Fair Housing Act – Calling Foul!

[Anna M.]

“The Fair Housing Act is a federal act in the United States intended to protect the buyer or renter of a dwelling from seller o...r landlord discrimination. Its primary prohibition makes it unlawful to refuse to sell, rent to, or negotiate with any person because of that person's inclusion in a protected class. The goal is a unitary housing market in which a person's background (as opposed to financial resources) does not arbitrarily restrict access.”
It’s sad that one would immediately try to rule out a woman from purchasing a property simply because she is a women. Makes me wonder what is going on in the mind of such a person! I was interested in viewing a property and the shocking feedback from my buyer’s agent was that the listing agent (who also happens to be the seller) immediately expressed concern when he learned that I was female. “this might not be the right property for a woman..." Why would someone even think, that and worse say it out aloud? I appreciate the concern, if infact that was the case, but how about letting, me “the woman” decide if the property is right for me? I hate stereotypes that peg women as some soft, fragile creature that needs to be protected from this big, bad and horrible world. We are not little children that need to be hand held through life and told what is right or not right for us. We are adults just as our fellow male counterparts. It is bad enough that we live in a very competitive real estate market. To then immediately disqualify a motivated female buyer, as “an unqualified buyer” based on her gender is not only discrimination, it is just outright chauvinistic, wrong and goes against everything that the Fair Housing Act stands for. Shame on this listing agent who shall remain unnamed, for taking such an immature approach to real estate, I guess he still lives in the dark ages! It is sad because in looking at the listing, I came to learn that said listing agent is affiliated with a very reputable company here in Colorado yet it is sad to know that he operates in such a manner.
More often, the fair Housing act comes into play protecting renters from landlord discrimination, but I guess I am living proof that even as a buyer in this crazy market, one should not be shocked when exposed to discrimination from seller. Sad, but I guess we live in a brutal market. Ladies, buckle up, because we are going to have to really prove ourselves by the look of things! Wonder what he would have said if he knew I was not only a woman, but a black woman and a naturalized citizen at that! Sad, just sad!