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Did you know that there have been documented instances of illegal “redlining” practices in the past decade? We’re not talking about 60 years ago. We are talking now.
Shockingly, we don’t need to look at data from before the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 to find this.See the Ministry of Justice’s Combating “Red Line” Initiativesan organization that has provided more than $107 million in relief to communities of color in response to today’s unfair housing issues.
Yes, we now have fair housing laws, the most landmark of which began in 1968, exciting The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was tragically assassinated. However, the law is not Disney magic. In other words, the law does not mean that all violations will cease immediately.
The law simply means that if someone is arrested and there is enough evidence, that person may face some penalties. The same applies to illegal, unfair housing practices.
Therefore, it’s wise to have a fair housing version of “the conversation” with your homeowner clients.I know when we say “conversation,” a lot of people think of the birds and the bees, but there’s another conversation that’s key to fair housing.
Do you know how to help your clients avoid redlining and other forms of unfair housing, including unfair lending?
As real estate professionals, we are often our clients’ first and only trusted advisors. Therefore, it is critical that we proactively “educate” real estate equity before it happens.
1. Telling clients that it is illegal to exclude (or be excluded from) based on any legally protected category
Federally, we have seven protected groups: race, religion, national origin, color, sex, disability, and familial status. Local government may also include designations such as “military status” or “returning citizen.”
Let’s not take what our customers know for granted.Contact you to share the expanding laws that apply to your area Local Fair Housing Center.
This is the data This suggests that while homes should have been appraised higher in years past due to the rate of market appreciation, some sellers may be illegally undervaluing (giving a value below comparable support) based on protected categories.
Also, here are some first-hand accounts:
Let us help sellers decode housing (and loan) injustices, such as low valuations, before they occur.
2. Share competitions in their area
Whether you’re working with a home buyer or seller, your first appointment should be a review of what homes in the area are selling for. Review trends, such as now versus six months ago versus one to five years ago. When customers understand comparisons, they not only have a better understanding of their expectations, but they also become more alert to unfair practices.
Fortunately, Dr. Shani MottThe Johns Hopkins University history educator and her family are well aware of local market values. They got a second appraisal, which was about $250,000 more than the original offer.
hint: Providing annual square footage comparisons to past clients creates goodwill and keeps us ahead of the curve with future real estate transactions.
However, not every homeowner has easy access to this information, depending on their daily activities (including any health challenges and family obligations) and career priorities. Unfortunately, Dr. Mott was battling cancer at the time, which recently took her life.
“The function of racism, a very serious function (and I extend this to any form of discrimination), is to be a distraction. It keeps you from doing your job. It makes you explain your reason for existing over and over again.” — Toni Morrison, Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize winner
Dr. Shani Mott spent her final days dreaming of a day when her family and anyone after her would have access to more standardized treatments. Ridiculously, her attention was distracted, even distracting, from dealing with low housing prices.
Thankfully, some reforms over the past few years are helping to improve the homebuyer experience. Now, sadly, but in honor of her determination, we can add to our initiatives the informally coined “Shanifa”.
hint: Inform clients that there is currently no national policy for challenging home appraisals. This is where continued advocacy becomes critical.
3. Explain, encourage and be open to beta testing
For low-assessment examples, “scheduling” the home to be appraised may mean having a person from a reverse protected class stand in for the actual homeowner. This looks like Christians versus Muslims, able-bodied versus differently-abled, DINKs (two-income couples without children) versus families of five, men versus women, and so on.
Of course, staging a home should only involve neutralizing the property, not the people who own it. However, since the 1940s and 1950s, often the only way to determine unfair housing (and lending, including undervalued appraisals) was for testers (akin to secret shoppers) of various protected classes to step in and pretend to be customers.
Testers may uncover problematic, unfair housing (and loans) such as low ratings, guidance, redlining, denial of service or accommodation, etc.
4. Encourage customers to report concerns or issues
If your client is stung by possible unlawful treatment, encourage them to follow their instincts and document and report any instances of unfair housing. Often, unfair housing issues are able to continue unchecked because it goes unreported.
this National Fair Housing Alliance It is estimated that although there are over 30,000 reports of housing discrimination each year, this may only account for 1% of actual fair housing violations.
If your client is unsure if their keen sense is correct and needs a consultation before heading straight in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (heads-up display) or Your local fair housing center (Things can get real, fast) Start with a lower-risk consultation by visiting any of the following resources:
Dr. Lee Davenport is a real estate coach/educator and author (including Become a Fair Housing Decoder and How to profit from your personality). Dr. Lee provides training to real estate agents around the world on how to use their unique personalities to work smarter and how to “advocate rather than alienate” so that everyone has access to opportunities and opportunities in real estate.
