Discriminatory Practices

753 Words4 Pages
In the book Doing the Right Thing, Deborah H. Long discusses discriminatory practices that are still routine for some real estate professionals. Ms. Long sights several articles noted below. Also provided is Ms. Long's synopsis of a two-year study of discriminatory real estate practices. After reading these supplemental online articles, post your insight into this situation. Discuss how you as a real estate professional can make a difference. Please include any personal experiences. http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr06-035.cfm In 2005, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) , the government agency that handles discrimination matters, handled over 9,000 discrimination complaints. This number represented…show more content…
A two-year study was conducted between 2003 and mid-2005 in 12 metropolitan areas using teams of "paired testers" -- individuals or couples posing as home seekers to compare how randomly selected agents treat African-Americans, Latinos and whites. Examples of the discriminatory practice: almost 20 percent of the time, African-American and Latino testers were refused appointments or offered very limited service. This first category of discrimination was further delineated into several distinct patterns. In 17 instances, the African-American or Latino tester: (1) either left several messages for an agent and never received a return call; or (2) had an appointment scheduled with an agent, but the agent never showed up for the appointment. This conduct translates to an almost 6 percent rate of outright denial of…show more content…
My initial response is to say that I would abide by the Fair Housing Act’s rules and regulations and to treat every single person the same as I always have. But more so than that, I do think it also boils down to a person, involved in this industry, what values and ethics they have or were taught with growing up, as we have discussed in previous posts. If greed and/or lack of motivation overpower their common sense, then their values aren’t that strong to begin with. My personal experience both in new home sales and my current job has taught me to NEVER judge anyone in front of me as you never know what he/she has to offer. For instance, a person walking in to our office wearing something or “not looking the part” of a buyer may easily be judged by others simply because of looks. This same person may be a cash buyer for all you know and may have a good sphere of influence to help you build your referral business. (as I’ve seen happen in the past). You just never
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