Realtor
"Steering"
There are two separate
"steering" issues we wish to address in this section. This first
is "steering" in the traditional sense.
Racial "Steering"
Two recently published
housing studies revealed high and continuing discrimination rates
against Black, Hispanic and disabled home seekers in Chicago and other
cities.
With the 38th
anniversary of the Federal Fair Housing Act upon us, minority and
disabled home seekers still are often "steered" by real estate agents
toward minority neighborhoods or denied housing services outright,
according to the studies.
The alliance's report,
which was funded in part by the HUD, studied 12 metropolitan areas from
2003 and 2005. The group sent white, Black and Hispanic testers to
randomly selected real estate agents in each test area.
Each agent saw a white
tester and either a black or Hispanic tester. The Black and Hispanic
testers presented more appealing financial qualifications, such as
higher incomes, better resources for down payments and the ability to
afford more expensive homes.
Regardless of income
considerations, agents steered home seekers to neighborhoods based on
their race 87% of the time, the study reported. White testers were
frequently steered away from minority neighborhoods even after
expressing interest in the areas.
If you feel you've
been a victim of Racial Steering, please contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777
and for the hearing impaired, please call TTY 800-927-9275.
Financial "Steering"
This next "steering" also seems to fuel
the ire of mortgage lenders because in all too many cases, violations of
the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) are taking place.
Real estate agents by profession are
licensed to list and sell homes. They take the state required
course to learn how to market homes, with a small overview of the
financing process. Yet many real estate agents tend to "steer"
their clients towards specific lenders, whether they be lenders who
provide them with referral customers, are friends/family OR provide the
illegal kickback.
Too often these "steering" attempts
include an agent's bad-mouthing of any lender other than their chosen
one. Reports of agents withholding contracts from a borrower's
lender until their client met with "their" lender have been reported.
The Realtor doesn't want to
appear to be steering you towards any particular lender as it is against
his/her Code of Ethics they subscribe to.
While many agents suggest lenders to
their clients as a courtesy, there is a fast growing number of agents
who are pushing specific lenders on their clients because of cash, trips
or other prizes they are awarded for the volume they provide to these
lenders. Illegal yes, but it continues.
Keep in mind when using a real estate
agent that they do not have specialized mortgage training and have not
been trained on how to structure, analyze or competently advise you on
the best loan product for your specific situation. In fact, far
too many agents know of only a few loan products - while there are
hundreds of different variations.
Your real estate agent has specialized
instruction in how to effectively market and sell your home - as well as
finding you another. Your loan officer (if you use a
Residential Mortgage Advocate™) has
specialized experience on how to finance that home.
Work only with professionals that are
looking out for YOU and not their wallet. Our members are
committed to your interests, not their own.
And when working with a Real Estate
Agent, always remember, they have the ability to negotiate their
commissions as well. In some areas they are commanding 6-7% of the
sales price, that's a lot of equity! Other companies offer
flat-fee listings or low commissions, as with all major purchases, shop
around!
Work with a RMA™
Realtor to ensure you're interests are the top priority. As an
added bonus, all RMA™ Realtors have the
ability to get you a FREE GFE or HUD1 review to ensure you're not being
overcharged on your mortgage loan!
All members on this site have signed a
Residential Mortgage Advocate™ (RMA) commitment to be totally upfront about
their fees, rates and items they will need from you.
Been Scammed or Dealt with an Unethical Lender?
Contact Us or Report it to
Your State authorities.
Check our
