Profiles of prosperity: Patty Juarez, executive VP at Wells Fargo

In a journey from Mexicali to Silicon Valley to the hills above San Juan Capistrano, Patty Juárez has been able to become a homeowner three times. 

Juárez is the executive vice president (EVP), head of Hispanic / Latino affairs at Wells Fargo.  She equates homeownership very poetically when she says, “I couldn’t plant flowers or fruit trees in a rented home.” As a dutiful child with big projects, helping her parents who still live in the Calexico/Mexicali border, she is currently beginning to navigate the world of trusts and planning. As for her own family, she is waiting for the opportunity to invest in starter condominiums for her children during the next economic downturn.

Please describe your childhood home?

My childhood home was in Mexicali, Mexico. A beautiful white home with a wrought iron fence. My parents loved roses so we had rose bushes and sprouting flowers everywhere. It was meticulously landscaped. We had a gate and the house was welcoming and warm. I remember the tile of the pathway to the door. The garage was a covered porch. I left Mexico at eleven years old so I spent most of my childhood in that home, building beautiful memories. I lived there with my mom, dad and my three siblings. My dad was an electrical engineer who managed a maquiladora for a US company. He saved every penny and was really proud to be a homeowner. He bought the home for cash because there wasn’t access to capital in Mexico. It was a wonderful neighborhood where everybody was like our aunties and uncles. It can get to 120 degrees easily in Mexicali and you can fry an egg on the sidewalk but we went from one air conditioned place to another.

When did you begin to fantasize about prosperity and did you tie your vision to an image of a home?

My dad worked really hard to send us to Catholic school. My mom was a teacher too. So, we weren’t one of the rich families in my Catholic school. I observed various levels of wealth in Mexicali. I would look at the cars people drove. Or the size of their houses. Or their pools. Pools were a huge status symbol in Mexicali. We were at the slip and slide level. So, yes, I did think about prosperity in terms of the levels of means that I saw with my classmates and their families. I would dream about the size of my house or the neighborhood that I wanted to be in.

Can you tell us about your immigration story?

The opportunity was that the maquiladora wanted my father to come over to Calexico, which was the border town on the US side. When you live in a border town, you get gas on the other side, you go to Denny’s for Sunday brunch, we bought clothes at the swap meet, so we would cross the border every couple of weeks. We had a fluid relationship with the USA. What changed when we moved to the USA was the way the financial system worked. To get a home in the USA, my father had to build credit, obtain access to a mortgage, these realities were very difficult. The interest rates were at around 12% and above. It was intense. My dad’s focus was to get us a nice place for us to live so he was determined to buy. I helped him at a young age with taxes and payroll because I felt for my dad. Language was a challenge, raising four kids was a challenge, I wanted to be supportive. We landed in a new suburb called El Centro. My mom didn’t have credentials to teach in the USA so she became a stay-at-home mom and shepherded us through all of those new challenges until she was able to work again.

What does your home look like present-day?

I live in a cul-de-sac [in a] beautiful off-white home with brick accents, [and] a fence similar to the one in my childhood home. We have a patio and a brick walkway to the front door. It has a lot of curb appeal. We have flowers, a magnolia tree. A welcoming door. A safe, comfortable floor plan, and a play area outside. We have lived here for twelve years. It is just above San Juan Capistrano, which is a diverse community which is about 40% Latina/o. I live there with my husband and my two children.

Is this your first home that you were able to purchase?

No, early in my marriage, my husband and I purchased a tiny 1,200 square foot 2 bedroom home in San José. I was working at Wells Fargo and I remember that it was really distressing to buy that home. As you can imagine, prices of homes in Silicon Valley were really intimidating. I was raised to own, to have a place to call your own and a rented house never felt like a home. I couldn’t plant flowers or fruit trees. My husband and I wanted to be proud of our home. We saved and saved and it was a tiny, lovely home and we updated it and landscaped it. I remember my parent’s eyes filling with tears when they saw it for the first time.

How can young people do what you did?

I had dreams. I didn’t think I could live in Silicon Valley. I lived modestly with my husband and when we first got that loan, I didn’t sleep all night. I felt an enormous burden. It seemed like such a stretch and it was uncomfortable. We worked hard on our credit and we went for it and we couldn’t afford anything after that. If you feel like your home is your anchor, this is typically your first asset to build generational wealth. My daughter was born there. My father and I had the same dream and I saw how much money he made and how he stretched it as much as possible so I knew it was possible. I willed myself to feel good about getting the loan. It was a stepping stone to bigger things that I ended up doing. We drive by it whenever we are near San José. I would have loved to have kept it but we did end up having to sell to go up the economic ladder to a bigger house. The house that we live in now is our third home. In my portfolio of real estate assets ... our family home is our anchor.

Are you beginning to think about trusts and inheritances for your children?

Yes, we’ve missed a couple economic downturns in the past so when I look at how difficult it is to afford a home in California, I would like to buy a couple of those starter condominiums for my children so they can use them as down payment for their first home. It would make it a lot easier for our children to crack that nut if they have something to start from. I’m lucky that one of my sisters is a contracts attorney so she knows all about the legalities of inheritances and trusts and all the associated paperwork and can help direct me and our parents through that maze. 

Is there a connection between your former fantasy and your current reality?

We have such good fortune where we live now. I am proud of all that my husband and I have been able to accomplish. The cul-de-sac where my children play. It’s so nice. My kids' friends always come to our house and ask for my rice dish and my husband’s carne asada that they love so much. I am so happy to feed them. We are so close to the Los Rios historic district. I love the Ramos House Café. We have taken many Christmas family photographs there in December.