Setting the Standard. Windermere Real Estate

Transcription

1 Widermere Real Estate Settig the Stadard Somethig you may ot kow is that Widermere takes its stadard of service to its cliets very seriously. As members of the Natioal Associatio of REALTORS, we agree to abide by a strict code of ethics that is based i professioalism ad cosumer protectio. To further reiforce our commitmet to our cliets, Widermere has built upo the REALTOR Code of Ethics by establishig what we call our Widermere Stadards of Practice. Withi these Stadards of Practice is a outlie of how we believe our cliets deserve ad expect to be treated. It is iteded to provide total trasparecy about how we do busiess, while lettig our cliets kow that Widermere agets hold themselves to a eve higher level of competece ad accoutability. Our commitmet to these stadards is part of what sets Widermere apart ad stregthes our resolve. They draw a clear picture of our culture ad what our cliets, colleagues, ad commuity ca expect from us. I tur, we trust this traslates ito a more satisfyig real estate experiece ad peace-of-mid for our cliets, kowig that doig right by them is our highest priority. If you would like a copy of our Stadards of Practice, I would be happy to provide oe to you. WORC 02/13 #509

2 Stadards of Practice The Widermere Real Estate Stadards of Practice embody the compay s commitmet to the highest stadard of service to cliets ad to respectful relatioships with all agets. Widermere expects you to set persoal busiess stadards that project the highest level of professioalism. I. Cliet ad busiess relatioships are the foudatio of our busiess ad success. A. Cliet iterests always come before self-iterest. B. Uderstad ad observe all duties, obligatios ad limitatios i your busiess relatioships. C. Keep i touch regularly ad expeditiously. D Educate your cliet about agecy law ad how our busiess works. Get agreemets i writig whe required ad/or possible. I the absece of a writte agecy agreemet, the cliet s choice of aget will be respected. The cliet should have the freedom to choose. E. Ask direct questios about possible relatioships with aother aget. It is i everyoe s iterest to actively ecourage ad support cliet loyalty to a aget. F. Respect legitimate requests by cliets for termiatio of a workig relatioship, whether or ot a writte agreemet exists. Termiatio should be i writig. II. Aget relatioships are the foudatio of a successful trasactio. Respect your colleagues. A. Hoesty is owed to all parties, ad timely delivery of iformatio is importat, especially writte/cotractual paperwork. Observe the duties, obligatios ad limitatios of the cliet i your iteractio with other agets. B. Respect all cotractual relatioships listig, purchase ad sale, ad buyer aget agreemets ad do ot iterfere with them directly or idirectly. Follow MLS rules ad NAR Code of Ethics (articles 15 & 16). C. Wheever possible make presetatios face-to-face with other agets ad/or their cliets. Review Widermere Guidelies for Presetatio. III. Commuicate whe mistakes ad misuderstadigs occur. A. Recogize that there are differet commuicatio styles ad that all experieces have more tha oe viewpoit. Talk to the other aget ivolved as soo as possible, pipoit the facts ad issues, ad work toward a viable solutio. If you make a mistake, try to rectify it. B. Seek assistace from maagemet whe ecessary, ad discuss the dispute ad details of the trasactio oly with those directly ivolved. C. Oly ivolve the cliet whe ecessary. Always remember cliet cofidetiality. (cotiued) WORC 12/13 #101-1

