Comments on: How to Market Properties without Violating the Fair Housing Act

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:46:59 +0000

Although I understand your thought process here Molly, what you have done is still illegal. From HUD’s website (http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/FHLaws/yourrights.cfm):

It is illegal for anyone to:
Advertise or make any statement that indicates a limitation or preference based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap. This prohibition against discriminatory advertising applies to single-family and owner-occupied housing that is otherwise exempt from the Fair Housing Act.

I am a landlord in Charlotte and am reasonably familiar with the laws, although I have thankfully never had a problem.

In the eyes of the law, you are advertising a preference for buyers who have children, which is explicitly illegal even if you would happily sell to someone without kids. It doesn’t matter what your intentions were; there exists de facto discrimination with your wording.

Thanks for your post Molly and good luck.

By: Molly Castelazo

Molly Castelazo — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:00:25 +0000

Tim – Maybe. It makes a marketer’s life more difficult, no doubt. But whatever we think about the Fair Housing rules, they are what they are and we must abide by them. . .

Ox – Thanks for your comment. What’s especially difficult is following the rules without making the listing sound lame. It’s a balancing act. . .
.-= Molly Castelazo´s last blog ..Real Estate Marketing Blog – 6 Tips for Using Twitter to Build Your Real Estate Business =-.

By: Ox

Ox — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:49:31 +0000

I recently received a sheet while attending a Real Estate Investment Club meeting where Bruce Norris spoke. Bruce provided the sheet that had 20 property listing titles, with only one that conformed to the FHA standards. It was pretty tough to pick the only valid title out of the bunch, but it was there. It is amazing what you can and cannot say.

I do think it is tough to follow all the rules out there that need to be followed to allow fair treatment of all prospective end users, but I also think that it is justified.

As my wife always says, “Celebrate Diversity”.

By: Tim Smith

Tim Smith — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:21:27 +0000

It is amazing how PC everything is today. I understand the need to protect people, but when legislation dictates that someone can’t say that a property is perfect for a family because it may be discriminatory against single people, don’t you think we’ve just gone way too far?

Sounds pretty stupid to me!