Refugee turned realty agent has helped 800 families find homes
Pregnant and living in a refugee camp in Thailand, Blia Cha was definitely not on track to become a real estate superstar across the globe in Milwaukee.
Now, looking back on her career from the first few days of retirement, Blia can be proud that she not only reached the American dream for herself, but that she helped nearly 800 families, most of them refugees from southeast Asia, become homeowners in the heart of the city.
Blia, 62, was honored at a party Saturday at the Milwaukee Asian Market on the northwest side. For the past 24 years, she has been a broker and housing specialist at nonprofit ACTS Housing, which strengthens neighborhoods by helping renters buy and improve inexpensive and often dilapidated homes.
It was a long and interesting road for Blia. She grew up the daughter of a poor Hmong farm couple in Laos. She spoke little English. Now here she was huddled in a tent with her husband, Tong, one child and
one on the way.
It was 1975. The Vietnam War was ending, and it was too dangerous for this family to remain in Laos because Tong had worked for the CIA as a radio operator. It was that assistance that enabled them to leave the camp after a year and come to the United States in 1976 and Milwaukee in 1980.
Blia took English classes and learned the language by watching TV shows like “Wonder Woman” and “Star Trek.” As she and Tong raised five children, Blia also worked in factory jobs and as an interpreter, and she pursued a GED.
But it was a conversation in 1993 with someone from her church that first nudged her toward the world of real estate. The man told her he had bought a city-owned foreclosed house for just $1.
This amazed Blia, who thought perhaps she could buy a few of these bargains and become a landlord. She contacted John Worm, co-founder of what became ACTS Housing out of St. Michael’s Catholic Church on 24th and Cherry streets. He said such homes were only for first-time homeowners who planned to live there.
He showed her a $1 house on 33rd and Vliet streets, and she began to think of other family and friends who might like to buy it. It turns out they all wanted it, and a lottery had to be used to pick the lucky buyer.
“I said, ‘Wow, John. I still have lots of relatives that can buy something like this.’ He said, ‘OK, well we have more homes.’ ”
John asked her to join the agency, knowing her language skills would be a huge asset. He couldn’t pay her at first, so she volunteered and learned the business, starting with how to turn on a computer. Soon she got her sales and broker licenses, and off she went putting people into their own homes and helping them navigate the red tape.
“This woman from the hills of Laos was able to do all that,” said John, who retired in 2007. “She worked hard. She was there Saturdays and Sundays.”
Michael Gosman is executive director of ACTS now. He said Blia became a trusted adviser to clients, many who were refugees from Laos, Thailand, Burma and Somalia.
He has a favorite story of her tenacity. His office was near hers, and one day he heard Blia in a heated negotiation with a broker for the seller. “Then I heard her hang up the phone. I pictured her doing a fist pump, I heard her through the wall say, ‘I just saved my buyer $20!’ That’s what she brought to every deal.”
Blia and her family lived and owned homes in West Allis and Greenfield, but in 2010 they bought a boarded-up eyesore on 19th and Vliet, fixing it up and adding a garage and a spectacular garden out back.
Then they bought the house next door where her daughter now lives, and her son bought a house across the street on the same cul de sac. Her grandson purchased a house down the street, and her niece is in the process of getting one in the same block.
Blia is just taking the advice she’s given to so many clients over the years.
“I’ve been talking about improving your neighborhood. I keep telling my buyers if there’s a house nearby on your block and you want your relatives to buy, you call me and I can help your family stay together so you can help each other babysitting and watch after each other for the safety of your family,” she said.
Real estate is a business full of deadlines, and after one day of retirement Blia feels lighter. She hopes to travel to Hmong communities in Australia, Alaska and elsewhere. And she plans to add chickens to her backyard cornucopia.
“I’m just happy that God gave me the opportunity to help many families own their own home. It is their first home in a new country. It’s a big investment, but I know it’s the best thing for them.”