3 Stadards of Practice IV. Recogize the limits of your ow kowledge ad expertise. Always ask yourself: What is best for the cliet? ad act accordigly. Follow the Widermere Guidelies for Expertise. V. Keep yourself fully iformed o real estate issues ad chages, such as licese law, legal ad local issues, fiace, curret treds, MLS rules ad regulatios, ad the curret NAR Code of Ethics. VI. Respect ad follow fair housig laws, ad provide equal professioal service regardless of race, color, religio, sex or sexual orietatio, familial status, disability, atioal origi, ad other legally protected classes. All advertisig ad marketig materials should be o-discrimiatory. VII. Respect all Widermere marketig materials, logo ad sig stadards, ad follow all guidelies for persoal websites. Recogize that social etworkig is public i ature. Be midful whe usig these sites for busiess purposes. Review Widermere Real Estate Social Media Guidelies. Cosistet Widermere bradig differetiates us from all other compaies ad reiforces our reputatio for uparalleled service. IIX. Actively ecourage full compliace with the spirit of Widermere Guidelies for (1) Stadards of Practice, (2) Presetatio, (3) Expertise, ad (4) Multiple Offers. A. Lead by example, ad follow the Golde Rule. B. Take resposibility for your ow actios. C. Ivolve the brach maager, ad cooperate i a respectful maer whe violatios of the Widermere Guidelies are alleged. D. Whe cocrete evidece suggests wrogdoig without remorse, apology or restitutio, use the Widermere Grievace Procedures i a timely maer. I edorse ad agree to abide by the licese laws i the states i which I hold a active licese, the NAR Code of Ethics, these Stadards of Practice ad Widermere s coflict resolutio procedures. Aget Date Maager Date WORC 12/13 #101-2

4 Widermere Maager Stadards of Practice The Widermere Way is characterized by itegrity, professioalism ad commuity ivolvemet. Owers ad maagers uphold Widermere s visio ad all the Stadards of Practice guidelies, which eable Widermere to create ad maitai its positio ad reputatio. Maagers ad owers: I. Actively work to esure through ogoig educatio ad supervisio that all agets, maagers ad owers coduct busiess accordig to Widermere Stadards of Practice (attached), ad to other guidelies published from time to time such as the Widermere Guidelies for Expertise, Widermere Guidelies for Presetatio ad Widermere Guidelies for Multiple Offers. II. Actively work to esure that all advertisig ad marketig materials sigs, prit materials, websites, coform to Widermere stadards ad to licesig laws, ad to state ad local ordiaces ad regulatios. III. It is the maager s obligatio ad resposibility to use due diligece i hirig agets who characterize the Widermere Way. It is also the maager s obligatio to termiate agets whose busiess practices are cotrary to Widermere s Stadards of Practice. IV. Cliet complaits/dispute resolutio: I the ormal course of busiess, disputes ad misuderstadigs occur. I disputes or complaits ivolvig the public, good clear commuicatio is critical. Protocol for dealig with these is to: A. Always respod promptly. B. Be empathetic but avoid emotioal ivolvemet. C. Make a commitmet to ivestigate. D. Talk to all parties before respodig or takig sides. E. Liste carefully ad take otes. F. Get back to the complaiat quickly. V. I aget disputes, the maager should be a mediator, ot a advocate. Obtai as much iformatio as possible from both sides before reachig coclusios or makig judgmets. A. The maager s duty is to respod as quickly as possible to ay cotact, call or regardig a problem betwee agets or offices. B. If the dispute is betwee agets, verify that the agets have talked to each other. C. Coversatios should be aget-to-aget ad maager-to-maager util a meetig of all parties is called for. Whe callig the other maager, let them kow if your aget is with you ad, whe appropriate, have a private coversatio with the maager. D. Cotact the other maager for assistace i obtaiig iformatio ad dispute resolutio. Wheever possible, maagers should avoid iitiatig discussios directly with a aget i aother office. E. Whe a dispute betwee Widermere agets caot be resolved with the maagers ad agets aloe, use Widermere s grievace ad arbitratio process. (cotiued) WORC 12/13 #102-1

5 Widermere Maager Stadards of Practice VI. Recogize that Widermere agets have the right to ivestigate other Widermere offices ad to chage offices. Maagers must refrai from recruitig agets from other Widermere offices. A. Whe cotacted by a aget from aother Widermere office, a maager may freely provide full iformatio about his/her office. B. Beyod providig iformatio, a maager should ot actively pursue a aget from aother Widermere office that has cotacted him or her. C. Recogizig that all situatios are differet, it is recommeded that whe the maager deems the time appropriate, he/she eeds to check refereces ad cotact the other maager, always with the aget s permissio. D. Whe a aget is thikig of movig to aother office, the maager of the aget s curret office should ot resort to egative couter-recruitig. E. Never offer fiacial or other iducemets either to attract a aget from aother Widermere office or to discourage a aget from movig to aother Widermere office. The expectatio is that there will be commuicatio betwee maagers before the move is made. Maagers have discretio to determie at what poit before the move this occurs. WORC 12/13 #102-2

