Preserving and Promoting Real Estate Ownership in Marginalized Communities

The last time Jeff Harvey was my guest on The Crossman Conversation, I said I wanted to have him back soon. And because it’s my show and I get to choose my guests, we were able to do just that.

Jeff is the CEO of Community Legal Services, a non-profit law firm providing no-cost civil legal assistance for low-income and vulnerable residents in about 12 Central Florida counties. Service areas include debt and creditors, disaster relief, workers’ rights and discrimination, military and veterans’ issues, divorce, fraud and unfair agreements, legal help for older adults, wills and estates, and more.

We opened the show with some great military war stories—Jeff served in the U.S. Army for more than 20 years. Then we began talking about real estate, which is one of my passions, and the issue of home title problems for people in marginalized (often minority) communities.

It’s not a jazzy problem, but it’s important. Real estate is usually the biggest component of individual and transgenerational wealth.

Here’s a common situation: A home was purchased maybe 50 or even 100 years ago by someone who is now deceased. The original owner paid off the mortgage, intending to leave this valuable asset to their descendants. Now, that person’s children or grandchildren are living in the house, but the property is still titled in the name of the original owner.

The home is not secure for the current occupants. They may not be getting important legal notices because they’re not the owner. If there’s an infringement of the property’s rights, the occupants don’t have standing to deal with it. If they want to do a repair, they can’t get a building permit. They can’t get a mortgage and they can’t sell the property. And they don’t know what to do.

“Two or three generations ago, people got enough money to own their own home and they were able to provide for their kids and grandkids,” Jeff said. “It’s a shame to see those families lose that just because they didn’t understand how the system works.”

Correcting the title issue can cost as much as $45,000—an impossible amount of money, especially for people in marginalized communities. Yet the benefits of protecting home ownership in those communities are incalculable.

This is just one of the services Community Legal Services provide their clients at no charge.

“A lot of times, the people we serve don’t have just one legal issue, they have multiple legal issues and they become intertwined,” Jeff said. “We encourage them to reach out for assistance and let us start working through the different pieces.”

To hear more of Jeff’s harrowing experiences in Afghanistan and about the essential work Community Legal Services is doing, and to find out how you can help, go to:

https://www.theshepherdradio.com/podcasts/the-crossman-conversation/episode/s2e18-attorney-jeff-harvey-shares-some-amazing-stories-as-a-survivor-of-his-years-in-the-army/

To hear my conversation with Jeff the first time he was on the show, go to:

https://www.theshepherdradio.com/podcasts/the-crossman-conversation/episode/s2e12-jeff-harvey-ceo-of-community-legal-services-joins-the-conversation-with-insights-into-legal-aid-and-veterans/

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John Crossman is the founder of Crossman Career Builders, the host of The Crossman Conversation, and the author of Career Killers Career Builders. Check out Crossman Career Builders on YouTube. Connect with John on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.