Though only 7% of this country’s general population are veterans, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans has found they comprise some 13% of America’s homeless population.
The number has decreased significantly over the past decade, but much work remains in the ongoing effort to provide this most basic human need to the individuals who risked so much for our collective freedom.
As part of our broader advocacy efforts in Washington, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) was one of the loudest voices pushing to remove the cap on VA home loans at the close of the last decade. The change has made a significant difference in the lives of countless veterans searching for their own slice of the American Dream.
REALTORS® know the places we call home represent everything we hold dear as free, independent Americans. Each member of our armed services—along with their spouses, children and parents—has sacrificed something in defense of these ideals.
But to some, this cause is even more personal, more tangible. That includes REALTORS® like Ginni Field, whose early exposure to her father’s experiences on the front lines in World War II fostered an immense, indelible appreciation for the unique challenges confronted by military families in America.
Ginni’s father, Dick, was drafted into World War II when he turned 18. He volunteered to train as a paratrooper soon after enlisting, drawn in by the additional $50 a month he could send home to his new bride back in the States.
This path landed him aboard a U.S. Navy vessel across the Atlantic, to a station in Northern Africa, and in an airplane above Southern France. Here, just two months after D-Day, Dick and his 551st Airborne Unit descended into Europe.
An experience that shaped his life and the generations that would follow, Dick ensured that Ginni learned of the perils of war and understood the sacrifices of military families. She saw these challenges play out in real-time in the lives of her sister-in-law and brother, himself a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy.
Now in her early 70s, Ginni’s career has taken her from real estate agent to manager of a highly successful individual brokerage. Today, she runs her own firm as a consultant for small businesses and a coach for novice real estate agents.
From her home just outside San Diego, with U.S. military bases in virtually every direction, Ginni has helped countless military families buy and sell homes during her time as an agent.
Removed from the day-to-day grind of closings and open houses, Ginni is now able to share her experiences and perspective with other REALTORS® as an instructor for NAR’s Military Relocation Professional (MRP) certification course.
NAR created the MRP program in 2013 with the understanding that real estate professionals must recognize the unique needs and timetables placed on military families facing relocation. Through the comprehensive training course, REALTORS® can earn a certification designed to help them serve these consumers seamlessly, efficiently and appropriately.
“What I find most powerful about the MRP course is that it’s written not about how to get a VA loan, because anybody can figure that out, but instead, it’s dedicated to ensuring these individuals leave with a greater connection to the sensitivities of military life,” Ginni says. “Folks who haven’t done it often don’t get it. They have no clue.”
Ginni has taught the MRP course for more than a decade. Her primary message as an instructor: If you’re all about the money, you’re in the wrong business.
“You can’t just say thank you and enjoy your house and then move on to the next deal,” Ginni says. “The moment you make it all about the money, you have lost. And so has the consumer.”
For more information, visit https://www.nar.realtor/.