6 Aget Represetative Duties Stadards of Practice The Widermere Stadards of Practice guidelies were created with the iput ad participatio of Widermere agets, maagers ad owers. They have bee reviewed ad updated over the years ad serve as a guide i day-to-day dealigs with buyers, sellers ad Widermere associates, as well as with agets from other compaies. Each office desigates a aget who will represet the office whe the guidelies are periodically reviewed. The represetative is also someoe who will keep the Stadards of Practice alive ad well i their office. The aget actig as the Stadards of Practice represetative: Sets stadards for cooperatio ad trust, thereby becomig a positive role model for other agets. Plays the role of spokesperso for the office becomig the liaiso betwee the office ad the committee members. Acts as a soudig board for agets whe cocers arise regardig offices or agets followig the priciples outlied while retaiig cofidetiality. Agrees to a two-year teure ad atteds meetigs with a group of represetatives from their geographic area. Gives iput i the evet that the Stadards of Practice guidelies require review. Occasioally may be called upo to voluteer as part of a Stadards of Practice grievace pael. WORC 12/13 #103

7 Widermere Guidelies for Presetatio As Widermere agets, our primary cocer is the cliets best iterest. The followig guidelies are iteded to clarify ad improve the presetatio process with our cliets ad that of the aget represetig the other party. I. Geeral guidelies for workig with cliet: Persoal presetatios are a priority. A. Uderstad the importat issues ad cocers of the cliet ad create realistic expectatios by educatig them i the process. B. Uderstad the duties to the cliet uder Law of Agecy ad respect cliet cofidetiality issues. C. As the advocate for the cliet, seller or buyer, ecourage face-to-face presetatio wheever possible. Most commuicatio is o-verbal ad body laguage ca reveal importat iformatio that does ot show itself i the words of a cotract. This also provides a opportuity to furish importat supportig details ad priorities of the parties. Negotiatios ca take place i a shorter amout of time whe there is a opportuity to ask questios durig the presetatio process. D. If a face-to-face presetatio to cliets is ot possible (out-of-the-area cliets, builders, baks, etc.) prepare a writte statemet to accompay the documets beig egotiated. E. Cosider a prelistig ispectio as a good offese for the seller i certai situatios (estate sales, retal property, deferred maiteace). This may set the stage for realistic offers from the buyer ad ot force the seller to egotiate a ispectio with short timelies. F. Prepare for the presetatio. Thik about the terms ad coditios from the cliet s poit of view, as well as the other party s poit of view, ad the beefits to each. G. Presetatio to the cliet ad the other aget takes place throughout the sale process. Iform ad remid the cliet of their obligatios ad deadlies as outlied i the Purchase ad Sale Agreemet. Follow up o substative coversatios by usig a phoe log for risk reductio ad/or for clarificatio/cofirmatio. H. Cosider the value to the buyer or seller cliet of face-to-face presetatio i egotiatig the ispectio. Get bids for ay work beig egotiated. I. Documet the file, with otes ad iformatio, to reduce misuderstadigs ad risk. (cotiued) WORC 12/13 #104-1

8 Widermere Guidelies for Presetatio II. Geeral guidelies for workig with agets: A. Itroduce yourself with a brief descriptio of experiece, if appropriate, ad ask for the opportuity to preset face-to-face so as to fully represet the cliet (whether buyer or seller). B. Disclose ay restrictios/limitatios of the parties (i.e., preset all offers to listig aget). C. Follow all MLS rules ad regulatios regardig the presetatio of offers/egotiatios (i.e., work through the other party s aget; do ot cotact aother aget s cliet directly). D. Provide all relevat forms ad iformatio as attached docs. Make sure the Form 17 is complete, icludig ay explaatios ad attachmets as required. E. Prepare all paperwork i a legible maer. F. Be prepared to educate the other aget o the terms ad beefits/cosequeces of the offer/couteroffer or ispectio egotiatios by cosiderig the other s poit of view ad possible cocers. The goal is a wi/wi outcome. G. Commuicate i a timely fashio ad i the appropriate maer (phoe, fax, ) at all the steps alog the way. H. Residetial real estate is a emotioal experiece for the cliets. Remai calm; take time to develop optios/solutios to problems before meetig with the cliet ad/or aget. Do ot make the process a persoal oe. Respect the other aget. WORC 12/13 #104-2

