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You Might Need a Fair Housing Class

April 13, 2012 by 4 Comments

In honor of Fair Housing month we decided as a team to put together a post Jeff Foxworthy style. Below you will see some of the typical blunders that can really get you in Fair Housing hot water. The first set of blunders comes from our team at the office.

Brian

If you make a comment about a prospects “cute baby bump”! You might need a Fair Housing class

If you hear kids in the background of a prospect call and you ask “Oh, how many kids do you have?” You might need a Fair Housing 539922 3040811256084 1137141935 32166620 954417394 n 233x300 You Might Need a Fair Housing Classcourse

If you describe one of your buildings as “the kid’s zone”. You might need a Fair Housing class

 

Cynthia

If you say: I’m sorry that you are depressed, but we don’t allow any dogs in this community. You might need a Fair Housing class

If you say: We put all of our families with kids in this building by the playground…. or: you would really like this particular apartment because it is nice and quiet with few children around”. You might need a Fair Housing class

If you say: I see that you are disabled…I can have our maintenance team mark a Handicap parking spot for you. You might need a Fair Housing class

If you have a sign in the pool area reads: “No children under 4 allowed in the pool area.” You might need a Fair Housing class.

Leigh

If you notice a cool sounding accent and you ask the prospect where they are from. You might need a Fair Housing class

Sherry

If you are making copies of a potential resident’s Driver’s License before you go on tour so that you may keep it with his/her guest card information. You might need a Fair Housing class

Renee

If you tell a prospect new to the area that you have a gay friend and ask if they want to be introduced (since this is a new protected class) You might need a Fair Housing class

If you skip the question on the guest card about which floor they prefer because “this poor guy has a walker and he doesn’t want to go up all those stairs”. You might need a Fair Housing class

Amanda

If you do not get every prospects ID’s before showing an apartment. You might need a Fair Housing class.

Mechelle

If your pool sign looks like this.

Fair Housing pool 300x234 You Might Need a Fair Housing Class

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You might need a Fair Housing class.

Below are some great comments that came from our Facebook page. A big thank you to Kara, Judy and Lisa!

Kara

If your prospect is handicapped and you only offer him/her ground floor apartments. You might need a Fair Housing class

Judy

If you have Rules/Regulations that apply specifically to “children” or “kids.” You might need a Fair Housing class

If the term “empty nester” has appeared in your marketing materials. You might need a Fair Housing class

If you think it’s OK to “hit on” your single female residents. You might need a Fair Housing class and probably a sexual harassment one as well!

If you charge a higher deposit to someone with a service animal you might need a Fair Housing class and a class on the American Disabilities Act

Lisa

If your Hispanic maintenance tech is approached by a Hispanic resident in the parking lot and runs over to fix their service issue “real quick” (ahead of the ones he is holding) because they only speak Spanish and the girls in the office don’t. Both of you might need a Fair Housing class.

What blunders can you add that would necessitate a Fair Housing class? Please share in the comments section below.

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://imo.davidkotowski.com David Kotowski

    Great scenarios that I’m sure have been overheard in leasing offices all over the country. One of the comments from Brian regarding asking about how many kids someone had might be a little misleading. The leasing consultant sounds like she’s following up to a comment that the prospect made over the phone about having children. If they voluntarily offer this information then I think it’s okay to use it in conversation. It would be totally inappropriate to  ask someone how many kids they had as a generic “What size?” or “How much?” qualifying question. However, I think it’s appropriate and a good way to create rapport to show interest in a prospects’s family. Again, that’s only if they offer the information and it’s not used in the approval process (aside from bedroom occupancy standards).

    I think all of this goes back to the title of this post. I’m basing my comments on knowledge I obtained in Fair Housing training and different experts might offer different advice. So, you might need a Fair Housing class… you can have conversations like this to determine the best way to govern yourself and your team. :)

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

    Great points David and that was Brian’s point overall.  Children can be a great way to make a connection to the prospect if like you said they offer the information.  I appreciate you sharing your experience with us.  Training and solid reminders are so crucial to protect ourselves and our companies.  Thank for your contribution! 

  • http://www.facebook.com/nadeen.green Nadeen Green

    If you don’t realize that the fair housing rules that apply to advertising are in effect for your social media marketing too, you might need a Fair Housing class.

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

    Nadeen is in the HOUSE!!!! Love it my friend.  Thanks so much for your fantastic insights.  You are my Fair Housing hero :)  

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