Real estate personnel train to avoid the hint of prejudice in the practice of our trade. But what happens when you the public bring your personal prejudice to the process? Consider the following:
Personal Prejudice Revealed
A few months ago I ran into an old friend unpacking her car preparing for a baby shower. We got into a conversation about purchasing homes. She asked could I help. I asked her a simple question, “How much house can you afford?” She and her friend took that question to be sexist. Her friend insisted that only women are asked that question.
Neither would let me explain that this is a question that I ask every person that approaches me about buying a house.
Poisoned Mind
This woman had poisoned my friend with her personal prejudice. She knew nothing about buying a house. I decided to leave this alone. I don’t have time for a closed mind with an open mouth,
Answer The Question
Answering this one simple question answers many other questions in one shot.
It tells us how serious you are.
If you can answer that question it means that you have done some work in finding a house. You have a verifiable loan amount.
Our next question concerns the approval granted. Are you pre-qualified or pre-approved? One carries more weight than the other. Most people will say I was pre-approved or pre-qualified for “dollar amount”
When someone answers that question with a question or states, I’m looking for something around “dollar amount”. Translation: I know how much I want to spend. This is not the same as how much the lender will loan you.
Hard To Answer Questions
Did you get pre-qualified or pre-approved? Some new home buyers have no idea what I’m talking about. This leads to a whole new discussion.
Not sure what the difference between Pre-Qualification vs Pre-Approval aka Pre-Qual vs Pre-Approval. Read this article by Investopedia.com.
In case the link does not work cut and paste this: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/07/prequalified-approved.asp
I have found that asking, “Have you been to see a lender?” to be a worse question. I can’t tell you how many times the answer was no.
This too she saw as a sexist question.
Until now, I had never had a problem with these questions.
Am I wrong?
Pardon me if I try to find out how serious a customer is about buying a home. Let’s face it lots of people wake up one day and decide for one reason or another they want their slice of the American dream. Usually, this is without doing anything to prepare for the complicated process of home buying.
An Educated Client
My latest client–she hired me as her buyer’s agent–was asked the same question. This client answered it with a dollar figure and a pre-approval letter. She was in the process of getting a second pre-approval from her credit union. Her goal was a higher approval amount. It didn’t stop there. She had printouts of possible homes of interest in the area. This person was prepared. She followed everything I said.
The main difference here, she took the time to learn facts from hearsay. She was not offended by anything said. This educated buyer asked all the right questions. She put money away just for the house and hired me. No personal prejudice here.
Conclusion
A real estate person takes rectification every 2 years with an emphasis on Fair Housing. It stresses what not to say or do that can be perceived as prejudicial. The problem is the public does not learn about Fair Housing Laws. Therefore they can bring their personal prejudices with them. Whether it is born from a bad experience, bad advice from a friend or other sources.
The public can make claims of prejudice where none exist and the agent has to deal with it. This was a matter of interpretation and bad advice.
One person’s prejudicial interpretation of a simple question is another person’s expectation that the prejudicial answer is correct. This destroys more deals than bad credit.
The person with my friend said she believes the following. “All agents–male or female–asked this question only of female customers.”
I can’t say that the less educated of us is not guilty of this. But, assuming that all agents who asked her about her ability to buy a home were sexist was her prejudice rearing its ugly head.
What Do You Do?
So, what’s a real estate broker or agent to do when a customer brings their personal prejudices to the real estate process?
The answer is as simple today as it was the day this happened. I ignored what was being said, wished them a great baby shower and walked away. Next customer, please.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and nothing stated here is legal advice. This article applies to the five boroughs of New York. All information deemed accurate but not guaranteed. Always check the real estate laws in your part of the country.
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