Oregon has become the first state to ban “love letters'', letters written to home sellers revealing personal information and demonstrate passionate interest in order to persuade the buyer to sell them the house. These love letters are a common practice across the US, and it provides personal information that could give certain people an edge at the expense of others. The National Association of Realtors criticize that the letters could potentially let sellers discriminate betweeen buyers on factors such as race, family, sexual orientation, which shouldn’t be considered when selling the house. Although discrimination against buyers is illegal by the Fair Housing Act, it can be very difficult to prove.
Oregon has a long history of discrimination, previously laws prevented African Americans from settling in the state. Later they could only settle in neighborhoods known as red zones, certain segregated areas of the city that were old, dangerous and expensive compared to white neighborhoods. Generations later many African Americans, minority groups and whites still live in the same neighborhoods, and due to racism or unconscious bias they want their neighborhoods to continue to stay segregated.
According to an interview from NPR, “I've had buyers who did not get their offer accepted. They were the highest offer. I confirmed with the listing agent that the terms were best. And they said to me, well, my seller just didn't think they were a good fit for the neighborhood. And so that was a really chilling thing to hear.”
This raises the question of whether other states would follow Oregan’s example, and lobby for similar laws as well. As more people become aware of this issue, hopefully housing bias will decrease. It serves to show how history has a long lasting impact and still continues to haunt people to this day even generations later.
What are the negative effects of racial segregation?
Do you think neighborhood segregation is natural?
Should California enact similar laws to make housing competition more fair?
9 comments:
I think it would be very beneficial for California and other states to enact similar laws as Oregon. Unfortunately, neighborhood segregation is deeply rooted in our history, as you mentioned with the past practice of redlining. I think that laws similar to Oregon’s ban of homebuyer love letters could significantly decrease any bias that home sellers have when deciding who to sell their property to. Some of these biases might be subconscious, but we still need to promote building better, more diverse, and more accepting communities. Also, I feel as though the people who are applying to buy the homes know whether or not the neighborhood would be a good fit for them. People usually spend time trying to find the right neighborhoods and houses for them and so if they feel as though they can fit into the community, it seems as though that should be their choice rather than the home owner’s choice.
Racial segregation will only lead to more tension between groups. If groups are segregated there is almost like natural “competition” (for lack of a better word) that exists between the groups. Unfortunately, just as Elizabeth has said, natural segregation is deeply rooted in our history. If black Americans were forced into a certain area that is significantly poorer and more dangerous, like the red zones, than white neighborhoods, black Americans face many unequal opportunities. Their neighborhoods won’t send their kids to good schools which can lead to a lack of education which will only leave them trapped in these neighborhoods. This is a cycle that can be never ending and lasting for generations. I think that a ban on homebuyer love letters can be really beneficial for areas like these. I think it may also be beneficial for other states to adopt this too because times have changed and it eliminates any biases to the buyers. If people really wanted to write a letter, they can maybe write a thank you letter that encompasses some ideas a love letter would include.
I think that this is a good policy to work towards decreasing discrimination when it comes to home ownership.
Even when racial segregation is not enforced by policies like redlining, it is through these kind of discriminatory policies that this kind of segregation can continue to exist. Even looking at most cities today, racial segregation can be seen pretty clear, just due to historical / socioeconomic factors. It's important to recognize the lasting effects of historical policies like redlining in order to work towards a better future.
I also totally agree with Elizabeth's point that prospective buyers usually put a lot of research into knowing what kind of neighborhood and community they wish to be a part of, and this decision should be in the buyers' hands, rather than the sellers'. However, even when eliminating bias from the seller, as this policy is trying to do, there are still systemic economic issues that disadvantage certain groups from being able to afford homes like this in the first place. These kind of issues may be more difficult to address, but it's worth bringing up.
Also, just to speak to your question about the negative effects of racial segregation specifically when it comes to home ownership:
Where you live determines what school district you are in, and therefore the quality of education you can receive (unless you're willing to pay for private school and are able to plan for the transportation there). The amount of violence or safety in a community can have a big impact on quality of life and the social environment that children and teens will grow up in. It can also affect work, with regard to how close one lives to their workplace, as well as how close they are to other things in the community, such as grocery stores. There's a big issue in America with regard to food deserts, relating to the obesity epidemic and how it is more prevalent in underprivileged groups (without getting too far into it). Where someone lives can have a big impact on their opportunities in life.
When my now-husband and I were making an offer on what became our home, we were encouraged to write such a letter because our agent thought that a 2-teacher family would be sympathetic and might beat out a slightly higher offer. I wondered if we weren't opening ourselves up to being discriminated against by homophobes, but it turned out that we made the highest offer anyway. Still, the idea of being or not being "a good fit" doesn't seem like a reason people would be willing to forgo thousands of dollars, even when the seller is making a large gain. This reform probably doesn't do a lot, but there aren't really any legitimate arguments against it.
Although racial discrimination isn’t explicitly sanctioned in law anymore, it still very much exists de facto. Redlining, mortgage discrimination, and other discriminatory practices utilized to enforce segregation years ago are no longer legally permitted, yet the effects of decades of segregation linger on, and racial discrimination in regards to housing occurs in much subtler ways.
Taking into account American history and the way American society operates today, segregation is somewhat “natural” — not inevitable, but bound to happen considering the way structural racism is embedded, whether obviously or not, into almost every aspect of American government, society, and culture.
However, legal reform such as Oregon’s ban on homebuyer “love letters” is helping. Although this ban alone is not enough to erase years of housing discrimination and segregation, it’s a step in the right direction. And, while the ineffectiveness of such a ban could be argued, there aren’t any obvious drawbacks or negative consequences, meaning that at the very least, it will help more than it will hurt. So in my opinion, California passing a similar law would be a good idea.
I totally agree with Elizabeth that we should try to enact similar laws in California. It may be hard in practice but we are a democratic state filled with a lot of minorities (hispanics, asians, blacks, etc). This makes it very worthwhile to attempt to do such a thing and remove the possible biases that comes with home selling especially in such an expensive place to live as California is. The hardest things to overcome will of course be the effects of redlining like you mentioned and just the status quo of having to live next to people who are like you. At the end of the day though, the buyer’s should have the choice of whether or not they should live in a house and have it be theirs rather than any homeowner. This is a simple right as everyone should have the equality to do what they want. This is one of our most sacred political values and we must continue to fight for these values because it isn’t fair to everybody.
Housing regulations are one of the most prevalent ways we can still see clear racial discrimination in our geography today. While this is somewhat of a smaller regulation I still do think it should be implemented in California. It doesn't cause any real harm but could do some good. I think selling a house can be a sentimental thing for many people, which is why they may choose to want these types of letters, but nonetheless, I think monetary gain would usually be a larger incentive.
I agree with the group's consensus that it would be beneficial to create similar laws in California. We learned in Psychology class that in a study done in LA, there was a pretty large correlation between landlords denying people with typically African American names, and through Agency and Social Justice class we have learned about redlining, creating white-only neighborhoods to skyrocket prices, and tens of other very racist policies the US has adopted. This would definitely be a step in the right direction.
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