Loreana Pachano: Immigration to Homeownership in Utah | RR-014

Loreana Pachano shares her journey from Venezuela to Utah real estate, helping immigrant families build credit, buy homes, and create generational wealth. Watch the full interview.

Loreana Pachano: Immigration to Homeownership in Utah | RR-014

Loreana Pachano shares her journey from Venezuela to Utah real estate, helping immigrant families build credit, buy homes, and create generational wealth. Watch the full interview.

From Immigration to Homeownership

A Story of Two Journeys: Immigration and Homeownership

Hear the Full Conversation

At a Glance

Lessions from the Journey

From Venezuela to Utah Roots

What This Episode Teaches About Building Wealth Through Real Estate

Life Lessons Woven Through the Interview

Words That Stay With You

Related Homeownership Stories

Suggested Imagery

Full Transcript

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How Loreana Pachano turned her own journey from Venezuela into a mission: helping immigrant families build credit, buy homes, and create generational wealth in Utah.

Loreana Pachano

Immigration Specialist & Realtor

Recorded

2022

Location

Utah

Stage

Expecting First Child

Focus

Immigrant Buyers

Loreana Pachano's journey is a powerful example of what homeownership, immigration, and financial growth can look like when someone is determined to build roots in a new place. Born in Venezuela, raised between Florida and her home country, and now building a life in Utah, Loreana brings a rare dual perspective: she knows firsthand the fear, uncertainty, and hope that come with starting over in a new country. Her story blends the emotional side of immigration with the practical realities of becoming a first-time buyer, establishing credit, and navigating the Utah housing market.

Today, Loreana works full time in both immigration services and real estate, helping families secure legal status and then guiding them toward stable housing and long-term financial security. She understands the obstacles immigrants face—limited credit history, new Social Security numbers, unfamiliar tax systems—and she has built her business around solving those challenges with compassion and strategy. Her work is deeply rooted in the belief that homeownership creates stability, strengthens families, and opens the door to generational wealth.

This episode matters because Loreana shows what is possible when someone not only overcomes obstacles but turns them into a mission. Her story is a blueprint for first-time buyers, immigrant families, and anyone trying to build a stable future in Utah's real estate landscape. It is a reminder that with the right guidance, education, and long-term planning, anyone can build roots and create a home they are proud of.

Watch the complete story, lessons learned, and practical insights from Loreana's homeownership and immigration journey. Hosted by Ryan Harding.

Guest

Occupation

Immigration Specialist & Utah Real Estate Agent

Homeownership Stage

Real Estate Professional & Advisor to First-Time Buyers

Life Stage

Young married professional; expecting first child

Main Topics Discussed

Actionable insights, mindset shifts, and practical guidance for anyone building toward homeownership.

Loreana's path was never linear. It crossed borders, careers, and cultural adjustments. Each chapter prepared her for the work she does today.

Loreana breaks down the mortgage and homebuying process for people who think they are automatically disqualified. Her message: the barriers are real, but they are almost always solvable with time, planning, and the right team.

Key Statistic

2–3 Years

Average time Loreana works with immigration clients before they purchase a home.

Beyond mortgages and market forecasts, Loreana's story carries universal truths about resilience, family, and the courage required to rebuild.

If Loreana's journey resonated with you, these episodes explore similar themes of first-time buying, investing, immigrant experiences, and long-term wealth building in Utah.

To bring this story to life across social media, blog embeds, and follow-up content, consider capturing or sourcing the following visuals.

Chapter 1: Intro

Ryan Harding: All right everybody, welcome to the uh Work Hard Play Hard podcast uh today we have uh Loreana Pachano with us here. And uh excited to have her here. We uh we met working on a deal together uh several months ago and and um I've been really intrigued with with her backstory and and um and how she got into real estate and what she's doing to truly help people here in Utah which is great so um so let's kind of jump right in in fact you know tell us about yourself why you know well tell us about yourself first like your background you know who are you.

Chapter 2: Loreana's Background

Loreana Pachano: Well first of all thank you for having me. Yeah I'm super excited to be here. Um I was super excited when I got the invitation I'm like yes I'm gonna be on a podcast. Um a little bit about me, I I grew up in Florida, I've lived in Florida most of my life. I'm from Venezuela um so I am an immigrant here and that's actually been my primary focus in real estate—working with immigrants. Yeah um so I've been here in Utah for um about two years now. I absolutely love it, this is definitely what I call home now. And I'm loving the weather and the seasons and winter and summer you know so I'm really excited to be here and I'm excited you know working on some new projects and stuff like that.

Ryan: Great and so you so what that what age did you move to Florida, how old were you?

Loreana: First time I moved to Florida I was two. Okay so yes and then um I moved back to Venezuela which is um where I finished high school. And I went to college in Venezuela, um met my husband there and then got married and then things are kind of crazy in Venezuela. And I told him yeah it's time to go and we moved back to Florida and then okay now we're here.

Chapter 3: Moving to Florida & Venezuela

Ryan: Really you have spent a good amount of time in Venezuela. I mean you know even though moving from two to Florida I mean you really that is a country that yes is familiar to you.

Loreana: Yes absolutely absolutely completely. It's it's home, it's where my parents are from, it's where I was born so yes absolutely. So there's a lot of okay I mean I know like I was born in Alabama but like that's not home to me right, you know my parents were there for like less than a year right but you've gone back, you went to high school there obviously you met your husband. Okay perfect.

Chapter 4: Immigration

Ryan: Okay so so um so you know what it's like obviously to move from one country to another and probably the scariness of that and so tell us about um tell us you know what you're so real estate's not your your like that wasn't the first job I guess right. Exactly so tell us about kind of one of your main jobs here I guess.

