Strides have been made but the community needs homebuying allies

BY SARAH WOLAK, STAFF WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

It’s been nearly 55 years since the Fair Housing Act was passed to protect people of all races, sexualities, religions, disabilities, and familial statuses from discrimination when engaging in other housingrelated activities. Fast-forward five decades, LGBTQ+ community homebuyers are expressing continued frustration with their homebuying journey.

“There’s a lot of disappointing propaganda out there that is impacting how people in the LGBTQ+ community approach their lifestyles,” said Jeff Berger, founder of the National Association of Gay & Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP). Berger founded the association in 2007 — well before gay marriage was made legal. While he’s seen a great enthusiasm in the community, especially around LGBTQ+ families looking to take advantage of homeownership, he says that other people are still experiencing a culture shock when they see an LGBTQ+ family moving into their neighborhoods.

While consumer confidence is high, homeownership rates continue to be lacking in the LGBTQ+ community. According to U.S Census data and Freddie Mac, the rate among those ages 22 to 72 who identify as LGBTQ+ is just 49%, compared to the overall U.S. general population rate of 65%. In 2021, 12% of homebuyers identified as LGBTQ+. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), those homebuyers are likely to be first-time buyers compared to the demographic of non-LGBTQ+ buyers.

More recent surveys, such as one done in October 2022 by Realtor.com in partnership with the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, suggest that LGBTQ+ buyers face affordability and safety issues while attempting to find their homes. The survey of 1,538 LGBTQ+ members in the U.S. found about 29% reported actual or suspected discrimination during the homebuying process.

Of that same survey pool, 44% of the transgender community said they had experienced or suspected bias. Over half also said that they hoped to buy houses in communities that made them feel safe and accepted. However, in many of these areas — which tend to be urban cities — the cost of living is often unaffordable.

Finding A Niche

For Andrew Dort, these statistics revealed a glaring issue in his industry. Dort is a broker and owner of Pride Lending, a Las Vegas-based lender that markets itself as LGBTQ+-friendly. Dort’s business from the surface level is enthusiastic about serving a community he is also a part of. Pride’s website boasts a rainbow-accented logo of a lion. A certification accompanies the site’s bright colors as an LGBT-owned enterprise by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce and customer testimonials.

But Dort didn’t wake up one day and decide to start a company based on the principles of pride and safe spaces. He started as a receptionist in his early 20s at All Western, a Denver-based mortgage company, and slowly worked his way into a processing role. He transferred to Colten Mortgage — also in Denver — as a loan processor, eventually becoming a loan officer.

Colten transferred Dort to Las Vegas as a branch manager and in 2020, he decided to start his own company. “I knew I wanted to do my own thing at some point,” Dort said. “I’m a part of the LGBTQ+ community and I know that there’s a shared life experience with others in the community. I figured that some [LGBTQ+] clients would feel comfier making the biggest purchase of their life with someone in their own community.”

Dort saw a need for a niche in the industry after he witnessed others in the community face difficulties working with lenders while trying to buy a home. “I’m luckier than most. I’m a white man and I often can pass for being straight, and for me, I personally had no issues buying a home,” he said. “But when we compare that to my husband, who is non-binary and gender fluid, he probably would have had a harder time buying a home and connecting with a lender if he bought alone.”

Even though Dort pointed out that as a country, there has been a progression in acceptance of sexualities, he still hears shocking stories from his customers about being misgendered or isolated in their homebuying processes.

“I had a call from one customer who had a great rapport going with a loan officer, but the second that the customer mentioned that he was married to a man, the officer’s entire demeanor changed,” Dort said. “It wasn’t the first time I heard a story like that, and it certainly won’t be the last.”

Dort’s also seen appraisal and other biases in LGBTQ+ couples’ homes. “Two men with the same last name