Fair Housing & Diversity Education

As a REALTOR®, from the day you get your license you are set up for failure in the cybersecurity world because the Code of Ethics and state laws require the collection, proper storage, and eventual destruction of all communications and documentation related to your business. And seeing as you’ve probably never had any proper training on how to do this, you (and the real estate industry in general) have become major targets for hackers and fraudsters. Plus there are many other laws, and articles in the Code of Ethics that can expose you and your clients to potential dangers. In this session, we will explore how to navigate this complex digital world and provide you easy to implement solutions to protect yourself in the cyber world. 1-8 hours

Complying with fair housing isn't just a good business practice; it's the law. Fair housing starts with the federal Fair Housing Act and continues through state and local regulations. This course isn't just a fair housing overview, it will educate property managers on what they should and should not be doing in their day-to-day business operations. We'll keep it practical and address current fair housing hot topics in the property management world such as how to handle service animal requests. 2-3 hours

More than half of all Fair Housing Act complaints are filed on the basis of disability; many of these alleging a housing provider failed to provide a reasonable accommodation. This session examines Fair Housing Act protections for individuals with disabilities and how housing providers should navigate a reasonable accommodation request. You'll get guidance on differentiating between service and support animals, determining when an accommodation is necessary and what makes a request unreasonable. 1 hour

Every sector of the real estate industry has changed significantly since the Fair Housing Act was adopted over 50 years ago. In this course, you’ll follow the Act’s history, the formal amendments adding additional protected basis, the guidance on enforcement, and the changes real estate professionals have made—and have yet to make—to their practices. New technologies have changed both how real estate licensees advertise and how advertising regulations are enforced. Trista will provide you with a set of best practices to help guide you in your use of new media. You’ll also become up to date on issues impacting Fair Housing such as The Equal Access Rule of 2012, Housing for Older Persons, Sexual Harassment, and Disparate Impact. 3-4 hours

In 2019, over 5 billion records were exposed through data breaches. If you’ve been the victim of a data breach, you know how damaging even one record being exposed can be. This course examines the real estate professional’s role in protecting their client’s data and respecting the data leveraged by social and digital media. How collected data is handled in terms of fair housing will affect everyone moving forward–from large platforms such as Facebook to the individual agent trying to reach “target” markets. Also up for examination are real estate professionals’ postings on public platforms that violate 100+ year old anti-trust laws. How these old laws resurface and apply with a digital medium directly impacts how brokers must mange their brokerages. 1 hour

An “emotional support peacock”? Learn what are reasonable accommodations under the Fair Housing Act and what guidance HUD offers real estate agents and property managers who are addressing these issues. 1 hour
VIEW ARTICLE

Not all websites are the same and some lack the tools to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Discover how your website stacks up against the ADA and what recommendations from the Worldwide Web Consortium you should implement. 1 hour
VIEW ARTICLE

Social media websites and digital advertising mediums make target marketing a particular demographic easier than ever before. Find out when target marketing becomes “stating a preference” under the Fair Housing Act and what risk reduction techniques you need to enact. 1 hour

Is your smart home culturally sensitive? Does your website allow everyone to ‘see’ the latest properties for sale? Technology has changed the way a consumer experiences home buying and selling. If technology is used correctly, everyone benefits. If technology isn’t used correctly, a portion of the population can be neglected. Find out how the application of the ADA and the Fair Housing Act to advertising, websites, apps, and smart home technology will impact your business. 1-3 hours
VIEW ARTICLE

The Fair Housing Act might not have changed in the last decade, but real estate agents and consumers have. This course looks at recent technological developments in the real estate industry and their interplay with the Fair Housing Act as well as recent cases involving real estate professionals. 3-4 hours

Expanding on the 2020 implicit-bias training video, the National Association of REALTORS® has launched “Bias Override.” The program helps real estate professionals learn tactics to interrupt stereotypical thinking so they can provide equal professional service to every prospect or client. Participants will examine their ideas about people from various identity groups, explore the assumptions they may not know they’re making, and learn how to be more comfortable working across lines of difference. “Bias Override” engages participants in building new habits of equitable behavior, helps REALTORS® overcome barriers to working with clients of diverse backgrounds and avoid fair housing pitfalls. 3-4 hours

VIEW TRAILER At Home With Diversity® (AHWD) is an NAR certification program designed to present a picture of the changing face of the real estate industry. Since 1998, the At Home With Diversity® program has prepared over 20,000 REALTORS® to work effectively with and within today’s increasingly diverse pool of homebuyers. 7-8 hours

VIEW SAMPLE An increasingly diverse population in the United States means that we can have and do more business when we help everyone. This engaging program helps agents understand more broadly where the problems exist to increase awareness and how to practically help more people with better systems. The takeaways are relevant and specific in order to help agents take proactive steps to ensure housing stays fair for everyone. 3 hours

Her presentations were great. One of the best fair housing classes I’ve sat in." – Desirae Lindquist, Director of Operations, Gallatin Association of REALTORS®

Are you a biased appraiser? Are you possibly a biased appraiser who doesn’t recognize your own bias? In this session, we’ll discuss your requirements under Fannie Mae and USPAP to not let bias be a part of your appraisal practice.

You'll come away from this session being able to:

• List the words and phrases you should never use
• Evaluate a property based on the facts
• Identify shifts in the markets

Also available: Bias in Appraisals: What Agents & Appraisers Need to Know; 1-3 hours

The powerhouse couple of Ethics and Fair Housing come together in this information-packed course. This session is designed to meet the REALTOR® Code of Ethics’ mandate through a lively review and discussion of ethical dilemmas, arbitration and mediation dispute resolution methods, and the latest in changes to the Code. Through the lens of situations and processes REALTORS® experience every day, we’ll also review Fair Housing law, HUD guidelines with respect to advertising compliance and identify best professional practices in the industry. As a bonus, we’ll even discuss proactive safety practices licensees should take when engaging with any consumer or client. 3-4 hours

All of the evaluations were very positive – 5’s across the board (on a 1 – 5 scale). We had a lot of comments on her fun personality, her level of experience and knowledge and engagement with the class. All of that is even better considering one of the classes met the NAR ethics requirements!” - Emily Archer MBA, Director of Education, Boise Regional REALTORS®

This course covers the real-life dilemmas agents find themselves in, with respect to diversity among buyers and sellers and the requirements of Fair Housing. We will review national, state and if applicable, local Fair Housing laws, as well as the changes to Article 10 in the REALTOR® Code of Ethics. We will discuss the necessity of agents providing equal access to all clients, as well as respecting the diversity of clients. 2-4 hours