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Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about us? Here are answers to Frequently Asked Questions about NAWRB.

What is the National Association of Women REO Brokerages?
The National Association of Women REO Brokerages (NAWRB) is the only association in the housing economy representing women-owned businesses. NAWRB collectively represents any women-owned business performing work in the real estate industry. Our national network of member businesses covers women-owned REO brokerages, title, escrow, property preservation, independent contractors, and other real estate related businesses.

What are the core benefits of NAWRB membership?
Projecting your voice to the national level is difficult for any single business to do. NAWRB speaks at the industry level on behalf of women-owned businesses and connects to the federal government for direct access to institutions involved in housing finance and REO disposition. NAWRB focuses on four core member services:

How does NAWRB give me an exceptional membership experience?
NAWRB aims for an exceptional relationship with each member business. We understand that our members are busy women.
  • We email. Three times a week the NAWRB Newsroom will be waiting in your inbox covering breaking news, association updates, business leads, discounts and other important information.
  • We talk on the phone. NAWRB staff calls each member every single month. We make sure you're getting the emails. We make sure we answered your questions. We invite you wherever we're going to be.
  • We connect. NAWRB hosts the #WomenBizOwners Working Event four times a year at major industry conferences. These events give women an exclusive networking opportunity tailored to them and showcases institutions eager to do business with women-owned businesses.
  • We say good things about you when you're not around. A lot of our energies go into S.W.A.N. (Speak, Write, Attend, and Network). Almost every month, NAWRB is published in a major industry news magazine or our activities are covered in the news-and we always credit our members. If we aren't writing about issues important to women business owners, we're at every major conference speaking on your behalf either from a panel, an off-site event, or invitation-only conference.

What is the difference between the Gold Certified membership and the Women with Access program?
  • The Gold Certified membership is applicable to any business in real estate that is majority women-owned (51% or more). This membership applies to all employees of the company and includes NAWRB's Women-Owned Brokerage or Business Certification.  
  • The Women with Access program is for individual women in the field of real estate. This program is only applicable to the individual.

Who does NAWRB promote my business to?
NAWRB has direct ties to every major REO outsourcer, servicer, financial institution, and government entity involved in the disposition of REO. NAWRB regularly uses federal and state initiatives to monitor current usage and advocates for increased utilization of women-owned businesses. Many institutions respond with requests for access to our network of member businesses, providing a consistent flow of referrals to our certified members. To learn more about the people we have relationships, click here.

I hear NAWRB talk a lot about federal contracting. What exactly does NAWRB do regarding federal contracts?
NAWRB is the housing economy's leading resource for women business owners accessing the federal marketplace. Visit NAWRB's press section to see our expansive body of literature on topics such as Dodd-Frank financial reform, women-owned business certification, diversity initiatives for disadvantaged businesses, and REO disposition management.

NAWRB pursues federal contracts as an association with the intent to distribute assets in a wide market area strictly using a women-owned business network. NAWRB does not bid on contracts or write proposals for individual members, although we do connect interested members to local, state, and federal opportunities as well as teaming partners.

What are the differences between NAWRB and other associations?
NAWRB is the only housing economy trade association exclusively representing women-owned businesses. Other groups focus on specific minorities, individual women, or allow general memberships. NAWRB maintains strict limits on its membership base because we adhere to federal policy on utilizing women-owned businesses. Diverse employee demographics of a given business are a positive indicator a business's commitment to women and minorities and is in itself a noble goal that NAWRB supports. However, to qualify for set-asides or be certified, a company must be women-owned and operated, so, NAWRB member businesses must meet that criteria.

Do you assign listings?
To date, NAWRB does not assign listings directly to its members. However, NAWRB works in conjunction with major outsourcers and other REO and short sale businesses to provide no-cost referrals to our members. In the first eight months of 2011, NAWRB provided over 600 such referrals to our member businesses. Our referral system takes several different forms each dependent on the needs of asset management firms; however, members always receive notification when their contact information was provided to a firm looking to list and REO or short sale with a women-owned firm in their market area. 

Remember, once your information is provided selection criteria varies dramatically per asset management firm. We do our very best to put business in front of companies who have interest in using women-owned companies, but selection stills boils down to performance.