we able to help you, the
way that we promise you.
We wanna keep that promise aswell.
And then, whenever you needmore.
I want you to come back to meand say this is my situation,
this is what we want to do andhow can you help me?
(23:46):
They are.
I also want them to come back tome and ask me about other
situations.
If they're having difficulties,pain, I their, their utilities.
What other organizations do weknow out there that have been
contributing with us and I mightbe able to refer you to them or
we might connect you tosomebody that can help you.
(24:08):
So what I want to build is afamily, is a is a circle where
we have all this individualsthat we are invested in their
families.
We're not just gonna try to getinterest out of you and then,
if you ever need me, then youcome back.
Now we wanna know what yourfamily, how your family is doing
, how we're helping you and howcan we further help you if
(24:30):
someone is listening now andwants to get involved or share
the information about the way.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
striccosa, how do you recommend they go about doing
that?
Speaker 1 (24:38):
well, crazy.
You've been great help buildingus a facebook page, so we're
definitely on facebook.
Within the community isunlimited facebook page.
We do have our website as welland see you where you can go in
to our website communities, youdot org and you under under
loans.
(24:58):
You will see my picture, myinformation, my phone number, my
link, you are called.
All the information is gonna bethere on the program and again,
you call.
You call me directly or myassistant actually told us.
So this is no third party oranybody anybody else that you
might not know.
You gonna be calling Michael,you gonna be calling.
(25:20):
Actually we're gonna have thatconversation and the other way
is always.
I do have my cell phone whereyou can call me.
A nine, five, six, four, three,one, eight, eight, four, eight
and I will answer, unless you'recalling a midnight I do sleep
again and I do have threechildren, so I tried to get
those easy and but yes,definitely you can call me, you
(25:43):
can text me, you can go to ourwebsite, you can go to our
facebook and you can ask.
Maybe your neighbor has beenhelped by my name is already and
you know you don't know it.
You can, we can.
We are in the community as well, so a lot of organizations will
have our information as well soright now it's Cameron star,
(26:04):
dog counties.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I say the age.
I can't.
I don't sound cool when I sayit all go.
What's the future for newyestergaster?
Look like if you had what wouldyou like it to?
Speaker 1 (26:14):
look like michael well, add right now we're in the
talks of expanding.
I don't know how muchinformation I can share this
this moment, but we'redefinitely looking at the option
.
It's expanding within texas andI'm taking it to another state
within our seven state footprint.
So it is something that isprobably gonna come this last
(26:37):
quarter.
So keep your years open, cuz itwill be probably in the next
few months that we will havethat announcement.
But this program needs to go toall the states that we can
serve Then that have this need.
This program can be verysuccessful in those states as
(27:00):
well, cuz they are community,are the persistent poverty
counties are all over the unitedstates, specially in the
southern states where we Serveare major community, unlimited
serves, are people.
So I would like to see it inluciano, would like to see it in
arkansas, alabama, mississippi,tennessee, all the states,
(27:25):
oklahoma as well and have arepresentative that really wants
to make that that this programas successful as it has been
here in south texas.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
So Hopefully, like I said, in a couple months will
hear some good news on that toif that happens, we're gonna
have to get you a different cellphone number, cuz you're gonna
stop giving it out.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I agree when.
I do well know when we when wewere in the news that the cell
phone was not stop, so I havegone through that.
But we are ready to take thosecalls.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
So anytime you guys wanna call Will be here to
answer it bone officer, michaelrevere, who's in charge of the
new aster cassa program,communities unlimited.
Michael, if you could just likeDistill new aster cassa down
into a sentence or two thatpeople can walk away with an
idea of what it is, could youwrap that up for me just?
Speaker 1 (28:17):
it is a small dollar loan For individuals that truly
need this assistant and willtake benefit of this resource,
and I promise you that you willbe taking care of and check them
out.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Communities you dot org.
I only have one more questionfor you, michael.
Since you have a baseballbackground, I know you are a
pitcher.
What was your best pitch?
Speaker 1 (28:40):
fastball, fastball, yes, sir not, not, not the
slider not.
It was decent, decent change up.
Curveball was not good, but thefast the fastball was
overpowering.
Now Just to add a quick thiswas a quick note.
This was twenty something yearsago, so my fastball at that
(29:01):
point, top down ninety six,that's a regular pitch today.
Back then we could do somedamage with a ninety six mile
fastball.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
As michael revere, he's a loan officer with the new
aster cassa program here atcommunities unlimited.
Again, if you'd like some moreinformation and to learn about
it, heck even contact michael.
All the information is acommunities you dot org.
You've been listening to smalltalk with communities unlimited
and we'll be back in a coupleweeks with another episode.
Thanks, michael.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Thank you for having me.
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