I suspect this MLS is working from an OLD and outdated list of words published by the OPA * Oregon Publishers Association and later blessed by the National Newspaper Association and which has been disavowed by HUD.
10 years ago, I attempted to place the term "single family home" in a local newspaper classified ad and it was rejected - I had to get a "clarification" from the legal rep at NNA before the local newspaper realized the list they had had been the basis for an actual HUD ruling. While NNA had done extensive outreach to members about this list and the corrective memo by HUD's Anita Achtenberg, many smaller newspapers had not gotten the message. This is a great link for an overview with a link to the actual memo.
http://www.fhcsp.com/Laws/ads.html
When advertising your listing ---- what words should you stay away from?
In a recent post on Active Rain, I noticed that the agent advertised the listing as “Walking distance to...”
It reminded me of certain rules in our MLS about certain words we should avoid.
Even Craigslist is very specific about their terms of use, their rules -- follow them or get flagged and have your post deleted, to wit:CONDUCT You agree not to post, email, or otherwise make available Content:
d) that violates the Fair Housing Act by stating, in any notice or ad for
the sale or rental of any dwelling, a discriminatory preference based on
race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap
(or violates any state or local law prohibiting discrimination on the
basis of these or other characteristics);
Our local MLS is very strict about observing these rules. It helps to have transaction coordinators and assistant to keep us straight. As such, we as agents have to be very creative when describing properties and their marketable features in our advertising materials --- on the MLS, in print, online, etc.
- Instead of saying “walking distance” say “near” or “close to” or even state measurable distance like “a hundred yards” or “quarter of a mile”
- We don’t say “family” but refer to them as “households”. For example, we can lavish praise on a home, but never refer to it as a home for a “family”
- Even “in-law” units are described as “au pair” quarters
- We don’t mention children or parents …. but we work around that by mentioning “playgrounds” or play areas
- We don’t mention school districts. Although we can mention a home is NEAR a certain school, we don’t say it’s IN that specific school district. To play safe, simply enter “Call School District”
P.S. I did what I thought was right by commenting on the poster's blog about what our own MLS rules prevent us from saying in our listings. My comment was immediately deleted by the poster. Must have been something I said. Oh well...
There must be other examples of what to avoid and how to get around them. If so, please share :)When advertising your listing ---- what words should you stay away from?
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM * GIBSON MANAGEMENT GROUP, Ltd.
Central Virginia
LandlordWhisperer
View our available Charlottesville, Albemarle and Lake Monticello rental homes online with photos and floor plans
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Thanks for the post and good reminder for our public descriptions. I think it's easyy to forget as we are writing. Probably should pin it up near our computers as a reminder!
Hi Wallace - "Child safe streets" are also one of those phrases that people need to be very careful using.
Guys * my POINT is that these "lists" are suspect as the 1995 HUD memo outlines....SINGLE FAMILY HOME is an accepted property description AND is in zoning and building regulations all over the country
Wallace,
It's enough to drive one nuts! A family can certainly be a family of one. Will family become a bad word soon? Anyways, not easy.
All the best, Michelle
Michelle - Neal Boortz * radio talking head from HotLanta * has rental property. About 5 years ago, his wife, Donna, tried to put a classified ad in a small newspaper and was turned down. Neal got on the radio and discussed it and got CALLS from someone at HUD about this very issue and gave the brief background of this MISunderstanding.
I know HOW it happened because my husband was VP of a newspaper group with Oregon newspapers which were extorted for something that was not against fair housing. I brought the situation to the attention of the San Francisco HUD office and got the ball rolling on a clarification through NNA
Wallace
Thanks for the reblog. I edited it to include
I'd rather err on the side of caution.
I'm subscribed to Pacita's blog but I didn't see this original post. I say agents doing things all the time that are in violation. Sometimes it is completely innocent, but that doesn't make it okay according to the law. -Kasey
I see these type of "incorrect" phrases all the time, as well as a complete misunderstanding of the source information as to why a given term may or may not be used.