LIVE BOZEMAN STYLE

As an ally of the LBGTQ+ community, Erin was surprised to uncover her naivety about groups who experience housing discrimination through the Fairhaven exercise. Growing up in Bozeman, many of Erin’s closest friends in life, as well clients, have been members of the LGBTQ+ community; she had not previously considered that housing discrimination could be a part of the experience of the LGBTQ+ buyer or seller. It is a core value of HōM 406 to advocate for all our clients. As an ally for the LGBTQ+ community, our mission is to create an environment where our clients feel heard, understood, and supported in this very big and very life-changing transaction. 

HōM 406 is proud to announce its new affiliation with the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance, established in 2020 to expand homeownership in the LGBTQ+ community. At HōM 406, homeownership is our first focus, and we enthusiastically support all potential homeowners in their journey to homeownership. Joining the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance publicly displays our unwavering commitment to Fair Housing.

At HōM 406, our pledge is to serve our clients with integrity first. It is our position that our job begins and ends with our customers and clients. We honor the life-changing task they have given us and infuse that relationship with trust. We believe in taking pride in what we do. We provide expertise and positively impact peoples’ lives by helping them navigate the nuances of our business to reach their personal goals. We embrace change. We are passionate and dedicated and without comparison. We are a firm that honors every voice in our unwavering mission to provide unparalleled service. That earnest dedication to excellence is reflected in the values and ethics of our team.

Our HōM 406 Commitment: 

• Excellence – We set the highest standard for every interaction
• Innovation – We thrive on ingenuity and its power to open new doors of opportunities for our clients
• Professionalism – We are defined by the unwavering conviction that our people are our most important asset
• Integrity – We believe honesty is core to our culture and hold our clients’ trust above all
• Gratitude! – We deliver gratitude within our transactions, communities, to our customers and clients, and in turn, within ourselves

Understanding the individual experience of LGBTQ+ buyers and sellers is a must for our continued growth and individual customization of our client-first service at HōM 406. According to the 2021 Profile of LGBT Home Buyers and Sellers, published by the National Association of REALTORS® LGBT Buyers and Sellers:

• Are more likely to be first-time home buyers.
• Are less likely to be married couples and more likely to be single men and unmarried couples.
• Are more likely to identify as male than as a female.
• Purchased older and smaller homes than non-LGBTQ buyers and sellers; 1,730 Sq’ on average vs. 1,900 sq’ on average for non-LGBTQ buyers.
• Expect to stay in their newly purchased homes for 10 years instead of the 15 years expected by non-LGBTQ buyers.

HōM 406 serves as a safe space for our clients to transact. With the above framework, we were reminded that as our first focus is to meet your individual needs, we will include some additional questions in our initial buyer meeting with you, to ensure we have explored all the nuances of your purchase; including but not limited to legal protections that may need to be evaluated due to marital status.

Identifying Your Perfect Home

We can’t emphasize enough that you must discern your “why” before you buy. Is this move precipitated by a lifestyle change such as a job relocation? Are you flexible in your buying timeline? Are you “right-sizing” your new home (growing or reducing square footage?) According to Freddie Mac, the Top Four Reasons that LGBTQ+ people purchase homes are: 

• To stop paying rent to someone else
• To have the freedom and control to decorate their personal space 
• To create a financial investment for their future
• To provide for greater stability personally and a family 

What are your drivers to make this move? The more you know about your “why,” the more likely you will quickly find your perfect next home. Consider as you imagine your next home:

Location:

• You’ve selected Bozeman for this purchase, and as you narrow your neighborhood are you curious about walkability scores?
• Is the Streamline Bus a resource you’d like to have at your fingertips? 
• Do you have a particular coffee shop or brewery that should be a consideration for your neighborhood? 

Schools: 

• Freddie Mac reported in 2018 that for LGBTQ+ millennials and older, 24% are parents, with many more wanting to be. Suppose you are in this group, research schools in Bozeman and our surrounding areas. According to US News & World Report, with a 16:1 student to teacher ratio, as of 2021, Bozeman High School was ranked first in the State of Montana for its student’s performance on state-required tests, and nationally it is ranked #1220 with an overall score of 93/100.[1] 

Having completed my K-12 education in Bozeman and graduating from Bozeman High School; I can personally speak to the quality of our education system. The access to advanced placement courses coupled with the outstanding sports, art, music, and other extracurricular opportunities affords all students access to high-level educational resources.

You are the only person who can ultimately discern the right property for you. Your Broker Advocate will not reside in the property with you; we won’t be paying the mortgage. Therefore it is our first focus to guide you through the questions that will help you identify your personal “why” to buy. We hope that by briefly tickling these nuances, we have started the process to help you envision your perfect home, for now. 

[1] https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/montana/districts/bozeman-high-school/bozeman-high-school-12038