DEI Education & Interpretation Services

Iowa REALTORS® is proud to offer the At Home with Diversity Course to our members and help you earn your At Home With Diversity (AHWD) Certification. REALTORS know the importance of adapting and remaining relevant in today's marketplace. By developing a business practice rooted in inclusion and equality, REALTORS® can help buyers of all cultural backgrounds achieve the dream of home-ownership. The At Home With Diversity (AHWD) certification course covers how to work effectively with diverse populations so you can build business success in today's multicultural real estate market.

Course Learning Outcomes:

The National Association of REALTORS launched Fairhaven, a fair housing simulation in late 2020. This simulation, based on real life scenarios teaches REALTORS how to combat discrimination in real estate and provides feedback on the participant's decisions within the simulation. This online program is available for free to all NAR members.

We are all impacted by our experiences and any preconceived notions we may have, leading to unintentional implicit bias. NAR provides a 50-minute video training on implicit bias to members to help identify and overcome their unconscious biases. This free program was done in partnership with the Perception Institute, a research firm committed to reducing bias and discrimination.

Iowa REALTORS® seeks to provide an equitable and fair housing market in Iowa. With an increasingly diverse population, REALTORS® may need to seek the help of outside service providers to ensure they meet their fiduciary duties to work in the best interest of their clients. 

Several community organizations across the state are committed to DEI efforts. We encourage IAR members to become involved in these groups and participate in their events.

OneIowa seeks to improve the lives of LGBTQ Iowans by protecting and advancing equality and inclusiveness through education, improving workplace culture, and increasing access to quality healthcare across our state.

The Iowa Civil Rights Commission is a neutral, fact-finding law enforcement agency. The mission of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission is to end discrimination within the state of Iowa. To achieve this goal, the ICRC must effectively enforce the Iowa Civil Rights Act. The Commission's primary duty is to enforce state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination in employment, public accommodations, housing, education and credit by investigating and litigating civil rights complaints. The Commission also provides conflict resolution services including mediation and conciliation for civil rights matters. In addition to its role as a law enforcement agency, the Commission works to prevent discrimination by providing training and education to the public.

The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of minority citizens of the United States.  Eliminating racial prejudice,  racial hatred and racial discrimination. 

The Iowa Asian Alliance works to unite diverse Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities with the purpose of fostering economic growth and broader community development within the state of Iowa.

Latino Center of Iowa provides a space that promotes culture and develops leadership and connections for the future of the Latino community and Central Iowa.

The mission of the Iowa Department of Human Rights is to ensure basic rights, freedoms and opportunities for all by empowering underrepresented Iowans and eliminating economic, social and cultural barriers.   We help individuals attain economic independence by ensuring access to government services and advancing educational achievement and entrepreneurial success consistent with their aspirations.  

Iowa REALTORS® seeks to provide an equitable and fair housing market in Iowa. With an increasingly diverse population, REALTORS® may need to seek the help of outside service providers to ensure they meet their fiduciary duties to work in the best interest of their clients. 

IAR now provides interpretation services as a member benefit. IAR believes that language should not be a barrier to homeownership. We are optimistic that offering this service will assist in our mission to close the homeownership gap and ensure the dream of homeownership is available for all.

IAR has partnered with iTEK Interpreting Solutions, a Quad Cities based company with over 25 years of experience, to provide this member benefit.

Interpretation services can be accessed via web or the Interpret Manager App through your account.

Interpretation services are offered by IAR via an opt-in basis. Please fill out the form below to indicate your interest in this member benefit. Once the form is complete, iTek will send an email with instructions to create an account and access interpretation services.

iTek provides sign-language and spoken interpretation, translation, and localization services. With our language support services, you can access over 300+ languages instantly and on-demand. We provide interpreting services to individuals and businesses across a broad range of industries; we are available 24/7.

With cutting-edge technology, iTek breaks down language and cultural barriers. Our team at iTek values our clients' needs and applies the right technologies and talent to meet those needs in a scalable and cost-effective manner.

If you have questions about the use of interpretation services, please reach out to iTek:

309-948-6700 or hello@itekinterpretingsolutions.com

IAR believes that language should not be a barrier to homeownership. By utilizing interpretation services, REALTORS® can confidently communicate with clients to overcome linguistic and cultural dividends. Bringing the reality of homeownership steps closer for all. 

The cost of this service is $1.15 per minute of telephonic interpretation. IAR provides language and translation services as a benefit to our more than 8,200 members, as such the association will pay 75% of telephonic services. The member utilizing the service will pay the remaining 25%. 

For example, if a member conducts a 30 minute telephonic interpretation conversation, the total bill would be $34.50. The member would be responsible for approximately $8.63 of that bill.

Under Iowa code, a licensee can pass their portion of the cost onto the client. 

543B.6 Acts constituting dealing in real estate. A person who, for another, in consideration of compensation, by fee, commission, salary, or otherwise, or with the intention or in the expectation or upon the promise of receiving or collecting a fee, does, offers or attempts or agrees to do, engages in or offers or attempts or agrees to engage in, either directly or indirectly, any single act or transaction contained in the definition of a real estate broker as set out in section 543B.3, whether the act be an incidental part of a transaction or the entire transaction is a real estate broker or real estate salesperson within the meaning of this chapter.

193E - 11.3(6) Compensation. In any real estate transaction, the broker’s compensation may be paid by the seller, the buyer, the landlord, the tenant, a third party, or by the sharing or splitting of a commission or compensation between brokers .

A licensee shall not accept, receive or charge any undisclosed payments for any services provided by any third party to any party to a transaction including, but not limited to, payments for procuring insurance or for conducting a property inspection related to the transaction.

iTek provides a variety of means to accommodate members’ interpretation needs, including video and in-person services. However, if an IAR member wishes to access these services they will incur the full cost out-of-pocket.  

The member will receive a bill for their portion of the cost to the email in which they created their iTek account. Bill payment is due within 30 days of receipt of invoice. Failure to pay will result in your account being deactivated.

Once you complete the opt-in form (link), you will receive an email from iTek support with instructions on setting up your account. It may take up to three business days to receive the activation link. 

If it has been more than three business days since you completed the opt-in and you have not received an email, email Hector at iTek. 

The activation link provided by iTek is viable for 24 hours. If you do not use the link this time frame, please email Hector for a new link. The new link should arrive within the hour.

If you have any kind of change to your personal information - change in brokerages, emails, or local boards - please email Hector at iTek to update your profile details. 

Per the agreement between Iowa REALTORS® and iTek, 75% of the bill for translation services will be paid by IAR. The remaining 25% will be billed to the member. In the case that a member does not pay their bill within 30 days, their iTek account will be deactivated until outstanding invoices are paid in full. 

Invoices from iTek can be paid online via credit card, Square and Stripe, or a check can be mailed to the company. If you can not find your invoice or have trouble paying your bill online, email Hector at iTek.