ORLANDO, Fla. – At this point in human history, the laws, rules and regulations surrounding what goes on in a financial firm are plentiful and nonintuitive to the point that the uninitiated need a guiding hand before their fiscal dreams can possibly land.
This week, on the Season Two premiere of “Black Men Sundays,” host Corie Murray interviews Conrado Martinez, a loan officer with Homevision Mortgage who actively gives back to his Brevard County community, primarily through charity efforts and money-conscious leadership.
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“Man, when it comes to, like, generational wealth and everything that we’re trying to attain and speak of and about, you have to realize that it’s under attack, it’s under threat. For me, in my opinion, because when we speak of wealth or even generational wealth, it’s different things for different people, you know, and different numbers for different people, depending on where you are geographically and also generationally. However, one thing I think we can’t argue about is that when it comes to that portal, that entrance into generational wealth, it is undoubtedly homeownership, because it is something that you do passively,” Martinez said.
Martinez began his work in the industry with Citi Group, going from a life insurance agent to a financial advisor and, at latest, a loan officer. His stated mission as a mortgage consultant is to use his background and experience in finance to “demystify the financial world and make it easy for the common person to understand.”
“I think that the element of the unknown is a barrier that keeps people from stepping into this portal we call generational wealth. Once you get into the portal, there’s a slew of different asset classes and categories that one can utilize to go further in advance of that journey,” Martinez said.
Martinez serves as director of bigger and better business at his local Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., chapter, which he said seeks to address those issues in part by motivating younger people to have an appetite for building generational wealth.
To that point, Martinez said the fraternity recently launched a crowdfunding effort to fill a scholarship fund with donations on a night out to the movies, specifically to the upcoming film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which he said was chosen for its themes of unity and moving forward as a collective.
“We created a movie event that’s going to occur here in Melbourne, Florida, Nov. 19 (at) 6pm at the Oaks movie theaters (Premiere Theaters Oaks 10),” Martinez said. “We call it ‘Crowdfunding for Generational Wealth,’ and the premise behind that is simple: Each family donates $100 to the cause, and the purpose of that is that, collectively, these families become, what I see in my profession, that proverbial rich uncle, that person that comes in and nudges their family member along and allows them to step into what they have already stepped into. Hopefully it is my desire that through our collectivity...we’re hoping that our kids can see us coming together for a focal point of helping others step into that threshold called generational wealth via purchasing a home or owning a home versus renting.”
Find and donate to the crowdfunding effort by clicking here, and catch Murray’s previous interview with Conrado in Ep. 20 of Season One: “Are You Strengthening Your Financial IQ?”
Black Men Sundays talks about building generational wealth. Check out every episode in the media player below.