Right there in front of my eyes was a beautifully preserved, in shiny mint condition, Purple Heart medallion! 

Leonard did not know that as an amateur historian I just loved reading about the history of WWII.

I had met many veterans in my young life before Leonard, including a member of the Japanese “Go for Broke” Regiment 442. But this was the first time in my life that I met a Purple Heart recipient.

I was speechless for a moment not knowing what to say as I returned the medal to Leonard. I guess he saw the change in my face and smiled a bit more. He saw that he had brought hope into my heart.  Well, needless to say, after that we became the best of friends and neighbors until his passing a few years later.

I share this story because I know of the many hardships many of you in La Mirada are going thru in keeping your homes these days. If it is not you personally, then perhaps a family member or friend is going through this privately.  I have to believe that it will “get better” as my friend Leonard said 38 years ago. Not only for homeowners, but for all of us that may be working a second or third job just to make ends met.

As of today there are 178 properties in La Mirada that are in some stage of the foreclosure process and in the last three years over 500 La Mirada Families have lost their homes to foreclosure.

Buying your first home was never about creating a real estate fortune. It was about raising a family, growing roots in a neighborhood and building a community that we all felt safe in.

La Mirada is still a community we can feel safe in. But it has seeing its share of erosions. I’d like to stop that erosion. So, I’ll be talking more about our community and how real estate values affect us all in future articles. For now I just wanted to briefly introduce myself and I hope you will do the same.

Until next time…..Respectfully yours,

Noel Jaimes

Romans 8:28

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