LAS VEGAS — The American Credit Union Mortgage Association will be presenting a credit union-related breakout session to some 30,000-expected attendees to the Annual Convention of the National Association of Realtors taking place here Nov. 13-16.
ACUMA President Bob Dorsa said, "This is exciting news, not just for ACUMA, but for all credit unions dedicated to real estate lending. This will be the first time that a presentation will be offered to realtors that exclusively presents the credit union brand of mortgage lending."
ACUMA has been diligently pursuing an active relationship with the NAR for several years, he added, because realtors are the first line of contact with potential homebuyers. "While there are some individual credit unions and several CU real estate CUSOs that have created networking arrangements with realtors, there has never been a national awareness of credit unions on their radar. That has to change," said Dorsa. He noted that the attention now being paid to the pull back of the real estate market in the mainstream press, although losses may be highly regionalized, creates a powerful perception in the minds of consumers. "That negative perception may be just the opportunity the credit union industry needs to catapult it into public awareness in a positive way. Credit unions can help homeowners threatened by foreclosure, and they are making mortgage loans that do not gouge consumers. Credit unions need to be seen as 'the good guys' and the time is right, because the public sure wants to hear that there are good guys out there."
The only snag Dorsa offered was the fact that CUs that have full mortgage programs are dwarfed by the more than 5,000 credit unions that don't do any home lending at all. "Homeownership touches 75% of Americans and if you aren't involved in mortgages then you are not really serving your members. That's just one man's opinion, of course, but I've been around long enough to make that observation, and I've been working very hard, together with the dedicated members of ACUMA, to bring more CUs into the real estate market," he said.
The breakout session at the NAR is titled "The Underutilized Mortgage Source: Credit Unions" will take place on Nov. 14 and it will be a panel of credit union officials that represent various parts of the CU sphere. "I want to show realtors how varied credit unions are, what they are all about and the panel will demonstrate that," said Dorsa. Bill Tessier, associate VP of real estate and builder liaison for Navy FCU, Merrifield, Va., ($30 billion, 2.9 million members) will address the CU's service to enlisted and retired military personnel, Joe Brancucci, vice president and chief Lending officer of BECU, Tukwilla, Wash. ($7 billion, 500,000 members) will represent the occupational credit unions (primarily the aerospace industry) and a third representative, yet to be named, will be from a multiple-SEG CU.
Dorsa said that it was important for realtors to be exposed to the entirety of the CU industry and he was happy to say that none of the money raised to support ACUMA's presence at the NAR, nor the cost of the space on the exhibit floor came from any trade association. "This has all been funded by ACUMA-member credit unions and CUSOs. It was important to do it this way, I believe, because we wanted to present a cooperative message, not a political one. No one here has an axe to grind. What we are selling is credit union good will. That's what makes us different."
The CU booth will be slightly different from the one that premiered at last year's NAR convention in New Orleans, said Dorsa. "On an exhibit floor with over 700 booths, many of which are very expensive, we need to stand out, but have to do it on a shoestring, so to speak," he said. So Dorsa is toying with creative ideas to showcase the CU message in a more dramatic way. He has obtained approval from the Las Vegas Gaming Commission to have four live slot machines available for free play. Prizes such as a DVD player and other electronics, rather than cash will be the draw. "All NAR members and vendors receive a magnetic ID that they'll swipe in order to play, he said. That will provide a ready list of agents interested in exploring a relationship with credit unions.
Dorsa said that ACUMA still has opportunities available for participation in the NAR convention. For more information, contact Bob Dorsa at www.ACUMA.org or call toll free at 877-442-2862.
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