Mike Wolanin | The Republic Tanairys Lopez, from left, Ana Sofia Rios, Maribel Valencia, Wally Lopez, Elisa Torres and Nestor Valenzuela are members of the group Hispanic Realtors of Columbus. They are pictured at Centra headquarters in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Jan. 20, 2023.
Seven Hispanic Realtors from local real estate agencies are collaborating to support each other and Hispanic homebuyers through a new organization.
The Hispanic Realtors of Columbus is a fairly new group, having only started in October of 2022, said member and Realty ONE Group agent Elisa Torres.
Its purpose is to provide support for Hispanic professionals in the field, share information that is helpful to clients, and foster community involvement.
“I thought it would be nice because when I started, I really had no other Hispanic agent to rely on, you know?” said Torres, who started the group. “I had no backup or someone to go to and discuss anything that was going on with me or my clients or anything.”
Members include Torres, Nestor Valenzuela with FC Tucker, Tanairys Lopez with Carpenter Realtors, Priscilla Talley with Berkshire Hathaway, Mario Benavente with Realty ONE Group, Ana Sofia Rios with Century 21 Breeden and Maribel Valencia with Century 21 Breeden.
The group hopes to create workshops with Su Casa and be present at Fiesta Latina to get their organization’s name out into the community.
They would like to participate in about two or three joint activities throughout the year that provide opportunities for education, outreach, and giving back to the community.
Torres added that members also hope to create awareness within their own respective brokerages about the growing Hispanic real estate market and show that there are Hispanic Realtors who can help if there’s a language barrier.
“You could interview any of the local agents that will tell you one story or two about having Hispanic buyers and having their teenage kids translate at the closing table and things like that,” said Torres. “…They can go and reach out to one of us and we can just help in that presentation and make sure everyone knows what they’re doing when they’re signing something.”