Loreana: Exactly so um I'm a huge promoter of immigration, legal immigration. Um and it's something that I've been working for years even when I was in Venezuela. At the when I was finishing college um I started working for a company that worked for the Canadian Embassy. So it was for like Venezuelans trying to obtain a Canadian visa and things like that and we worked hand in hand with the Canadian Embassy. So and and Canada has a great immigration system, it's it's it's great. Um but then the US is you know it's it's it's a country that I absolutely love and there's like so many options to come here legally that you know you can contribute something to the US. Um you can be sponsored by an employer and that's kind of what led me here to Utah.

There's really not much information out there on this, on ways that you can actually come here, become a permanent resident. Sure um so there's obviously a need here in Utah for that. You know it's kind of you have to justify why you're bringing a foreigner in. You have to show that you know there's no um American citizens that are willing or available to take on that job which is kind of hard to justify in Florida sure, it's kind of crowded over there. Yeah it's a little crowded over there that's true. Um here in Utah you know it's it's the number one state in in economic growth. Yeah and we have a lot of jobs that need filled. Yes yeah you guys need people that are willing to come and work, they're hiring everywhere.

So that's kind of what led me here to Utah and then that's actually what got me to um get my real estate license because I'm like well you know um we have these clients that are coming in from all around the world, um I should probably do something to help them you know find a place to live. Yeah yeah um and then it was kind of like uh it was supposed to be kind of like a part-time thing for my immigration clients sure and well now it's it's something that I absolutely love. So I have I have to say I have two full-time jobs sure because people ask me like what do you like more or what do you um dedicate more time to or things like that and it's it's both things. I mean they're both so rewarding, like that feeling that you get when you help someone purchase their first home when they thought they couldn't. And someone when they finally got their green card and you know they they never thought that'd be possible. Yeah I mean they're just both so rewarding so yeah I love that.

Chapter 5: Real Estate

Ryan: Well so so that so um so that got you into real estate then so because your your main job was helping people immigrate here and stuff like that and so you know I guess during that process you're like oh well hey now you're here let's get you a home and okay let me fill that role there. Yeah you know kind of thing right.

Loreana: So um there's just different uh problems that um we as immigrants face when we're trying to purchase a home. You know you might not have an established um credit, you know sure you might have just gotten your social security card a few months ago. Um you might not have two years of tax returns, um you know there's just like different um challenges that you know um a lot of people are not really aware of. Sure and so like knowing what those challenges are, knowing what those problems are and trying to provide a solution for my clients is is really what I've been focusing on.

Ryan: Which makes sense because if you know if if if you've walked this road many times before you already know what what potential potholes and you know pitfalls and stuff like that. All right you know so and I'm guessing most things can be solved if you already know ahead of time what they are. Yes is that fair to say?

Loreana: Yes correct and it's it's really um it's a team effort you know uh with like a lender such as yourself as well um to really know the the process and and know what's needed. Um like for example I I once had a lender that asked us for um W-2s from Venezuela and I'm like what, yeah W-2. Is and so they're like well then do you have a 1099, it's like well no we don't have that either. Yeah so you know it's it's kind of like um adjusting a little bit and making it work sure, trying to get that history to show some kind of work history whether that's you know obviously you know Venezuelans version of a W-2 and you know kind of thing and stuff so.

Chapter 6: What Sets You Apart

Ryan: Okay so um so you know you've already kind of answered this I guess a little bit but you know why um you know why should clients choose you I guess as far as real estate goes and stuff like that, what makes what helps you you know set you apart I guess in that regard.

Loreana: Yeah so um so I feel it's it's really just trying to provide a solution to those problems and trying to you know work around it. You know sometimes let's say they might not be ready to purchase now because they need to wait till they they file their taxes next year to be um able to qualify. Yes so you know um it's like okay well let's work uh with the lender and you know let's come up with a plan. We can get you under contract um in a new construction home that's going to be ready after February of next year so that way you know you log in a purchase price and then you know we would just be following up with the client constantly just you know making sure that they're on track. Sure um and that they're ready, yeah when they're ready.

Like hey we don't have to wait till the very you know like we can start the new construction now even though maybe you're not ready now. Yes you know because there are some things that okay yeah so instead of just kind of saying like oh you're not ready and then just like nurturing the client until they're ready next year, we can have them go under a contract now and you know just help them step by step sure to make sure that they are ready to purchase next year.

Ryan: That makes perfect sense, or in a few months or you know whenever.

Chapter 7: The Current Market

Ryan: You know um as far as uh those clients and stuff like that anything um I guess what what do you want those what do you want buyers and sellers to know right now you know as far as the market goes and stuff like that.

Loreana: So I mean I know every realtor and lender out there always says you know now it's a great time to buy or sure now is a great time to sell and you know every time is a great time. But the thing is um the market is always changing and there's always um good things about you know the the market that we're in. Yeah so you know a few months ago it was interest rates and you know we were all saying like interest rates are really good. Yes like and that's really totally low, now's the time go ahead and buy. Um so that was a great pro, but then one of the cons that we were seeing is you know they were bidding wars like it was it was insane. You were getting 20, 30 offers on a home, people were offering um over asking price you know 60, 80,000 cash you know so it had its challenges.

Um in today's market I feel it's it's a great time to buy. Yeah um because you're not seeing as much um competition, you're not seeing as many offers on on a home. Um there's more inventory although inventory is still considered like historically low, there's more than what we've seen in the last few months. Correct sure correct. Um so it's it's still a great time to buy, um interest rates are still low. Yeah I mean historically they are, just it's just we we used to see just so much lower just not too long ago.

Loreana Pachano: Immigration to Homeownership in Utah | RR-014