BIG goal: Close home ownership gaps

The Black Investors (BIG) and the South Jersey National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) held a Summer Connections Social at the Sea Bar II Grill & Spirits in Sicklerville on July 9.

BIG founders Monique Moore and Marcus Williams hosted the event to build a sense of community among African American business owners and entrepreneurs by creating a platform to exchange knowledge, offer opportunities and support one another.

Founded in August of 2022, BIG is in its fourth year. Its goals include bridging a real estate gap they believe exists in the Black community, doing so through engagement, education and empowerment. BIG also emphasizes how generational wealth can change lives.

“We’re believers that home ownership is huge and impacts the wealth gap in our community,” Moore explained. “And so, taking that a step further outside of owning a home, owning real estate is something that always increases in value, and it has historically over time …

“In our community, we need to keep that generational wealth and grow together,” she added. “And so, that’s our community impact.”

Would-be home buyers can engage with BIG whether or not they have purchased or rehabbed a property before. Moore and Williams guide them through the process step by step. The couple recently helped a woman interested in a real estate investing career. She has since purchased two properties – a single-family home and a duplex – that she renovated.

In addition to networking events, BIG members meet monthly in Cherry Hill, with education the main focus. Moore and Williams also teach clients how to identify potential properties, oversee rehabs and host a podcast called “Coffee & Cashflow.”

“We are currently buying properties in Detroit,” Williams noted. “We’re looking at different places in America where we are not only increasing real-estate investing, but also doing stock market trading. Since the last two or three years, we’ve been really heavy in the stock market.

“I’m thinking of people who are working their jobs and have a 401(K) and actually start day trading, buying, selling options, stock markets,” he added. “A lot of us change our lives.”