Fair Housing Month

12 Steps Toward Equal Housing Opportunity

Two prospective buyers walk into the office of ABC Realty. Cindy is white, and Maria is Hispanic. They’re both interested in a listing at 555 Lovely Lane.

Although Cindy and Maria are both treated courteously, the treatment is notably different. Cindy is taken right out to see the home. Despite the fact that it doesn’t seem to meet her family’s space needs, she’s discouraged from looking at homes in a more diverse section of town. Maria is encouraged to prequalify for a mortgage before she starts looking. Once she sees the home, she’s ready to make an offer, but the salesperson suggests she view a wider range of homes in both areas of town.

Note how assumptions are made that impact both women’s housing choices. If you’re to stay on the right side of the fair housing law, the statements you make and the actions you take must ensure equal housing opportunity for all.

Here are 12 steps you can implement to make sure that everyone in your sales or leasing operation understands that goal and puts it into practice.

1. Commit the letter of the law to memory. The Fair Housing Act makes illegal any discrimination in the sale, lease, or rental of housing or making housing unavailable because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.

2. Market to diversity. NAR certifies real estate practitioners who’ve been trained to work with a diverse population. The At Home With Diversity: One America certification program is a full-day class that helps you build cross-cultural skills and develop a diversity business plan. Once you complete the course, you can display in your advertising the HUD One America logo and the NAR At Home With Diversity logo.

3. Give sellers and landlords whose properties you manage the brochure What Everyone Should Know About Equal Opportunity in Housing and discuss it with them. (See “ Fair Housing Resources.”)

4. Point out and discuss with prospective clients and customers any language in your listing or lease agreement that pertains to fair housing.

5. Get sellers’ consent in writing to abide by the law.

6. Be ready to walk away from a listing or property management contract if the owners seem unwilling or unable to adhere to the Fair Housing Act. For example, if sellers refuse to show their property to certain buyers, terminate the listing agreement.

7. Treat prospective buyers and tenants in a consistent manner. You can do so by establishing an equal professional servicemodel. That is, use objective information, let the customer set the limits, and offer a variety of choices. Develop a consistent approach to greeting people, showing homes, qualifying prospects, obtaining listings, conducting open houses, keeping records, and following up with prospects. Ask standard questions, and consider using forms or checklists to keep track of what you need to cover with each prospect.

8. Don’t encourage prospects to buy or lease a property--or discourage them from buying or leasing one--because of the racial, ethnic, or religious composition of a neighborhood. When you make such choices for prospects, you can be accused of steering. Instead, offer a variety of choices.

9. Beware of exclusivity. Be careful not to develop a promotion plan that excludes a certain group. Any marketing plan, including the selection of media for ads, that indicates a preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin is a violation of the Fair Housing Act.

10. Be vocal about your support for fair housing. Send a positive message to your community. Conduct fair housing training programs, monitor salespeople’s and leasing agents’ performance, and commit to the REALTOR^® Fair Housing Declaration. Doing so gives you a marketing edge and makes you more credible if you’re faced with a fair housing violation.

11. Implement procedures, such as self-testing, to measure your company’s compliance with the fair housing law. Such procedures can help you discover areas for improvement. Private fair housing organizations or your local REALTOR^® association can conduct the testing.

12. Monitor yourself. Regularly ask yourself whether you provide the same level of service to everyone who walks through your door.

Fair Housing Resources

NAR has several products to help you show clients and customers that you’re committed to fair housing.

• The brochure What Everyone Should Know About Equal Opportunity in Housing. Item #166-799-RM; $19.95 per 100. Also available in Spanish.
  
• Award-winning training kits for sales and rental, designed for three hours of continuing education. Sales: Item #166-99-RM; member price: $199.95. Rental: Item #166-150-RM; member price: $199.95.
  
  For more information or to order, call NAR Information Central, 800/874-6500.
  
• At Home With Diversity: One America certification program. E-mail diversity@realtors.org