| Posted By |
Message |
mommy2Two
LIF Infant
Member since 3/07 218 total posts
Name:
|
Racist Homeowner
Not that I want to but curious...
Can you take action against a homeowner who was selling their house through a real estate company and they refuse to sell to you b/c of your race? even if the real estate company has nothing to do with it?
b/c here's what happened to me:
Awhile ago whn my dh and i were looking for homes this lady refused our offer. We upped it until we just let it go. We were in a bidding war with someone else. That person bid higher but she refused to sell to him after she found out he wasn't white. He bid $1K higher than us. (sounds like nothing but we had a number in mind) she didn't accept our offer later we found out from our real estate lady that it wasn't the price but b/c of what i am. and the lady was taking her time thinking about the offer b/c i'm not white but my husband is. that's why she jumped on the other offer thinking the guy was. anyhow, my dh and i were talking recently and asked me how much did the lady accept an offer for. i looked it up just now and it is 18K less than the guy who bid against us, 17K less what we offered. i also want to add the other guy offered cash and we were mortgage in case that made a difference. it is clearly a racial thing.
it just baffling to me. i know if i was selling my house i wouldn't care who bought it. wouldn't it be about the money? i mean, yeah you might still be friendly with your neighbors and want the new owners to be good people but how would you even know the new owners would be nice people. so yes, it would and should be about the money when selling.
|
Posted 8/5/07 10:43 PM  |
| |
|
Long Island Weddings
Long Island's Largest Bridal Resource | Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate |
SummerMom
Now a mom of 2!
Member since 6/07 4970 total posts
Name:
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
I don't know about suing, but... wow. Just, wow. I can't believe that this kind of thing really happens. I would guess that selling the home is the homeowner's perrogative and she can sell to whomever she wants for whatever reason she wants (like, if her nephew offered her $20K less than anyone, but he was her nephew, she could take the offer and the other bidders couldn't sue for nepotism).
Just remember that for every racist as*hole out there, you'll have 20 LIF'ers here giving you "huggies".
Message edited 8/5/2007 10:54:21 PM.
|
| Posted 8/5/07 10:53 PM |
| |
|
|
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
First of all, I'm so sorry you went through that. While it's really 1970's of that owner to do that, I'm certain that idiot isn't alone...
I bet it may be illegal.... It definitely is true for realtors who do that, but I bet it's also true for homeowners....
oh lawyers, I know you're on this site too! I'm dying to know if that was illegal....
|
| Posted 8/5/07 11:03 PM |
| |
|
waterspout4
My loves
Member since 5/06 19150 total posts
Name:
Kelly
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
That really stinks. I'm sorry that you have to deal with that. Some people are just sick.
|
| Posted 8/5/07 11:34 PM |
| |
|
Earl
LIF Zygote
Member since 2/07 7 total posts
Name:
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
At least you get the satisfaction of knowing her foolishness cost her 18 thousand dollars !!!
|
| Posted 8/6/07 12:28 AM |
| |
|
Gertyrae
Peace out Homies!
Member since 5/05 20046 total posts
Name:
Gerty ®
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
I would think that you would have to be able to prove it. While you may think it's true - maybe she ended up sellng the house for less cuz she had no more offers for a long time.
I'm not saying that what you said isn't true - I'm just saying that to sue her you would have to find just cause, and she could give other reasons for selling the house for less.
BTW, it's widely known that even realtors still discriminate. There was a TV spot recently about a woman who called from SC looking to buy a place in Brooklyn. When she called the realtor he gave her a bunch of different listing to look at online, when she came up to look and he saw she was black he took her to a whole different area and when she asked about the listings he sent her he told her she wouldn't be interested in them.
|
| Posted 8/6/07 7:31 AM |
| |
|
Tah-wee-ZAH
Kisses
Member since 5/05 15952 total posts
Name:
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
Like many of the other posters said, it does still happen but believe it or not it can be hard to prove.
One thing that you said that MAY have made a difference here is that the other buyer's price was lower but he was willing to pay CASH. First time mortgages, heck mortgages in general, are getting more and more difficult to get. We have one friend who had trouble selling her house because 13 offers fell through due to the inability of the buyer to get a mortgage  It really was a crazy situation for her, as she has 3 kids, was opening her own practice and was buying another house. And she is in an upper middle class area.
If I was selling today and received a cash offer that was slightly less, and depending upon the price of the house, 18K may be as little as 3%, I would take it over another seller who is applying for a mortgage.
I hope this is the real reason why the seller chose the other offer and it wasn't racial discrimination.
|
| Posted 8/6/07 7:39 AM |
| |
|
njbound07
LIF Adolescent
Member since 4/07 799 total posts
Name:
pimpette
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
Posted by Gertyrae
I would think that you would have to be able to prove it. While you may think it's true - maybe she ended up sellng the house for less cuz she had no more offers for a long time.
I'm not saying that what you said isn't true - I'm just saying that to sue her you would have to find just cause, and she could give other reasons for selling the house for less.