9 Widermere Guidelies for Expertise Real Estate is a complicated process that requires expertise to serve our cliets best iterests. Agets eed to assess their cliets objectives ad ask themselves what the best solutio is to achieve those objectives. Agets must recogize that some types of trasactios are uique ad require specialized skill sets ot commoly possessed by most agets. Potetial solutios iclude referrig cliets to other agets or collaboratig with aother aget. These Expertise guidelies are iteded to guide agets i situatios such as those described below. The cliet s objectives ad level of kowledge ad experiece are key to determiig if the aget ca serve their best iterests. Below are the most commo types of trasactios i which agets eed to ask themselves whether they have the expertise to esure a succesful outcome. Geography: Cliets may request us to work outside of our ormal geographical areas. Sice local kowledge ca be so critical to a successful trasactio, agets eed to assess these requests carefully. Distressed properties icludig but ot limited to short sales ad REOs: Regulatios ad complexities of dealig with such properties chage costatly. A aget s ability to best represet our cliets ca be challegig without proper kowledge ad uderstadig of the process. Leasig: Ladlord/teat laws are complex ad detailed, makig it difficult to guide some ladlords or teats. Widermere Property Maagemet ca be a good resource where available. Commercial: Cotracts, egotiatios, ad protocol may be very differet tha traditioal residetial trasactios. Lad: Lad trasactios ivolve varied ad complex issues that exted beyod the typical residetial trasactio. Ivestmet: Successful ivestmet trasactios may require examiig may additioal variables. Uderstadig the cliet s objectives ad kowledge is critical to determie if the aget ca best serve them. Other areas of cosideratio: Waterfrot properties, busiess opportuities, house boats, maufactured ad mobile homes, time shares, fractioal owership, trusts ad estates, to ame just a few. Wheever a aget doubts their ability to best serve their cliet, they should discuss it with their brach maager or ower. To sigificatly reduce risks ad icrease the likelihood of a successful outcome to a trasactio, refer the cliet to a expert or cosult a specialist to assist you i the process. (cotiued) WORC 12/13 #105-1

10 Widermere Guidelies for Expertise Agets may determie they eed to ivolve aother aget to achieve the cliet s goals ad eeds. If so, they should cosider the followig optios: Cooperative relatioship: Whe workig outside of your give expertise, you should expect to pay for guidace, support ad assistace. It may be i the form of a co-listig, referral fee or a hourly fee. Ay of these situatios should be clearly outlied i writig to defie the split of work, expeses, ad commissio betwee the two agets. Good commuicatio betwee the cliet ad both agets is key to makig this relatioship work. Referral: Widermere has always allowed agets to place referrals with other agets directly. I these cases it s importat that the aget stay i touch with the cliet ad referred aget throughout the process/trasactio to esure the cliet receives the level of service they expect ad deserve. Referral fees should also be agreed upo upfrot ad i writig. Widermere agets ca also have their referrals serviced by Widermere Relocatio ad Referral Services, who will take care of the follow-through for them either withi the Widermere etwork or most aywhere else i the world. Extedig goodwill is a prerequisite to successful busiess relatioships. I the evet you eed to work out of your area of expertise with a buyer or seller without the guidace of a prove professioal: Do: Cotact your maager or ower for ay advice ad guidace. Coduct the most thorough research possible prior to providig ay services to your cliets. Disclose your limited experiece ad expertise to your cliets. Be aware of the techical differeces that require specialized kowledge ad experiece. I additio, be aware of differet MLS rules ad regulatios, local customs/ordiaces, ad legal hazards. The further away from your customary practices, the more at risk you are of ot servig your cliet s best iterest. It is the Widermere Way to give your cliet the opportuity to decide what optio is best for them. WORC 12/13 #105-2

