For Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is Time for Action

SAN DIEGO, May 26, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Last week, members of the nation's largest trade organization focusing on Asian American and Pacific Islanders' (AAPI) housing issues and rights met with Congressional leaders in Washington to advocate for alternative credit scoring models that would help hundreds of thousands expand their credit history, or establish one altogether. With near unanimous industry support, H.R. 123 authored by Congressman Al Green (D-TX) to allow the FHA to authorize alternative credit models that would help segments of the population that are not accurately represented using traditional scoring criteria, namely minorities and millennials who tend to be more debt averse. "This is not a weakening or loosening of credit standards," said AREAA Chairwoman Carmen Chong. "This is a supplemental set of criteria that will only be used when traditional scoring models prove inadequate."

AREAA also lobbied for a permanent extension of the EB5 Visa Program via H.R. 616, which encourages foreign investment in the United States through residency incentives. The program has created over 60,000 permanent jobs and has attracted nearly $9B of investment since its inception. The organization also called for a rejection of the President's budget proposal to limit, or even eliminate, the nearly century old Internal Revenue Tax Code 1031, which allows for tax-deferred exchanges of like kind properties. 1031 exchanges are invoked in nearly 30% of all real estate transactions. "We simply feel that now is not the appropriate time to be placing a new, and frankly unnecessary, tax burden on small business owners and investors," said AREAA Co-Founder John Wong.

On May 30^th, AREAA launches its inaugural nation-wide day of community service. Every chapter in the United States and Canada will spend the day working to improve their community. Called "AREAA Builds a Community Day (ABCD)", the organization hopes to repair or upgrade the housing conditions of those in need. "We just want to lend a helping hand, however we can. This is the core of our mission as an organization: to improve the lives of those in our communities," Chairwoman Carmen Chong said.

The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), established in 2003, is a national business trade organization focused on expanding housing opportunities for Asian American communities and creating business opportunities for real estate business leaders who serve this growing market. With over 14,000 members in 37 chapters across North America, AREAA is the largest real estate trade association focused exclusively on facilitating cross-border transactions between Asia and the United States.

SCOTT BERMAN
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