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Dear Seller - I Know Your Home is Family Friendly But I Just Can't Say That

By Leesa Finley

Real Estate Broker/Owner with RED Properties NC #129285

June 28, 2010 12:05 AM

Dear Seller - I Know Your Home is Family Friendly But I Just Can't Say That

While your home may be prefect for a large family, in a quiet, family neighborhood and right across the street from the Catholic church I just can't say that. Your home may be right in the middle of the financial district, near public transportation and have a free membership to the gym making it ideal for a working professional but I just can't say that.

You see, there is the Federal Fair Housing Act that I must adhere to that strictly prohibits discriminatory preference against:

Race or Color
National Origin
Religion
Sex
Familial Status
Handicap/Disability

To advertise your home in a family friendly neighborhood would be discriminatory. Why? It would discourage those without children from looking at your home based on familial status. While your home may be right across the street from the largest Catholic church in town it would be discriminatory based on Religion.

As a Realtor® it is my job to highlight your home and advertise it in the best possible light. If you hire me to be your Realtor® then you must be comfortable with me and trust that I know how to advertise your home without violating the Federal Fair Housing Act. If you DON'T hire me, or any Realtor® for that matter, to assist you in selling your home you must know that you are subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act as well. Yes, even as a private seller!

The next time you see the ad that I run for your home please don't be upset with me for not mentioning that your home is family friendly or right next door to the Synagogue. Besides, your home has many more beneficial attributes for me to concentrate on!

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Bob & Bonnie Horning

Mount Joy, PA

I'm with you Richard, excepting I don't know anyone who has been sued for discrimination in my 21 years associated in this business. This has been a fascinating post and commentary. I'm seeing a huge difference between east and west coast and all points inbetween.

Jun 30, 2010 08:08 AM

Anonymous

Connie Winstead at Signature Properties

Can i re-blog this please? Great reminder and thanks for posting!

Jun 30, 2010 08:59 AM

#160

Anonymous

Connie Winstead at Signature Properties

Can i re-blog this please? Great reminder and thanks for posting!

Jun 30, 2010 09:00 AM

#161

Anonymous

Connie Winstead at Signature Properties

Can i re-blog this please? Great reminder and thanks for posting!

Jun 30, 2010 09:00 AM

#162

Kay Van Kampen

RE/MAX Broker, RE/MAX - Springfield, MO

Realtor®, Springfield Mo Real Estate

Well written and a great reminder of the Fair Housing Act. It's sometimes hard to write a well written ad.

Jun 30, 2010 02:10 PM

Leesa Finley

RED Properties - Wake Forest, NC

RED Properties - Raleigh NC Real Estate

Thanks everyone for your continued commentary! There are quite a few differing opinions here and I am enjoying seeing how each of you approach the Fair Housing Act.

Jun 30, 2010 11:57 PM

Cherry Temple

Real Living At The Beach - Myrtle Beach, SC

What I've noticed in the comments to your blog is the redundancy of some of the agents. When putting information out on the MLS or in paid advertising words are money. So to write - 6 bdr, 4 bath, Great Family Home - well, yeah, unless you're renting the extra rooms to local college students or each of your dogs want' their own bedroom.

Some folks pointing out the Catholic Church across the street as a great selling point. Not necessarily. You obviously haven't had the overflow park in your yard on Saturday afternoon or dodged the congregation as they rush to their cars after mass.

I don't know about the other agents on here, I'm a professional Realtor, I am not the local police statistician, I do not know how the local Megan's list is generated, I do not know what my potential buyer's think a great Family Home consists of or what is a great Adult neighborhood, unless it is deeded over 55.

What I do know are the local resources to provide to you for you the buyer to make your decision. I do know what the features are of the home and the community where it is located. I think being an expert in my field makes me a better agent and representative than trying to decide if it is family friendly home because it has a pool, or good only for adults who know how to swim because it has a pool.

btw - my own home is on a double lot, fenced in and we have a pool and lots of room, but we don't have children. Would I have looked at your listing if it was headed - Family Friendly Home?

Jul 01, 2010 02:15 AM

Leesa Finley

RED Properties - Wake Forest, NC

RED Properties - Raleigh NC Real Estate

Amazing points to ponder, Cherry and I THANK YOU so much for commenting!

Jul 01, 2010 07:30 AM

Maya Thomas, Broker

Tampa, FL

Please see my client recommendations.

Lovely Leesa,
On my first listing I put some information in the MLS about all of the wonderful churches! Thankfully I got a call almost immediately from a helpful agent.
Maya

Jul 01, 2010 11:38 AM

Leesa Finley

RED Properties - Wake Forest, NC

RED Properties - Raleigh NC Real Estate

I do hope the agent that called you Maya was nice - at least you found out before listings and listings go by and someone WAY more important caught you!

Jul 01, 2010 11:48 AM

Anonymous

Joel

I have two comments.

The first--on MLS filters-our board here -- has two colors-yellow-possible violation-call for details; red- bad word (in comments). I have a large buildable lot for sale, in a gated community. I wrote something like (MLS printout not in front of me)- watch the sun sets from the rear of the home that you build here. THE WORD SUN WAS HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW. Caution. I called- the reason ( talking about the ridiculous) saying SUN could mean SUNDAY (huh? was my reaction- read the rest of the sentence) and that would discriminate against people who worship on Fri and/or Sat. THE WORD WORSHIP, CHURCHES, SYNAGOGUES, ETC NEVER APPEARED.