11 Widermere Guidelies for Multiple Offers* Multiple offers are a challege to both agets ad their cliets. The best way to prevet the problems ofte associated with multiple offers is for all agets ivolved to uderstad their resposibilities for maagig the situatio ad to have them commuicate with all parties i a ethical ad timely fashio. I. Both agets: II. A. Educate your cliets o the realities of the curret market. B. Advise your cliet that the order i which offers are received does ot ihibit the seller from choosig the offer they prefer. C. Multiple offers are a respose to a market coditio or a particular property. D. Agets ad buyers caot cotrol the seller s respose. E. Buyers eed to provide the best offer they are willig ad able to make, iitially, uderstadig they might ot get aother opportuity. Listig agets: The listig aget bears the primary resposibility for maagig a multiple offer situatio. A. Always adhere to all MLS rules (for example, iput restrictios or abormal showig restrictios) ad state laws regardig the presetatio of offers. (Refer also to Guidelies for Presetatio.) B. It is geerally i the seller s best iterest to have buyers agets preset all offers directly to the seller ad their listig aget. This esures that each offer is preseted accurately ad fairly. 1) Listig aget to seller relatioship: a. Cousel sellers about possible scearios that come up i multiple offers situatios b. Discuss a game pla ahead of time with your seller. c. Establish the date ad time whe potetial offers will be reviewed. Avoid presetatios earlier tha iitially stated date. d. Make a pla for dealig with escalators ad caps. (Refer to Multiple Offer Compariso Sheet) e. Discuss how a offer from the listig aget is to be maaged. f. Make every effort to stick to the pla, but remember that your duty is to act i the seller s best iterest at all times. * State laws ad MLS rules regardig the presetatio of offers vary from state to state. Make sure you are familiar with state laws ad MLS rules that will impact your duties uder these guidelies. (cotiued) WORC 12/13 #106-1

12 Widermere Guidelies for Multiple Offers 2) Listig aget to buyer aget relatioship: a. If there are set parameters for receivig ad reviewig offers (i.e., whe, where, etc.), iclude them i the aget remarks. b. Iform all agets of the pla. Provide the same iformatio regardig the Purchase & Sale Agreemet review process to all iterested parties. c. Commuicate to agets if the review process chages (e.g., time or day). d. If a buyer s aget has prepared a offer i the belief that oe or more other offers have bee prepared, but i fact all other expected offers do ot materialize, the listig aget must iform the buyer s aget of this fact before the presetatio. Iducig a buyer to pay a higher price by misrepresetig the actual situatio violates the seller s aget s duty, To deal hoestly ad i good faith. e. While some listig agets disclose details of a offer to aother party, doig so ofte geerates ill will ad is strogly discouraged. All optios should be discussed with the seller prior to disclosig ay details. Always iform sellig agets of the status of uaccepted offers as soo as possible. 3) Listig aget also represetig a buyer: a. Wheever you have multiple offers that iclude oe writte by you (as listig aget), disclose this to other agets presetig offers. Whe represetig a seller, always ivolve your maager i the review process whe multiple offers iclude oe prepared by you. b. I a multiple offer situatio where the listig aget has also writte a offer, if the other proposals are faxed to the office, they should be faxed to the brach maager, ot to the listig aget. Accept the fact that a listig aget is sometimes asked to preset a offer of their ow after they have received a copy of other offers. I such a evet, it is essetial that the listig aget s brach maager be preset at presetatio ad that the sellig agets be allowed to preset their ow offers if at all possible. (cotiued) WORC 12/13 #106-2

13 Widermere Guidelies for Multiple Offers III. Sellig agets: A. Call the listig aget to ask what matters most to the seller. B. Educate buyers o the pros ad cos of all steps that ca stregthe or weake a offer, such as addig or removig cotigecies. C. Educate buyers regardig possible outcomes of their offer. Prepare the buyer for possibly acceptig a backup positio ad explai both pros ad cos. D. Carefully cosider the rules for presetatio set by the seller, yet keep i mid that your duty is to act i the buyer s best iterest. E. Cofirm that there are still multiple offers before your presetatio. WORC 12/13 #106-3

