What newcomers need to know about fair housing
Although April was Fair Housing Month, it is always a good time to remind people about the fair housing laws that Realtors must abide by at all times when interacting with the general public.
This is especially important for people to understand when they are new to the Houston area, because they are likely to have many questions about the various areas and neighborhoods when they are looking to buy or lease a property here.
So, it is equally important for them to understand that there are some questions that Realtors simply can’t answer, because doing so would be in violation of fair housing laws.
For example, it is not unusual for people who are moving to Houston from outside of the U.S. to ask their Realtor to tell them which neighborhoods other people of their same national origin tend to live. Answer- ing this question would be a violation of fair housing laws.
The federal Fair Housing Act and the Texas Fair Housing Act encourage equal housing opportunities for everyone, by protecting the rights of consumers to rent an apartment, buy a home, obtain a mortgage, or purchase homeowners insurance free from discrimination based on race, color, national origin or sexual orientation, religion, sex, familial status, and disability.
Having unanswered questions can be frustrating for people who are unfamiliar with the Houston area, and who are relying on their Realtor to help them compare neighborhoods and housing choices. For that reason, it is important for Realtors to not only make their clients aware of fair housing laws, but to also make appropriate recommendations that will help them learn more about a particular area in order to make an informed decision.
Kenya Burrell is the 2016 vice chair of the Houston Association of Realtors, and business development manager at Great American Title Co. She said that one of the best ways for home buyers to get a true feel for an area or neighborhood is by driving through it and exploring it on their own.
“After meeting a client and looking at properties, agents should suggest that the client drive by an area at night, because sometimes what they see during the day may not be representative of what happens at night,” explained Burrell. “Clients can also go to the neighborhood on a weekend when most people are likely to be home to get a better understanding of who may live there and how the neighborhood may feel, because sometimes there is a different feel when looking at a neighborhood in the afternoon on a Tuesday versus noon on a Saturday.”
She added that sometimes people even like to talk to residents when they see them out in the neighborhood, which can be helpful, because the residents can give an honest opinion, and don’t have to adhere to the same restrictions that Realtors do in what they can and cannot say.
Relocation home buyers may also have questions about which school districts and schools a particular neighborhood or property is zoned to, but Burrell pointed out that boundaries can be re-drawn from one school year to the next.
Likewise, she said that newcomers often want to know which schools or school districts are considered the best and which ones are considered the worst, because they want to be able to make their housing choice based on where their children will be going to school. Since boundaries can be re-drawn, and new schools are added from time-to-time, making a housing choice based on a specific school doesn’t always work out.
“There are some schools that are in high demand in Houston based on perception,” said Burrell. “People start drilling down into test scores, but sometimes test scores really aren’t the best way of identifying a good school or a bad school, because some children just don’t test well, but that’s not really representative of the teachers and the principal and the community.”
She said that she really encourages people to do their fact-checking about the schools, and to schedule an appointment to visit and meet with the faculty to get the best sense of what the school is all about and the various programs that it offers to its students.
Lastly, Burrell advised that even though a property listing might say that it is zoned to a particular school or district, that people should always verify and re-verify that information to make certain that it is correct.
Michelle Sandlin is a writer, journalist and relocation industry expert. Her work is frequently featured in Worldwide ERC’s Mobility magazine, and in various business and industry related publications and corporate blogs. Follow her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMichelleSandlin and on Twitter: @MichelleSandlin. Also visit “On the Move” at blog.chron.com/onthemove.