Juana Colenzo: “You have to keep a positive mindset. The best investments are made in tough times”

“Income is the biggest challenge in buying a home. Some Latinos struggle with long-term thinking, but in my opinion, they just need to find the right professionals to help them.”

Juana Colenzo knows what it means to “sweat on your brow” to earn a few dollars. Since she was five years old, she helped her mother, Socorro, sell clothes on the streets and at the swap meet on weekends. She did this week after week until she reached high school.

“I come from a family of very strong women. We know how to work, but also how to study. My mom would go downtown to buy clothes, and then we’d return to our neighborhood, and I would go door-to-door selling clothes, blankets—whatever we could find,” says Colenzo, owner of the real estate agency Premier One and collaborator with the loan agency ACG Funding.

“I don’t want people to just see me as someone trying to make money from the services I offer. What I want is to help the community. Ninety percent of my clients are Latinos, and in these 20 years in the business, I’ve always looked for ways to help them,” Colenzo says.

For her, Latinos are a very important segment of the U.S. and California economy.

“We’re the ones working, investing, moving the economy. Contrary to what some might think, Latinos are a critical market in our industry. What they need is information, people who can show them how easy it is to buy a house if they have the income,” she says.

And she believes that even if someone doesn’t have sufficient income at one point, Latinos are very resourceful. Sometimes, two or three families will come together to buy a property. There are always ways to get a loan—you just need to find the right person.

“Even in these tough times, my advice to families is: if you have some income, invest it. Bad times are the best times to invest. A home is the best investment—it doesn’t lose value, and when the hard times pass, your investment will be worth even more,” she adds.

Colenzo’s father and grandfather came from Zacatecas to work in the fields as braceros. They’re from a small town in Zacatecas, Mexico. At one point, her father Andrés decided to settle in Los Angeles and returned to bring Socorro back to marry her.

“I was born in Los Angeles, and we lived in the city of Compton. It was hard for me—there were very few Latinos—but I got through it. I always liked school. So between helping my mom and studying, that’s how I spent my time,” Juana says.

Two key figures in her life were her grandmothers—one was a teacher, the other a businesswoman.

“She had the Coca-Cola franchise in Huanusco—that was the name of the ranch. That, and raising nine children, was a lot of work. You needed a strong character,” she adds. “I still dream about them. I’m sure they’re proud of me. They know how much their teachings helped me. My dad would tell me everything about them.”

After his work in the fields, her father installed windows and later worked for Lockheed Martin. “He was very proud—he would say he made airplanes.”

When money was tight, the family would go to Delano, California, to pick fruit and come back with a car full to resell in Los Angeles.

In high school, Juana got her Real Estate Broker certificate—she’d always been interested in it.

“I had a knack for business in my blood. Then I went to UC Davis, where I got a degree in Managerial Economics,” she shares.

Back in high school, she met her future husband, Rocky.

“He’s of Italian descent. I would speak Spanish to him, and he would just stare at me. A friend told me he only spoke English. I said, ‘But he looks Mexican.’ He wasn’t. I introduced him to my dad, and I don’t think he liked him much. He just said, ‘At least I appreciate that you brought him to meet me.’” The couple now has two daughters.

After graduating from UC Davis, she worked at Lockheed Martin and later at Sun Microsystems—but only for short periods. She was impatient and knew she wanted more. Rocky and she decided to return to Los Angeles, and she dove into real estate full-time. It was ideal—she managed her hours and could spend time with her husband and daughter.

Over the years, she has helped hundreds of families—mostly Latinos.

“Income is the biggest challenge in buying a home. Some Latinos struggle with long-term thinking, but in my opinion, they just need to find the right professionals to help them. We need to change that mindset—you need to have a plan and a goal,” she says.

She believes the community is often undervalued due to a lack of awareness.

“There are many loans available, even now. It’s harder, but it’s still possible—whether you have papers or not. You just have to find the best options. You have to help people. Sometimes, I don’t make much money, but I’m satisfied—a family has benefited. I like building relationships with my clients, being friends, guiding them through the homebuying process and later showing them other options for loans or emergency funds,” she adds.

To her, there are good debts and bad debts.

“One time, a family bought a house, and I told them to do the paperwork to have emergency funds available. But they procrastinated. Many Latinos are like that. One day, they told me the husband lost his job. Those funds weren’t ready,” she explains.

For her, having a positive mindset is essential.

“One time, an electrician came in—on paper, he didn’t qualify. His credit was bad, he owed a lot in child support, but he had the income. I recommended that his girlfriend add him to her credit cards, and little by little he built up his credit. He eventually bought a house… though he didn’t marry the girlfriend,” she says, laughing.

She pauses for a few seconds and concludes:

“I’m sure my grandmothers would be proud of me.”