Ohio REALTORS® has become one of the first state REALTOR® groups to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance to promote homeownership within the LGBTQ+ community. The agreement calls for joint efforts to share with real estate professionals the challenges LGBTQ+ homebuyers face, including discrimination, on their journey to homeownership, while promoting an understanding of the cultural nuances involved in working closely with the diverse LGBTQ+ community.
Ohio REALTORS® joins the Missouri Association of REALTORS® as the first state associations to sign agreements with the Alliance. Ohio REALTORS® plans to work closely with local REALTOR® groups within the state to promote Alliance membership and chapter meetings while also hosting a series of initiatives and educational programs for its members.
“The Ohio REALTORS® has been a proponent of the LGBTQ+ community for years. It was the first state organization in the industry to offer members a continuing education program allowing them to learn how to best work with LGBTQ+ homebuyers and sellers,” said Ryan Weyandt, CEO of the LBGTQ+ Real Estate Alliance. “We have strengthened that course and are rolling it out nationally to help educate REALTORS® and assist them in removing unconscious bias against our community. Having Ohio REALTORS® formally engage with us a partner means a lot to the Alliance and we hope to utilize their involvement as a model for others.”
Weyandt pointed out that while Ohio remains one of 27 states that currently does not protect the LGBTQ+ community from housing discrimination, Ohio REALTORS® is committed to working closely with the Alliance to raise awareness and allow sexual orientation and gender identity to be protected classes in Fair Housing law.
“Ohio REALTORS® is pleased to join forces with the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, strengthening our profession’s ongoing commitment to helping make homeownership happen for all Ohioans,” said Scott Williams, CEO of Ohio REALTORS®. “On behalf of our leadership team, headed by President Seth Task, and our entire Ohio REALTOR® family living and working in every community throughout the state, we are proud to stand as an ally of the LGBTQ+ community.”
The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance was founded in June 2020 as an all-inclusive organization dedicated to empowering the LGBTQ+ community on the path to homeownership. The Alliance has more than 70 chapters in the United States and Puerto Rico.
For more information, please visit www.realestatealliance.org.
