An LGBTQ couple with children recently relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona as part of a job transfer. They were unfamiliar with that area and needed to get insider expertise on how their household would be able to adjust to this new environment.

A google search for LGBTQ real estate agents in Scottsdale brought the couple to naglrep.com and they selected to work with NAGLREP member Sacha Blanchet. Always the consummate professional, Blanchet successfully helped the family relocate.

Sacha grew up in Quebec, Canada and later relocated to Scottsdale so he knew all too well the nuances of relocation as a LGBTQ man.

Like many realtors, real estate was not Blanchet’s first career.  He would grow up to be a world-class figure skater, who in 1998 would compete in the Canadian Figure Skating Championships alongside Marie-France Lachapelle to land side-by-side double Axels and a throw triple Salchow on their way to a gold medal in junior pairs.

Sacha would later enjoy a brief career performing as a professional figure skater aboard cruise ships who were seeking entertainment aboard the ship. His love of figure skating, meeting new people, and travel were all being fulfilled. It was a great experience, and after a few years and much consideration he decided to change careers and relocate to Scottsdale, Arizona.

It would be in 2005 that Blanchet first became involved in Scottsdale, Arizona real estate as an investor, and in 2007 transitioned to becoming a licensed Realtor. We recently sat down with Sacha. He says “I’ve always liked the investment aspect of real estate, and I also like sales. The sales aspect of real estate offers the opportunity and pleasure  of meeting new people, and seeing beautiful houses is a plus.”

It was in 2012 Blanchet joined NAGLREP after learning about the organization’s advocacy for LGBTQ housing equality, and a highlight of every year would be attending the NAGLREP national LGBTQ real estate conference. At the NAGLREP conferences he found a great sense of camaraderie with many of its members, both in person and through the NAGLREP.com website and was actively sharing referrals with members from all over the USA and Canada.

“During the LGBTQ Real Estate Conferences, I really liked meeting a lot of other LGBTQ real estate professionals and allied realtors from around the country – a great group of people – and getting to know each other,” he said “And also, it was a great way to receive referrals and send referrals. It is much easier when you personally know a good agent in a different state if you have a buyer or seller that is relocating to that state – that makes it so much easier to refer them out with a sense of comfort.”

Blanchet observed that LGBTQ homebuyers moving into unfamiliar communities seek out NAGLREP members because they feel more comfortable establishing a business relationship with an LGBTQ real estate agent, or allied Realtor who understands their distinctive concerns. 

“If an LGBTQ couple is relocating, they already have a need,” he explained. “They feel safer, as well, when it comes from a NAGLREP referral than if they were looking online for an agent not knowing how that agent may feel about LGBTQ families. My clients know they are in good hands when I refer a Realtor to them – and for me, my business is 95% based on referrals. I’ve also had very good experience with a lot of people just calling me out of the blue from the internet, especially from the naglrep.com website.”

Blanchet noted that he also works with many non-LGBTQ clients, but he observed that his LGBTQ clients tend to be very open about themselves.

“Most of the clients went through difficult times coming out with their sexual orientation, and they’re usually more open with me because they know we have walked in the same shoes – and they are most often very authentic,” he said.

From a business perspective, Blanchet rises above what he defines as the “standard real estate agent”. To rise above and beyond his clients expectations, he employs two full-time handymen who are available for addressing his clients’ home repairs, along with a full-time decorator who helps with staging properties on the market and helping buyers after they’ve acquired their new homes. In his view, Blanchet prefers to build and maintain relationships with clients rather than treat them as one-off transactions.

“I don’t push their needs out to other people,” he said. “We’re a very tight family, and that’s why I’m enjoying the success of receiving many referrals from past clients and real estate agents.”

Throughout each year, Blanchet typically hosts 2 client appreciation events to keep close contact with his clients. Every June he hosts at his home a LGBTQ Pride month celebration including 30 to 50 attendees. Then the crescendo to each successful year is his December holiday party that can attract as many as 200 guests celebrating the holidays with the joys of good conversation, food, wine, and of course the location is always his home.