My name is Gabe Mendez, and I was born and raised in

beautiful San Diego, CA. I am 35 years old. I attended high

school in Southbay San Diego and went to community

college for 2 years right before I was accepted into CDCR

for a career. My Mother raised my sister and I and she

showed us what hard work, consistency and focus on a goal

actually looked like. She took really great care of us.

We lived a modest life and in 2005, one of my mother’s

proudest accomplishments, she was able to purchase her

first home for my sister and I. We finally had our little life

where we could begin our own memories. We got a dog, and

invited friends and family over. We really loved this home.

In 2007 we fell victim to predatory lending and that was a

very hard time in our lives. My Mother lost the home, she

filed for BK, and we spent the next 9 years rebuilding as a

family.

During those years, in 2013 a friend of mine asked me to

assist him in real estate, and I agreed. I was his Transaction

Coordinator - the compliance person. My responsibility was

to read through each contract and make sure they were

legally sound.. Which doesn't make sense to me as I'm

writing this because I had zero experience. I’m not really

sure what he was thinking.

As I read through the contracts, I learned more about these

transactions. A majority of the files were under a N.O.D

status meaning these homes were being foreclosed on. This

is when I realized these families were going through what I

had gone through. They were losing their homes. I asked my

friend why, and he explained that banks were approving

people for loans they couldn’t qualify for and the banks

were not explaining the loan products. The banks would

make heft fees for selling this particular product, and the

families received a low teaser payment.

It was at that moment that I decided to get my license and

to advocate for those who did not have a voice. I pursued

real estate and I received my California Real Estate License

in December of 2013.