ORLANDO, Fla. – Dear Shannon: I’m a broker who focuses on home buyers. A recent college graduate called me and said he was moving to the city for a teaching job at the local high school. He was married with two young children and was a veteran. I started working with the buyer to determine his family could afford a home in the $250,000 range and showed them several houses in neighborhoods near the high school.
The buyer met another new teacher who was also moving to the city for a teaching position at the same high school and was in the market for a home. The new teacher (second buyer) was also married with two young children and a veteran. The first buyer told the second buyer about my expertise, knowledge of the market, familiarity with VA financing and how helpful I was. The second buyer contacted me, so I met with him and determined he also could afford a home in the $250,000 range. The second buyer was black, the first buyer was not.
The second buyer asked me about houses closer to the local high school, but instead I showed him houses in neighborhoods undergoing racial transition because that’s where I felt he and his family would feel more comfortable.
Later, the second buyer told the first buyer about his problems finding a home near the high school and learned that I had showed the first buyer several homes near the high school. The second buyer filed an ethics complaint against me, claiming that I discriminated against him by not offering equal professional services. At the professional standards hearing, I admitted I didn’t use the same efforts to show him homes in neighborhoods near the high school because I genuinely felt he and his family would feel more comfortable living in a racially integrated neighborhood.
I’m aware of Fair Housing laws and have never run afoul of the law. But I was found in violation of Article 10, even though I was just trying to help the buyer find the perfect home in a community where I thought they would feel the most comfortable. – Just Trying To Help.
Dear Just Trying To Help: I hear you say you believe you are just trying to help buyers by showing them homes in neighborhoods where you think they would feel more comfortable. But this is a denial of equal professional service and, among other things, a violation of the Code of Ethics. Let’s see what the Code says about this.
Article 10 of the Code of Ethics states: Realtors® shall not deny equal professional services to any person for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Realtors® shall not be parties to any plan or agreement to discriminate against a person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. (Amended 1/23)
Article 10 says Realtors cannot “deny equal professional services to a person for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.” In your situation you had two buyers who were virtually identically situated, except for race. Both were new teachers at the local high school, married with two young children, and veterans. You determined both could afford to purchase a home in the $250,000 range. You showed several properties to the first buyer in neighborhoods near the high school; but since the second buyer was black, you only showed him properties in racially integrated neighborhoods because that’s where you felt he and his family would feel more comfortable. You didn’t show the second buyer homes in neighborhoods near the high school because of race. The services you provided the two buyers were unequal and this is an example of denying equal professional services based on race or color.
The professional standards hearing panel correctly found that steering buyers to purchase homes in neighborhoods where you think they would feel more comfortable is a denial of equal professional service and a violation of the code of ethics. Per Article 10, it is a violation of the Code to deny equal professional services for reasons of race or color.
Thank you for sharing your story. You are encouraged to learn more about this topic through further education on how to treat all buyers with equal professional service.
Based on Case #10-2: Denial of Equal Professional Service. Other laws and rules apply.
Shannon Allen is an attorney and Florida Realtors Director of Local Association Services
Note: Advice deemed accurate on date of publication
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