Agent finds Cuba a study in real estate contrast
Sharon Brier of Greenwood King Properties and her husband, Mike Brier of Relative Lending, rounded up two other couples met through transactions, hired an English-speaking native tour guide and a driver, and caught United Airlines’ second direct flight out of Cuba to experience for themselves the country of contrast.
Being on the second flight was decidedly better than the first, Brier said, because that group arrived in the mourning period for the death of Fidel Castro and thus the trip would have been without music or alcohol. The group stayed in New Havana, a grand, restored private home owned by an architectural group that was beyond their expectations in New Havana — but next door was a crumbling home that was in the process of being restored.
“All the properties are generally passed down through generations like the vintage cars. However, the government owns the land,” Brier said. Their guide told them that while walking in Old Havana to walk in the street, as a car was easier to see than a falling balcony.
They saw a ration store where citizens can get their card to purchase bread, rice and beans daily, Brier said, but chicken and eggs are only available every 10 days. When they needed to take a cab late at night and the driver hot-wired the car that did not start, they immediately got out and hailed another cab.
Cars from all over the world were on the streets, along with the vintage cars from the from the 1940s and 1950s. It was common to take a cab ride in a 1950s Chevrolet. Of course, Brier asked a lot of ques- tions, learning their guide’s mother was a general doctor who made $40 a month and a waiter they met made more money than his father, a brain surgeon who made $62 a month.
She said artists who can show out of the country and performers who can travel to shows outside of Cuba make the most money. But income isn’t the largest challenge to the practice of real estate there. Even a gogetter like Brier could not do anything to take advantage of the current bubble of renovation and sales excitement.
Selling homes has only been legal in Cuba for five years; all deals are cash only and only Cuban citizens can buy. In a recent news report on the subject, an agent there admitted to getting most of his training from bootlegged copies of U.S. reality shows about real estate.
And then there are the unwritten rules.
“There is a civic association, not quite like a homeowners association, for every neighborhood,” Brier said. “Volunteers are asked to ‘police’ the area to make sure no one is corrupt, but usually it is the corrupt one volunteering.”
The group learned new phrases like “Cuban table” meaning “under the table” and “Cuban flexibility” meaning “look the other way.” But they also enjoyed the wealth of cultural opportunity as the Briers met Eugene Rottenberg and Rene Pena, international artists whose work was on display at Fabrica de Arte Cubana, and visited the home and art studio of Jacqueline Brito, who studied at The Wharton School and shows internationally.
“We were impressed with the food, as we always ate in private homes turned into restaurants,” Brier said. Large tour groups they were told to eat in government places that are large enough to feed big groups. The group spent the last two days at a beach resort in Valadero where, Brier said, they were told to leave the maid’s tip in the refrigerator so the butler didn’t get it.
Brier recommends the trip highly, with a one caveat and a generous suggestion.
“If you go, you get a better exchange rate for Euros or Canadian money,” Brier said.
When Rebuilding Together Houston set out to create Super Impact 17, a campaign to restore 500 homes in 17 months, BHGRE Gary Greene stepped up with a $25,000 donation from the Gary Greene Foundation and six teams of agents and staff ready to get to work.
It was the company’s largest one-day effort on behalf of Rebuilding Together Houston with hundreds of agents, employees and managers rolling up their sleeves to work on six homes in Houston’s historic Independence Heights neighborhood.
“Every home is a treasure,” said Ann Woodroof, chairperson of the Gary Greene Foundation. “Restoring a home, particularly one owned by a homebound senior, is the greatest gift of all.”
The Gary Greene contingent descended on the historic community’s East 35th Street, where they repaired, painted and landscaping the near century-old homes. One of the teams consisted only of women, a first for Rebuilding Houston, and included Sherry Chris, chief executive officer of BHGRE, who chairs Rebuilding Together’s 14-member national board of directors.
“As Realtors, we help families fulfill the dream of homeownership,” said Bob Miles, head crew leader for the home makeovers in Independence Heights. “Rebuilding Together preserves that same dream for those in need of a safe, healthy home while ensuring their neighborhoods remain vibrant for years to come.” Gary Greene volunteers have restored 16 homes to date as part of the firm’s support of Rebuilding Together Houston.
••• Yes, our holiday decorations are packed away, but one last set of seasonal kudos goes to the team at John Daugherty, Realtors for taking it over the top providing hundreds of holiday gifts to Child Advocates, the volunteer organization which helps children through the challenges of court-supervised family situations.
Children were asked to provide a list of the thing their heart most desired — and for many of them it was a gift card to buy something for someone else. In all cases, the agents and staff were glad to deliver.
••• Email me at realnewshouston@gmail with your tips on the good things real estate agents and companies are doing in our community.
Judi Griggs is a writer who lives in Houston in the winter and Buffalo in the summer — because the reverse would be ridiculous.