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As the Apartment Turns – Episode I Fair Housing

April 25, 2012 by 8 Comments

Fair housing is not something to joke about. From a compliance standpoint it is still one of the biggest challenges that property management companies face with their team. Take a peek at these three articles that I came across this week.

A history of housing discrimination

Always Respond to Reasonable Accommodation/Modifications Requests. PLEASE.136019502 300x290 As the Apartment Turns Episode I Fair Housing

Deaf student sues, claiming Portland State University didn’t allow her service dog in some housing

Articles of this sort are not at all uncommon and solidify the point that Fair housing and compliance training are a must. Earlier in the month our team got together for a brainstorming session on how we could present a memorable message regarding the need for apartment training and education. Hence the birth of: “As the Apartment Turns”. They say that laughter is the best medicine. Why is that? It has been medically proven that laughter supports overall good health. Not only that but humorous moments are also memorable. Our series “As the Apartment Turns” definitely has a comedic side to it. It is our goal to bring some humor into our industry but at the same time provide some lasting training and best practice memories.

Many of our current clients will recognize the actors and actresses in these skits as they are the same folks you see throughout your online apartment training classes. Our first skit is all about fair housing. It is only appropriate since this is fair housing month. Kari Cardwell, who is our Director of Support Services, stars as the untrained leasing professional. The exasperated Manager (Chip) is yours truly. Enjoy and smile, chuckle or laugh out loud at your leisure.


I would love any feedback you may have in the comments section below. Please feel free to share this post with your network. That is always deeply appreciated by me.

Will you be at NAA 2012? Make sure you plan to visit Booth 306.  In the meantime please feel free to learn more about us.

Written by Jonathan Saar

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Filed Under: Apartment Training, Fair Housing, Multifamily Training Tagged With: , , , ,
About Jonathan Saar

Jonathan Saar is the Vice President of Marketing for The Training Factor. He also blogs on his personal website. You can follow along or contact Jonathan on Twitter via @JonathanSaar, Linkedin Jonathan Saar or on Google+.

  • http://www.inspiredmultifamily.com/ Cynthia Samuels

    Jonathan — Thank you and the rest of The Training Factor team for sharing this most serious subject in a lighter way! 

  • Theresa St.Pierre

    Thank you Jonathan for finding a way to put humor to a sometimes dry and seriously overwhelming subject matter!  I find each time I take the Fair Housing course that there are many changes – especially in CA and new protected classes!  Your points are right on and I appreciate the reminders to share with my clients!

    Keep up the laughter, good health and blogging expertise!

  • http://www.thetrainingfactor.com/ Jonathan Saar

    Thanks Cynthia! We love what we do don’t we?  It is all part of how education sticks.  Thanks for commenting! 

  • http://www.thetrainingfactor.com/ Jonathan Saar

    Theresa I appreciate your commendation.  It is a serious matter but with a pinch of humor added I am sure it will make a great impression.  Thanks for taking the time to comment! 

  • Willard

    Hey Jonathan – New visitor to the site here. This is the first post that I’ve read and I really enjoyed it. Everything was spot on. I feel that writing about serious subjects in a lighthearted/slightly humorous way makes them way easier to read and more accessible for people who otherwise wouldn’t want to read about them. Great job!

    I am starting a blog over at http://freerentalapplicationform.com/. It’s not super similar to this post, but I hope to add some stuff relating to fair housing in the future. If you get the chance to take a look, then you’ll see that it is still in its very beginning stages! Looks like I’ll find a lot of interesting stuff here to spark my imagination – will be sure to link your way when I do!

  • http://www.thetrainingfactor.com/ Jonathan Saar

    Thanks for the visit.  We always appreciate that.  Thanks for you encouraging comment as well.  Blogging is a lot of fun so keep up the good work.  It really is a great creative outlet! 

  • Mary Clark

    Training is simply necessary.

    I have one for the record: a staff person who was hired and never trained told callers for rentals that those with criminal records got preferred status in housing over others. The Fair Housing booklet I gave her and insisted she read must have gone unread somehow.

    That is the norm in my local market: no training of any kind for any staff people. Ever. I have seen this same lack of education many times. Agents are supposed to have some training in Fair Housing law. As an experienced real estate manager and agent, I am a supporter of educating staff whenever possible.

  • http://www.thetrainingfactor.com/ Jonathan Saar

    Nice thoughts Mary on the need for education for our staff.  It makes sense on so many levels.  The more educated our team is the better they perform at their job which reflects well on the company.  Thanks for the comment! 

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