BTW, it's widely known that even realtors still discriminate. There was a TV spot recently about a woman who called from SC looking to buy a place in Brooklyn. When she called the realtor he gave her a bunch of different listing to look at online, when she came up to look and he saw she was black he took her to a whole different area and when she asked about the listings he sent her he told her she wouldn't be interested in them.
this happened to us recently. after he took us to look at the homes in shady areas.. we never heard from him again. mind you, prior to meeting us face to face.. this realtor called & e-mailed us listings everyday. I guess he thought that we didn't have money?
|
| Posted 8/6/07 8:04 AM |
| |
|
lilacwine
only love...
Member since 5/05 2034 total posts
Name:
<3
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
Posted by mommy2Two
i also want to add the other guy offered cash and we were mortgage in case that made a difference.
That makes all the difference -- especially today with mortgage companies going under and lenders needing to take fewer risks. Someone posted on here just last week that her closing was cancelled at the last minute because of mortgage-related issues.
A cash buyer is a safer bet for the sellers. The only color that matters is GREEN.
ETA: You also don't know what happened between the time the seller accepted the other person's offer and the closing to change the price from the offer to the actual sales price. If the inspection identified some major issues, the cash buyer could have negotiated the price down further.
Message edited 8/6/2007 9:00:36 AM.
|
| Posted 8/6/07 8:56 AM |
| |
|
Eleanor
LIF Adult
Member since 2/06 2223 total posts
Name:
Ellie
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
Posted by Earl
At least you get the satisfaction of knowing her foolishness cost her 18 thousand dollars !!!
I hope you can find a bit of satisfaction. I think the law is for realtors and owners can sell to anyone they want.
When we sold our last house we took the bid that was $1K less than another, because the people were a lot nicer (the other guy had lowballed us in a heated market and finally came up). Nothing to do with race (both bidders were the same race as we were), but just to show that you can sell to whomever you want. I'm sure that doesn't make it better for those of you who have dealt with racism.
|
| Posted 8/6/07 9:05 AM |
| |
|
kerrycec03
Mom of 2 beautiful boys!!
Member since 6/06 13519 total posts
Name:
Kerry
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
I'm so sorry this happened, but its def. hard to prove. I think its really up to the homeowners who & what they want to sell for. Now if the REA did something like that, then that is grounds for legal actions.
Homeowners can sell to whoever they want to. Its not just a race thing, I read a story about an older women who wouldn't sell her home to a non-traditional family (ie mom, dad, kids). She wouldn't sell to a single mother, gay, black, etc. I'm not saying its right, but its def. not something you could take legal action for.
Its just like Pretty Women when the dress shop wouldn't sell to her because of what she looked like, she couldn't turn around a sue.
|
| Posted 8/6/07 10:09 AM |
| |
|
|
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
Posted by mommy2Two
i also want to add the other guy offered cash and we were mortgage in case that made a difference.
This happens all the time, when buyers hear CASH they immediately think less problems and a smoother transaction.
Just 2 weeks ago my SIL lost a house due to another buyer coming along and offering cash. The other party bid the same price. They refunded her inspection costs, and parted ways.
Then a week later she bid on a house that already had an offer and the sellers got rid of the first one and took hers because "they liked their financials" better.
There is no chance race was a factor in either of these scenarios.
|
| Posted 8/6/07 10:48 AM |
| |
|
Maathy317
Grammie's Little Man
Member since 2/06 3235 total posts
Name:
D
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
While this may not be actionable in a court of law, I would, definitely, give the State a heads up. Even if you can't prove it, you have enough to go on to have them look into it. It is COMPLETELY illegal not to sell your house to someone based on race.
Some time ago, the sister of a friend of ours did the same thing. She refused to sell to a black family. The next thing she knew, the State was knocking on her door. She was slapped with a fine and was told that she could be jailed.
Most sellers who do this try to use different excuses, but, if it is shown that any and all black families, or any families of different races, were turned down, that shows a pattern. This woman should be reported.
|
| Posted 8/6/07 10:49 AM |
| |
|
SweetTooth
I'm a tired mommy!
Member since 12/05 20105 total posts
Name:
Lauren
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
If the realtor knew the homeowner was doing this he/she can be brought against the board of ethics. He/She should have refused to take the listing.
How did the homeowner know the color of the people making the offers? Did she ever meet you or the other offerer?
|
| Posted 8/6/07 11:09 AM |
| |
|
cjik
Welcome 2010!
Member since 2/06 8879 total posts
Name:
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
This is sticky--it's kind of hard to prove this is the issue at times, eventhough I'm sure it probably is the issue.
I don't understand this way of thinking at all personally. When selling, I am concerned that the buyers are financially sound. My only other concern would be that they seem like fairly nice people, though I don't know that nice would guide my choices so strongly.
How do they know your background? Did the buyer meet you at some point? If not, the realtor has no business sharing this information with the seller IMO, though I suppose the seller may press for it.
|
| Posted 8/6/07 12:13 PM |
| |
|
TJLealand3
LIF Adolescent
Member since 6/07 839 total posts
Name:
Thomas
|
Re: Racist Homeowner
I am not a lawyer but, what I was told is; If no one reaches the asking price the seller may sell to anyone for any reason. If you meet or exceed the asking that superseeds any other offer from anyone, before contract.
Message edited 8/6/2007 2:29:43 PM.
|
| Posted 8/6/07 2:29 PM |
| |
|
