Portland-area real estate broker Rakesh Thomas helps international and relocating professionals navigate Oregon homeownership with cultural understanding, multilingual support, and industry leadership.
PORTLAND, Ore., July 16, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As Oregon continues to attract technology professionals, international families, and remote workers, many newcomers are confronting a question that can feel surprisingly difficult to answer: Can I buy a home in the United States, and where do I begin?
For professionals relocating to communities such as Beaverton, Hillsboro, Bethany, Wilsonville, Lake Oswego, Tigard, and Southwest Portland, the challenge is often not income or career stability. It is understanding an unfamiliar home-buying system filled with new terminology, financing requirements, inspections, property taxes, homeowners associations, negotiations, and local market differences.
Rakesh Thomas, founder of RT Homes and a Portland-area real estate broker, has built his practice around helping clients navigate that transition with clarity, patience, and cultural understanding.
"When a family moves here for a new career opportunity, they are not simply changing addresses," Thomas said. "They are rebuilding an entire frame of reference. They may be learning how credit works in the United States, what an inspection contingency means, or which community best fits their family. My role is to make that process feel understandable and manageable."
Thomas's connection to international relocation is personal. He grew up in the UAE after his father left India in the 1970s and established a life and business there. Watching his father navigate an unfamiliar country shaped Thomas's understanding of the courage, uncertainty, and persistence required to start over.
"I grew up seeing what it takes to build a life in a place where the systems, customs, and expectations are unfamiliar," Thomas said. "That experience influences how I serve every client who is relocating, immigrating, or purchasing a home in the United States for the first time."
Before entering real estate, Thomas spent more than 15 years in radio broadcasting in Dubai and later worked in international public relations and communications. His career included work with global brands such as Nike, Microsoft, and Amazon, which taught him to explain complex information clearly to diverse audiences.
Thomas holds the Certified International Property Specialist designation, a credential focused on serving international buyers, sellers, and investors. He also speaks several languages, including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, and Urdu, allowing him to communicate more naturally with many South Asian clients and families.
In his first two years in real estate, Thomas completed more than 25 transactions, representing clients across a wide range of price points, from entry-level homes to properties valued above $1.5 million.
Thomas also brings the perspective of international and relocating families into his industry leadership. He serves on the National Association of REALTORS® Global Business and Alliances Committee and the Oregon REALTORS® Business Issues Key Committee and is a leader within the Portland Metropolitan Association of REALTORS®. Through these roles, he contributes to conversations, initiatives, and policy discussions that affect global real estate, foreign investment, relocation, and international communities' ability to access and navigate homeownership.
"For me, leadership is an extension of the work I do with clients," Thomas said. "The questions and barriers international families experience should not only be addressed during an individual transaction. Their perspectives should also be represented in the rooms where decisions are being made about the future of real estate."
He says the most important service he provides is not simply finding a property. It is helping clients understand each decision before they make it.
"A lot of families are not asking for special treatment," Thomas said. "They are asking someone to slow down, explain the process clearly, and treat their questions with respect. I want them to feel that they have someone beside them who understands both the transaction and the transition."
That guidance may include explaining financing options for buyers with limited U.S. credit history, comparing communities and school districts, reviewing inspection findings, discussing property taxes and HOA costs, and helping clients understand how negotiations and closing procedures work in Oregon.
Thomas is also involved in South Asian and broader Asian community organizations and events throughout Oregon and regularly volunteers within his local community. He believes that buying a home is often only one part of a family's effort to establish roots and develop a sense of belonging.
"Every family I work with reminds me in some way of my father leaving India and building a new life," Thomas said. "The country and the decade may be different, but the leap of faith is very similar. If I can make that leap feel less confusing and less lonely, I have done my job."
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