Local Realtors help local vet get home

Local U.S. Army veteran Christopher Hudson is the proud owner of a new home in the northwest part of Las Vegas, thanks to support from a group of local Realtors, many of whom are veterans themselves.

Hudson received the keys to his renovated home near Lake Mead Boulevard and Torrey Pines Drive in a brief ceremony Oct. 14 attended by local dignitaries and state officials.

The former Army corporal will own, and live in, the home mortgage-free thanks to $55,000 in donations from the local and national chapters of the Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals, in partnership with the Nevada Housing Division, to renovate and donate homes to local veterans.

Local Realtor Billy Alt, president of the VAREP chapter in Southern Nevada, said Hudson was an especially deserving recipient of the program because he helps other veterans and he knows what they’re going through.

Corp. Hudson enlisted in 1996 and served as an aviation structural repair supervisor during multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was injured during his active military duty and was honorably discharged in 2005 after nine years of service. Alt said Hudson “helps other veterans find their way” as an outreach program specialist for the Las Vegas Veteran Center.

“There’s a unique bond between former and current members of the military,” Alt said. “Chris Hudson knows what the veterans he works with have gone through, because he’s been there himself. Giving this home to Chris is just a small gesture from VAREP and the state Housing Division for the compassion Chris shows to others.”

Scott Beaudry, 2016 president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, applauded this latest community service project involving local Realtors helping homeowners.

“It’s always great to see our members helping people achieve the American Dream of owning their own home,” Beaudry said. “It’s especially gratifying in this case, since our members helped a local Army veteran who has done so much, and selflessly continues to serve our country.”

Beaudry added that the dedication of Hudson’s home came less than a month after a similar event where GLVAR joined forces with Habitat for Humanity Las Vegas to dedicate a new home in Henderson to first-time homeowner Marian Galinato. In addition to financially supporting the construction of Galinato’s three-bedroom house in Henderson, dozens of GLVAR members volunteered a combined total of more than 250 hours of labor to help build the home, from hammering nails and framing walls to painting and landscaping. This effort represented the 13th Habitat for Humanity home that GLVAR has supported over the years.

Both GLVAR and VAREP plan to continue these programs to help even more local homeowners. In fact, Alt said VAREP plans to donate a second home to a deserving local veteran by the end of 2016.

VAREP was established in 2011 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to increasing sustainable homeownership, financial literacy education, VA loan awareness and economic opportunity for members of the military and veterans. To learn more, visit VAREP.net.

The mission of the Nevada Housing Division is to provide affordable housing opportunities and improve the quality of life for Nevada residents. A division of the state Department of Business and Industry, it connects Nevadans with homes by providing financing to developers to build affordable apartment homes, by providing innovative mortgage solutions, and by making more homes energy-efficient, thereby lowering utility expenses. To learn more, visit www.housing.nv.gov.

GLVAR was founded in 1947 and provides its nearly 13,000 local members with education, training and political representation. The local representative of the National Association of Realtors, GLVAR is the largest professional organization in Southern Nevada. Each GLVAR member receives the highest level of professional training and must abide by a strict code of ethics. For more information, visit www.LasVegasRealtor.com. E-mail your real estate questions to communications@glvar.org.