East County Business News by Rick Griffin
Jamul resident George Kenner, a member of the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR), a San Diego-area trade group for realtors, has been honored by the California Association of Realtors (CAR) with its inaugural Champions of Home award. The award, presented at CAR’s recent annual statewide convention, recognizes realtors who have gone above and beyond the call of duty, changed clients’ lives for the better, raised the standards for others and led by example with unimpeachable ethics. Kenner was one of three realtors in the state to receive the Champions of Home award. Founded in 1905, it was the first time in CAR’s history to present the award.
Kenner was commended for his efforts in assisting clients with complicated housing problems. He specializes in helping clients in need of refinancing who are facing the loss of their home. In more than 150 instances, Kenner has produced a video consisting of interviews with the distressed homeowner and a local U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) official. The videos are then sent to bank officials, as well as government officials and politicians, in an effort to “humanize the plight of my clients,” he said. “I don’t have a real estate practice; rather, I have a life practice. My goal is to achieve the highest and best decision for all affected parties.”
The tales he has filmed have included horrific stories of mortgage fraud, ethics rules violations, lost paperwork and paperwork with incorrect information, such as an 85-year-old living on Social Security payments of a couple hundred dollars who was rejected for a loan modification because the bank’s paperwork said she was receiving retirement payments of several thousands of dollars per month.