By Keisa Sharpe | For The Birmingham Times
It’s not only a slogan, it’s a movement.
The Black Men Buy Houses tour came to Birmingham Saturday, May 10, hosted at Innovation Depot and their goal is simple — help Black men purchase homes.
Kevan and Ayesha Shelton launched Black Men Buy Houses to help lessen the gap between women and men in Black home ownership.
“Black men often face challenges when purchasing homes, stemming from limited information about the process and financial resources, which can hinder their ability to secure funds for down payments, credit, and closing costs. Our initiative’s objective is to break down these barriers, enabling more Black men to achieve the dream of home ownership,” the Sheltons have said.
As part of Birmingham Small Business Week on Saturday, Kevan shared a personal experience in real estate fueled his desire to help other men. At age19, he had the chance to buy a home at an affordable price, he said.
“In the neighborhood that I grew up in in Houston, I had the opportunity to buy a house (a fixer-upper) for $9,000, and, even with that opportunity I couldn’t figure it out (how to purchase the home),” he recalled.
And because he “couldn’t figure it out” (Shelton said he didn’t know where he’d get the money nor did he understand how to fix up the home) and he “didn’t know what to ask” he lost out on that investment.
“My aunt told me that my uncle was willing to loan me the $1,000 down payment and he was just waiting for me to ask, but I never did,” said Shelton.
It’s a memory that haunts him to this day, he said, especially since that $9,000 house has increased significantly in value. “The dirt alone is now worth $2,000,” he said.
It’s an opportunity he’d gladly take advantage of if he ever sees it again, he said.
Realtor Justin Williams, co-team leader at Keller Williams Vestavia, who served as a guest for one of the panel discussions, said buying a home can be part of anyone’s wealth-building puzzle and the necessity of real estate makes it an easy asset to add to anyone’s portfolio.
“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t need a place to lay their head, so (owning) real estate gives us something that we need on a day-to-day basis,” he said.
Darrell Forte, 26, a Birmingham resident, who was a guest at the workshop, grew up on the West side of Birmingham, and said he hopes to make a major investment in buying his first home soon.
“It’s a unique opportunity for Black men to look at purchasing homes,” he said. “Statistically Black men are not always at the top of the list for buying homes. Attending this workshop was an opportunity to gain some knowledge and take my first step toward buying a home.”
The Black Men Buy Houses tour — with a goal of helping more Black men own homes — has also included stops in Atlanta and Houston, which is where the tour originated and where the Sheltons reside.
Follow them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/blackmenbuyhouses/.
