Welcome to SAHARAA - Monthly Newsletter

You are invited to join SAREAA, a site that helps first time South Asian Homebuyers realize their American Dream of Home Ownership.


Forthcoming Event

The First Bay Area Multi-Cultural Real Estate Summit to be held on October 25, 2007 at Elks Lodge, San Mateo, is a very important event in Bay Area and will give us an opportunity to project our South Asian community in Real Estate industry.

Jeff Davi, DRE Commissioner will be the Keynote Speaker and he will speak on “Trends and Demographics Affecting the Multi-Cultural Market” followed by a Panel discussion on “The State of Real Estate in Bay Area”. The panel consists of Jeff Davi, DRE Commissioner; Allen Okamoto, Chairman AREAA; Steve Goddard, Chair Legislative Committee CAR; Gayle Bryce, Regional Director, Freddie Mac; Mickelin Brown, President, San Jose Association of Realtists; moderated by Pablo Wong of Fidelity National Financial. The Wine & Cheese Reception at the end of the event from 5 to 6 PM would be an excellent opportunity for you to network with fellow practitioners.

I would urge all of you to attend this event and encourage fellow South Asians in real estate and allied industries also to attend.  We would love to project our group as an emerging group with increasing population in USA, led by Asian Indians at 2.319 million, the 2nd highest Asian population, with highest Median Household Income at $66,000 and the highest level of college education at 68% of the population.  We need to be proud of that.

To register for this event please visit www.SAMCAR.org. The SAREAA members and their friends can register with SAREAA directly by making a check for $25 made to SAREAA and mailed to
SAREAA, P.O Box 18243 San Jose, CA 95158 so that we may sit together in the Hall.

For more information on the event click here.


About SAREAA

SAREAA has a mission to promote the general success of South Asian American real estate professionals by providing the opportunities to network with fellow real estate professionals serving South Asian American housing market, through a nationwide network.

SAREAA membership is presently FREE to all Real Estate practitioners who abide by the NAR code of ethics and are serving the South Asian American communities helping them realize their American Dream of Homeownership. To join SAREAA, visit www.SAREAA.com.

SAREAA, the South Asian Real Estate Association of America has been incorporated in the State of California as a Non Profit Mutual Benefit Corporation and is dedicated to the mission of providing the Consumers resources that will help them realize their American Dream of homeownership.

SAREAA will provide the consumers a web based countrywide database of real estate professionals who speak South Asian languages and or understand the real estate needs of the South Asian communities. The users will be able to search the database of real estate practitioners easily by visiting the web site www.SAREAA.com and clicking on the "Find a Member" link.

SAREAA is also developing SAHARAA, a multilingual resource center that will help both the consumers and real estate practitioners & affiliated businesses understand the real estate and mortgage processes in their language of choice. The consumers can visit the web site www.SAHARAA.org and learn about the home buying, selling, mortgage loan and other financial assistance programs by choosing the language of their choice, that is, English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu or Bengali.

"SAREAA will be an important resource in our community" said Colleen Badagliacco, President, California Association of REALTORS® while commending the efforts made by SAREAA in developing a multilingual resource center.

Allen M Okamoto, Chairman, Asian Real Estate Association of America has rightly said that, "It is groups such as SAREAA that will help close the homeownership gap experienced by Asians" and "will create a level playing field so that all Asians will have the equal opportunity to compete for the American Dream of Homeownership".

"Building the Community with Bricks and Trust" is the slogan for SAREAA.

SAREAA membership is free to real estate practitioners and affiliates who believe in helping the communities realize their American Dream of homeownership.

To join SAREAA visit www.SAREAA.com or write to SAREAA, P O Box 18243, San Jose, CA 95158.

Would you like to advertise on this NL? The rates are as follows:
Quarter page $600 for one year. Visiting Card size (3.5"x2") $300 for a year.
Copy to be provided by the advertiser. Write to info@saharaa.org


News from SAREAA

March 23rd: SAREAA was launched during a dinner program at the Embassy Suites in Milpitas. Jeff Davi, Commissioner, DRE California could not attend the event due to some family emergency but he did send the following message: 'Your Association's dedication to the mission of serving the South Asian American Communities to help them realize the American Dream of Homeownership is commendable and a most worthwhile effort. The Department of Real Estate joins you in this effort by participating in various outreach efforts such as community events and seminars directed at educating the Asian, as well as other minority communities, in the home buying process...' In his absence the event was presided over by Allen Okamoto, Chairman, Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA). John Yen Wong, Founding Chairman of AREAA was Keynote Speaker of the event. The event was attended among others by Colleen Badagliacco, President CAR, (for a short while) Jim Liptak, Treasurer 2007 and President Elect 2008 CAR, Warren Winsness, President SCCAOR, Janet Houde, Past President SCCAOR, John Trip, Past President SILVAR, Betty Wong, President Chinese Real Estate Association of America, San Francisco, Pablo Wong, Sr. Vice President, Fidelity National Financial and Sandy Seekins, Director Multicultural Markets, Stewart Title Company. SAREAA President Yogendra Singh presented Plaques of Appreciation to VIP guests and corporate sponsors, Fidelity National Financial, Stewart Title of California, Technology Credit Union and Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®. Broker Agent Magazine has published an article on this event in their South Bay/Peninsula Edition, 2007 Issue 6. Read more

May 25th: SAREAA invited Colleen Badagliacco, President California Association of REALTORS® on May 25th to give a seminar on "What is New for 2007? Realtor 2.0!"at Mayuri Indian Cuisine in Santa Clara. Colleen was introduced to SAREAA members by Warren Winsness, President, Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS®. Colleen was presented a Plaque of Appreciation by SAREAA President, Yogendra Singh. Mercury News, San Jose, published an article "Realty Agents urged to update their web skills" by Sue McAllister on this event on June 2nd. Read more

April 20: SAREAA attended the Diversity Summit at Los Angels organized by California Association of REALTORS®. The Power point presentation of SAHARAA, the multilingual website developed by SAREAA for consumers and real estate professionals alike given by Indu Jayakumar, Director Communications was well received by the CAR leadership and other industry leaders present at the Summit.

May 4: SAREAA participated in a lunch meeting organized by CAR and Bay East Association of REALTORS® and attended by several ethnic real estate associations to help Bay East form a Task Force on Equal opportunity and Cultural Diversity. Yogendra Singh President and Mani Bhandari, Director for Liaison with Bay East AOR attended the meeting.

May 19: SAREAA joined hands with several other ethnic real estate organizations to organize the First Bay Area Multicultural Real Estate Summit on October 25th at Elk Lodge, San Mateo. The event will have a class on creating wealth through homeownership and a panel discussion on RESPA reform and its impact on multicultural market. Yogendra Singh, President and Madan "Raja" Ahluwalia, Director Liaison with SAMCAR will be representing SAREAA on this initiative.

May 24: SAREAA joined Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® Committee on Equal Opportunities and Cultural Diversity and the panel discussion on Etiquette in Real Estate transactions. Su Bose, Director Liaison with SILVAR was one of the panelists.

Read more

June 11: SAREAA has joined the committee on Strategic Partnership and Cultural Diversity of Santa Clara County Association of REALTORS®