On November 29, the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR) in collaboration with AREAA, VAREP, HIREBA, HAR, HMLO, HBREA, NAHREP and AAREA hosted “Road to Recovery – Life after Harvey,” an educational and informative program for REALTORS® to help with financial, insurance, mold remediation, and rebuilding issues affecting the region as a result of Hurricane Harvey’s aftermath almost three months ago. The event was held at the Southwest Campus of Houston Community College. To help defray the costs of hosting the day-long program, HAR received an NAR diversity grant.

Experts from various real estate related industries were invited to speak on specific topics. Motivational speaker Jim Jacobus opened the program and encouraged members to take advantage of every moment. Jim was followed by a panel of insurance experts, Maria Segura, of Goosehead Agency, and Mark Rafail, of Rafail Insurance Group. Ed Kampf, owner of Hygienitech Solutions, spoke about mold remediation and sanitation.

Before lunch, a panel of three presented different perspectives, a REALTOR® Ed Wolff, of BETH WOLFF REALTORS®, an appraiser, Mike Brubaker of Brubaker and Associates, and a builder, Mike Feigin of Design Tech Homes. The panelists spoke of options available to homeowners, from home raising, to remodeling, to rebuilding, and the long-term effects of each on Houston area neighbors.

After lunch, there was a panel of mortgage and tax expects, Olga Garza of Harris Housing Advisors, Kristin Babik, a Senior Loan Officer of Envoy Mortgage, and Graylen Houston, owner of 360 Tax Group. They discussed ways REALTORS® could save money when filing and help the homeowners they serve.

Representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration, Rigoberto Gonzalez-Nossa and Roger Busch, discussed options REALTORS® have in accessing funds. Lastly, was Lawrence Dean, Regional Director of Metrostudy, a consulting firm that helps builders and developers plan for potential developments. Lawrence’s presentation included graphics of production builders and in-depth research of the area’s housing market and land development.

We thank our presenters and everyone for attending. We hope you took away some valuable information to help you serve your clients.

The program was recorded and can be found on YouTube.com/HARTV.