Whoever thought talking to a mortgage lender would necessarily be a dull, dry experience has not talked to Tony James, a multitalented and multicultural mortgage broker with Metropolitan Mortgage Bankers.

James has woven various aspects of his life’s work together in a way that few people could accomplish. As a mortgage lender, he helps individuals fulfill the basic need for shelter and the real-world aspect of arranging financing. As a patron of the arts, he encourages the growth of the artist class that makes cities exciting places to live. And as a linguist, he melds different cultures together to increase the vitality of the city and ensures that non-English speaking immigrants can obtain (or at least finance) their part of the American dream – a place to call home in our diverse, multicultural, increasingly artistic city.

Each path started separately, in a series of small steps. James became a mortgage lender right out of college (he graduated at the tender age of 20, having been a type of wunderkind who started college at age 16). A South Carolinian by birth, he thought he would never leave South Carolina until work-related happenstance brought him up north. Another job found him spending time on the commuter train to Baltimore, so he used the time to teach himself Spanish (wouldn’t you?). After six months of studying on the train, he said his language ability was far from proficient. So when the opportunity to be a Spanish-speaking mortgage lender – paid solely by commission – opened up, he took a high stakes gamble and accepted the position.

“I gave up a good job to take a 100 percent commission job, working for people whose language I did not speak,” says James. “I could see [the Spanish-speaking market] as a growing trend at the time,” he adds. Time has proven him correct.

That was several years ago, and he now is fluent in Spanish (and Portuguese).

“The Hispanic community comes from countries where mortgage lending does not exist. It is typical for people to save and put 50 percent down and get a loan for the other 50 percent or to just save and pay all cash. They do not trust mortgages. Obviously, there is not the same rate of homeownership as there is in the United States,” says James. “Now, the Hispanic market has changed. My customers are more sophisticated and savvy. A lot of my customers have houses and know the benefits of homeownership, including using the equity in their houses to buy investment properties or start businesses – construction, cleaning, landscaping… Some of my customers started with an FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loan, refinanced to take out their equity for a business, and now have over 100 employees,” says James. “And now the people who fled places like El Salvador during the war are buying property back home,” he adds.

His language ability led to other personal and professional developments. Since he was fluent in Spanish, he vacationed in Latin America and three years ago met his current partner, Fabian Bernal, an artist and designer from Pereira, Columbia. His relationship with Bernal and generous amount of equity in his Capitol Hill row house, enabled him to open up an art gallery in Dupont Circle.

In 2006, James and Bernal purchased a building known as “Casa Pena” at 17th and R streets, NW, and turned it into an art gallery (“The Meat Market Gallery”) for local and international artists. “It was abandoned for two years before we bought it. It was the first Hispanic market in the city. There is still a neon sign saying ‘meat market’ in Spanish and English in the window. Now we have monthly art exhibits and usually have openings the first Friday of every month, although we are not part of the official First Friday event,” he explains.

“Buying a house is like buying shares in a corporation. In this case, the corporation is the city of Washington, DC… I think Washington will continue to grow, and real estate in Washington will continue to be a good investment. The information age is upon us, and Washington, with eight universities, the NIH, NASA, the Pentagon, Internet companies, etc… has everything going for it. And the creativity is here. Art and culture push the city’s appeal to the creative class… Culture follows power. Washington has had power for the last 50 to 60 years and is only 200 years old… I will do my part to promote the arts and help people buy a piece of the city.”

Anyone interested in buying shares of this corporation can contact James at 202-425-6950.