I had to send the board an email emphasizing that the layout of the lot gave a great western view, and the view was there SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, unless raining or storming (well, the view would still be there, just could not see it).

The second- concerning large homes- family, etc--just today I spoke to a gentleman who is looking for a 4 or 5 or more bedroom home, of 3,200 sq ft. heated, or more, because he and his wife have a large amount of art works and other items that they like to display and look at., and that they entertain a great deal, for business and pleasure. No mention of children, asking about schools, or anything that would indicate that there are children. So, I agree, saying perfect for the large family, etc- could be a turn off.

Someone, in a post here, asked, (paraphrasing) who but a large family would want a 5 bedroom home. Here is one example-- possibly extreme, but sayign 5 bedrooms (IN MY OPINION) leaving out large family would suffice.

My 5 cents.

Joel

Jul 01, 2010 04:06 PM

#169

Anonymous

Joel

I have two comments.

My 5 cents.

Joel

Jul 01, 2010 04:06 PM

#170

Leesa Finley

RED Properties - Wake Forest, NC

RED Properties - Raleigh NC Real Estate

All good points, Joel! I am still laughing though about the Sunday thing.....geez!

Jul 01, 2010 11:37 PM

Coleen DeGroff

Coldwell Banker M.M. Parrish Realtors - Gainesville, FL

Haile Plantation Real Estate - Gainesville FL

Leesa - I cringe whenever I see ads saying things like "perfect for families". Thanks so much for going over the Fair Housing Laws in your post!

Jul 02, 2010 01:51 AM

Lisa Hill

Florida Property Experts - Daytona Beach, FL

Daytona Beach Real Estate

Very true! And I'm glad this was featured. I can't tell you how many times I see this type of wording in advertising of listings. Or the opposite... great senior community... only it doesn't have the governmental approval to actually BE a senior community! The CC&R do not specify a senior community.

Jul 02, 2010 04:06 PM

Leesa Finley

RED Properties - Wake Forest, NC

RED Properties - Raleigh NC Real Estate

Thanks, Coleen! Some of the ads that I ahve seen are absolutely horrible and riddled with violations.

Jul 04, 2010 05:16 AM

Leesa Finley

RED Properties - Wake Forest, NC

RED Properties - Raleigh NC Real Estate

You're right, Lisa - the senior communities MUST be certified. It does get frustrating and worst, when sellers see the ads that have the wrong wording of ther homes and wonder why we won't do it.......

Jul 04, 2010 06:28 AM

Anonymous

"Advertisements may not state an explicit preference, limitation or discrimination based on familial status. Advertisements may not contain limitations on the number or ages of children, or state a preference for adults, couples or singles." Under Section 804(c) of The Fair Housing Act. A family can be of any sort and it is familial STATUS that is protected so you cannot say certain types of a family (with children or older adults) are NOT welcome. Saying that a home is waiting for the perfect 'family' isn't in itself discriminatory. Saying that the neighborhood consists of childless homes would be discriminatory as it indicates a 'preference'. Your example "your home may be prefect for a large family, in a quiet, family neighborhood" is not discriminatory as it does not preclude a protected class. I would eliminate the words large and quiet as those words are subject to individual interpretation. A couple with pets my feel like they have a 'large' family as could a single parent of children. Similarly how does one describe 'quiet' in a neighborhood?

Jul 28, 2010 08:00 PM

#176

Leesa Finley

RED Properties - Wake Forest, NC

RED Properties - Raleigh NC Real Estate

Thanks so much for sharing your opinion, Anonymous. What we are dealing with are definitions as defined by law. While a person with dogs may feel they are "family" they obviously are not - as defined by law. It is, indeed, discriminatory for me to advertise a home as a "great family home" as it would discourage a single person or a couple without children from looking at the home.

Jul 29, 2010 12:12 AM

Matt Robinson

Professional Investors Guild - Pensacola, FL

www.professionalinvestorsguild.com

I agree with most of those who disagree with you. If you are describing a home or neighborhood as family friendly, that does not mean you are discriminating against those without families, or even steering those who do have families. If a home has features that would make it a good fit for a medium or large "household" or family, it should be noted in the listing. If that's against the law (and from these comments, there doesn't seem to be a consensus that it is) then they need to change the law.

After typing that, I just thought to myself, could you say "Hispanic friendly" even if the home had features that might appeal to a vast amount of hispanics based on cultural stereotypes, or if the neighborhood really loved the hispanic culture? No, so maybe I'm wrong from a strict interpretation standpoint.

It's really all in interpretation, which is why we have a Supreme court. There are laws that look black and white to one person, and grey to another, and it takes a higher authority to interpret the "intent" of the law. The "intent" of fair housing was to prevent discrimination, and I have a hard time believing that describing a home as "executive" or "family friendly" is discriminating against those who are not executives or that have families.

So, good conversation nonetheless.

Apr 30, 2011 09:54 AM

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Leesa Finley

RED Properties - Raleigh NC Real Estate

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Welcome to Raleigh NC! Though my blog you can find Homes for Sale in Raleigh NC and the surrounding area, Things To Do in Raleigh NC and so much MORE! I am the Owner/Broker In Charge of R.E.D. Properties and I specialize in Northern Wake County with a focus on Wake Forest NC. It's where I live, it's what I love! Please visit "About Me" for more details on how I can help you!
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