Tag: Fair Housing
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When Some Buyers Are More Equal Than Others: Will the U.S. Government “Reboot Redlining”?
Not long ago, New Jersey-based OceanFirst Bank agreed to pay more than $15 million in a settlement with the federal government. This was to resolve the government’s allegations that, for several years, beginning in 2018, the bank violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Fair Housing Act. The problem involved an alleged pattern of ignoring…
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Racially Restrictive Covenants: Island County, WA Recommends New Resolution
Leaders in Island County, in Washington State, hope to adopt a resolution for atonement. The resolution will officially apologize to those people and households kept out of the county by race-based deed restrictions. A deed restriction that “runs with the land” stays on the property if the deed changes hands. Once a home was marked…
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Will NAR’s Speech Code Be Shot Down in Texas?
Recently, a notable opinion column ran in Real Estate News. Ryan Weyandt, a real estate consultant, wrote: “There’s no place for hate speech in real estate.” That’s also the view of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), which in 2020 etched this position into its formal Code of Ethics, binding NAR’s agents. Why is this…
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A Minnesota First: Twin Cities Suburb Requires Removal of Race-Based Deed Restrictions
Mounds View, Minnesota is making history with its new ordinance requiring home sellers to remove race-based deed restrictions before selling. Mounds View adopted its new ordinance on July 23, 2024. It’s official. Mounds View, a Minneapolis – St. Paul suburb, will now require the removal of racially restrictive covenants from deeds. Racial covenants (a.k.a. race-based…
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Washington State’s Path to Fair Housing: The 2024 Recording Fee Increase and Covenant Homeownership Program
Beginning January 1, 2024, Washington State implemented a substantial revision to its recording fees, significantly affecting the real estate sector. This modification entailed a $100 increase in the recording fee for each document, aligning with the Covenant Homeownership Program assessment as outlined in RCW 36.22.185. This hike is applicable to a broad array of documents,…
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KeyBank Talks Fair Housing—Putting Its Money Where Its Mouth Is
KeyBank® is putting $400,000 into NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania. Why? To make housing accessible to Black communities — as they have been disproportionately left out of homeownership. Sure, $400,000 is a modest sum these days. But it’s part of a bigger picture. In recent years, KeyBank has contributed close to half a billion dollars to Greater…