14 MLS# 2012 Widermere Services Compay. All rights reserved. MULTIPLE OFFER COMPARISON Property Address Aget Name & Phoe # Buyer Name Purchase Price Earest Moies Closig Date/ Possessio Title Ispectio Terms Fiacig Terms Cotiget Escalatio Terms Misc Notes/Coditios

15 What buyers ad sellers eed to kow about Fair Housig Our goals ad objectives All of us at Widermere Real Estate are committed to the priciples of Fair Housig practices for all. Fair Housig is a matter of dealig equally with all people as well as a matter of federal, state, ad local laws. Fair Housig ivolves everyoe, ad we have to cout o your beig our parters i that effort as we work to fid you a home, or sell your home. We are experts i homes. It is our resposibility to provide you with the iformatio you eed to make a wise decisio for yourself. Our task is to do our best to locate a home with the characteristics, locatio, ad price you wat, or to fid a buyer that ca satisfy your eeds as a seller. It is also our task to provide you with eough iformatio about curret market coditios, icludig the sale prices of properties that have recetly sold, to eable you to determie itelligetly the price you are willig to pay or receive for a specific property. You may wish to have available other kids of iformatio. May buyers ask questios about the people who live i a eighborhood: What kids of people live here? Are there may childre i the eighborhood? Are there ay registered sex offeders earby? Is there much crime here? Are there ay especially oisy eighbors? Sellers may ask similar questios: What kid of people make good prospective buyers? Who will fit well i this eighborhood? Do umarried couples make good buyers? Such questios are outside the scope of our professioal practice. Some of them raise Fair Housig issues, ad all of them seek subjective judgmets rather tha objective iformatio. Such questios are importat to buyers ad sellers, but you ought to be aware of the laws that restrict the rights of buyers ad sellers to make decisios based o such iquiries. The law Federal law prohibits discrimiatio i a real estate trasactio based o race, color, religio, familial status, sex, hadicap, ad/or atioal origi. I additio to the federal prohibitios, Washigto law prohibits discrimiatio based o creed, marital status, sesory/physical/metal disability, use of a service aimal (e.g., a seeigeye dog), sexual orietatio, ad hoorably discharged vetera or military status. Some local laws go eve further to prohibit discrimiatio based o age, acestry, geder idetity, political ideology, ad participatio i Sectio 8 programs (for low-icome families). For buyers, there is a way to make your ow private decisio about whether a eighborhood ad its surroudigs are right for you. Most stadard purchase forms used throughout our etwork allow you to iclude a cotigecy for a Neighborhood Review period. This gives you time to coduct your ow exploratio of the eighborhood for aswers to the questios that are importat to you. Ask your aget what optios exist i your area for this kid of cotigecy. (cotiued) WORC 12/13 SEA #100-1

16 What buyers ad sellers eed to kow about Fair Housig Sellers should be aware of the laws that prohibit choosig a buyer based o legally protected class status. Geerally speakig, if a seller receives a boa fide offer o a property, the seller caot refuse to sell to, or eve refuse to egotiate with, the prospective buyer based o the abovemetioed prohibited criteria. Sellers may ot falsely represet that the home is o loger for sale, or ca they advertise the home with a idicatio of preferece or limitatio o what type of people may purchase it. Real estate agets may ot egage i ay such practices either. I fact, agets are prohibited from steerig prospective buyers to specific eighborhoods based o the above-metioed criteria. Agets who perform prohibited discrimiatory practices o behalf of their pricipals subject both themselves ad their pricipals to liability. A victim of discrimiatio may pursue a civil lawsuit or a admiistrative claim. The victim may seek a temporary restraiig order, permaet ijuctio, actual damages, puitive damages, ad attorey s fees. Further resources There are may resources available at the Seattle Public Library, such as cesus figures that provide a wide rage of statistical iformatio about the people i the eighborhood. The local police precict statio ca provide data about crime, ad Seattle Public Schools ca provide iformatio as well. Much iformatio is also available o the Iteret. Some sites you might fid useful are: Schools, public ad private: reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us Seattle public schools: Police, curret statistics: Police, aual reports: Bus service: metro.kigcouty.gov Cesus data: populatiodemographics Registered sex offeders: WORC 12/13 SEA #100-2

