The Leeds Glitch

Having a real estate license and owning a gajillion rental homes poses a few problems when it comes to fair housing. As a reasonable person, I should be voluntarily willing to accept a tenant no matter what the color of their skin, their religion or handicap happens to be.

Also as a reasonable person, I really don't care about the above. I just want the most sane, normal and employed people I can find with the least amount of unnecessary drama. I don't blink twice if they have green skin with purple spots, a three noses and/or worship a hedgehog named Hortense.

I didn't really know much about fair housing laws until I got my license. Since then, every time I have to take the class, my real estate instructors, to drive their points home, share stories of HUD testers, purposely looking for agents who violate federal fair housing laws, imposing stiff fines, jail time and the potential loss of my license. I first heard these stories when I was a lowly agent. When I opted to own rental homes in the South, I started paying closer attention.

My former Arizona and current Alabama tenants come in many colors and many religions. They come from different parts of the world. Some are single. Some are married. Some have handicaps. If anyone ever suggests I discriminate based on the government's defined protected classes, they would have a hard time proving it. Because I don't.

However, there is a philosophical issue the bureaucrats and I seem to be at odds about. I don't see how I can put a non-white tenant safely in my Leeds house, because the neighbors of don't seem to care two figs about fair housing violations.

Before I opted to give Kirby this home to rent, I discussed this particular issue with him. He has a license too. I wanted to make sure he knew what he was getting into. As he grew up in the South, I didn't have to say much for him to get a pretty clear picture.

I have also discussed this in great length with Legal Eagle. Her outrageously expensive hourly rate recommendation is simply not to deny housing to anyone. However, I can let a potential tenant figure out for themselves if they want to live in the Leeds home.

So, I can't tell anyone, "No, you can't rent here because I don't trust the next door neighbor not to put an oiled cross in the driveway if your skin color is anything but white." Instead, I always tell the would-be renter, "Drive around the neighborhood. Check out who would be your neighbors and make sure this is a place you want to live. Be sure you feel like you would be a good fit."

So far that has been enough of a discreet warning.