The National Association of Realtors, Oregon, and free speech: one of these things does not belong with the others
/
don’t you be my neighbor!
House hunters in Oregon will no longer be able to submit a “love letter” to try to woo sellers to their offers, a new state law says. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill into law that says seller’s agents must reject such communications from buyers to sellers that contain information outside of the traditional offer. Oregon is the first state to make such letters illegal in a real estate transaction.
The use of love letters by buyers has become a common tactic to help make a buyer’s offer stand out. Buyers will write to sellers about how much they love the home, how they can envision their family living there, or how they'll spend the holidays.
But the National Association of REALTORS® has been warning its members to be aware of the potential risks involving love letters.
“While this may seem harmless, these letters can actually pose fair housing risks because they often contain personal information and reveal characteristics of the buyer, such as race, religion, or familial status, which could then be used, knowingly or through unconscious bias, as an unlawful basis for a seller’s decision to accept or reject an offer,” NAR warned on its Fair Housing Corner blog last year.
…
The practice of using love letters has remained popular as buyers face fierce competition for housing and have been desperate to make their offer stand out. Bidding wars have grown common: The average sold home in May had five offers, according to the latest REALTORS® Confidence Index survey.
These letters may seem harmless on the surface: But “an example—when a letter comes in, if it describes the family situation or circumstances, whatever that may be, or indicates or gives a clue to a religious or any other protected class, there’s always the risk that a seller could be accused of making a decision based upon inappropriate factors,” Paul Knighton, CEO of More Realty, told KGW.com.
In Oregon, love letters will no longer be an issue, under the new state law.
To be clear, the law doesn’t forbid buyers from writing directly to an owner, it just prohibits real estate agents from having anything to do with them, and threatens home sellers if they read them, so the effect is the same.
I think these “love letters” are dumb, and I’ve never known one to work — cash beats sentiment every time, at least in this town, but I suppose it makes buyers who have no more money to throw at a house feel better. What troubles me most about this is that it’s another example of the NAR trying to suppress speech and channel it as it deems appropriate. form it approves of. Here’s an example of that, from last year, but continuing:
National Association of Realtors bans all offensive, insulting statements or comments, anywhere
Under the new policy, real estate agents who insult, threaten, or harass people based on race, sex, or other legally protected characteristics can be investigated, fined, or expelled. Its online training sessions offer a glimpse at how difficult the rules can be to enforce.
The sweeping prohibition applies to association members 24/7, covering all communication, private and professional, written and spoken, online and off. Punishment could top out at a maximum fine of $15,000 and expulsion from the organization.
The National Association of Realtors’ decision, allowing any member of the public to file a complaint, has alarmed other real estate agents, and also some legal and ethics experts, who say the hate-speech ban’s vagueness is an invitation to censor controversial political opinions, especially on race and gender.
While that’s not the association’s stated intention, the skeptics say their fears are justified by the hyperactive “cancel culture” online that has jettisoned hapless workers for posting “all lives matter” and objecting to gay marriage.
“The dam has broken, and other organizations will look at this,” predicted Robert Foehl, a professor of business ethics and business law at Ohio University.
“If this is good for real estate agents, why not attorneys? Why not doctors?” Foehl said. “They’re going to be pressured to do what NAR has done. And that pressure is going to be very real, because what organization wants to argue they should allow ‘hate speech’ by their members?”
I’ve pretty much hit the end of the run for my illustrious real estate career, but I’m keeping up my license for at least a bit longer in the hope that the NAR will come after me — I’d like nothing more than a great, big First Amendment, anti-trust lawsuit to fill my retirement days.