17 What buyers ad sellers eed to kow about Fair Housig Our goals ad objectives All of us at Widermere Real Estate are committed to the priciples of Fair Housig practices for all. Fair Housig is a matter of dealig equally with all people as well as a matter of federal, state ad local laws. Fair Housig ivolves everyoe, ad we have to cout o your beig our parter i that effort as we work to fid you a home or sell your home. We are experts i homes. It is our resposibility to provide you with the iformatio you eed to make a wise decisio for yourself. Our task is to do our best to locate a home with the characteristics, locatio ad price you wat, or to fid a buyer who ca satisfy your eeds as a seller. It is also our task to provide you with eough iformatio about curret market coditios, icludig the sale prices of properties that have recetly sold, to eable you to itelligetly determie the price you are willig to pay or receive for a specific property. You may wish to have available other kids of iformatio. May buyers ask questios about the people who live i a eighborhood: What kids of people live here? Are there may childre i the eighborhood? Are there ay registered sex offeders earby? Is there much crime here? Are there ay especially oisy eighbors? Sellers may ask similar questios: What kid of people make good prospective buyers? Who will fit well i this eighborhood? Do umarried couples make good buyers? Such questios are outside the scope of our professioal practice. Some of them raise Fair Housig issues, ad all of them seek subjective judgmets rather tha objective iformatio. Such questios are importat to buyers ad sellers, but you ought to be aware of the laws that restrict the rights of buyers ad sellers to make decisios based o such iquiries. The law Federal law prohibits discrimiatio i a real estate trasactio based o race, color, religio, familial status, sex, hadicap ad/or atioal origi. I additio to the federal prohibitios, Washigto law prohibits discrimiatio based o creed, marital status, sesory/physical/metal disability, use of a service aimal (e.g., a seeigeye dog), sexual orietatio, ad hoorably discharged vetera or military status. Some local laws go eve further to prohibit discrimiatio based o age, acestry, geder idetity, political ideology, ad participatio i Sectio 8 programs (for low-icome families). For buyers, there is a way to make your ow private decisio about whether a eighborhood ad its surroudigs are right for you. Most stadard purchase forms used throughout our etwork allow you to iclude a cotigecy for a Neighborhood Review period. This gives you time to coduct your ow exploratio of the eighborhood for aswers to the questios that are importat to you. Ask your aget what optios exist i your area for this kid of cotigecy. (cotiued) WORC 12/13 GEN #100-2

18 What buyers ad sellers eed to kow about Fair Housig Sellers should be aware of the laws that prohibit choosig a buyer based o legally protected class status. Geerally speakig, if a seller receives a boa fide offer o a property, the seller caot refuse to sell to, or eve refuse to egotiate with, the prospective buyer based o the abovemetioed prohibited criteria. Sellers may ot falsely represet that the home is o loger for sale, or ca they advertise the home with a idicatio of preferece or limitatio o what type of people may purchase it. Real estate agets may ot egage i ay such practices, either. I fact, agets are prohibited from steerig prospective buyers to specific eighborhoods based o the above-metioed criteria. Agets who perform prohibited discrimiatory practices o behalf of their pricipals subject both themselves ad their pricipals to liability. A victim of discrimiatio may pursue a civil lawsuit or a admiistrative claim. The victim may seek a temporary restraiig order, permaet ijuctio, actual damages, puitive damages ad attorey s fees. Further resources There are may resources available at the public library, such as cesus figures that provide a wide rage of statistical iformatio about the people i the eighborhood. The local police precict statio ca provide data about crime, ad public school districts ca provide iformatio as well. Much iformatio is also available o the Iteret. WORC 12/13 GEN #100-2