Does the fair housing act hurt everyone equally?

[MissJacksonCA]

http://realestate.aol.com/article/_a/when-the-fair-housing-act-goes-too-far/20070712150309990001

For me this raises a lot of questions ... I look at home ads every day trying to find where the markets the hottest or where its going to be so I can start looking into buying a home. Whats interesting to me is I often see sights listing a school district and talk to agents who say the area is family friendly not that either really matter. But in the abstract doesn't this hinder a persons ability to find the home and the area that they want? I mean if you can't tell a family there's lots of families there. Or say that Marisols Mexican is just a block away. Or even disclose a school district? In California people didn't care about the homes they were buying as much as whether it meant their kids got to go to this school or to that one. It was the same in Ohio. Not to mention the whole some people prefer to live with others who are like them. While the Fair Housing Act levels the playing field by not allowing agents to say the neighborhood is any one thing or near any paticular place doesn't it hinder the peoples search who are supposed to benefit from the act?

Granted people can drive through their prospective neighborhood and depending on their audacity knock on some neighbors doors and talk to them but isn't that what you're paying a broker several thousand dollars in comission for? To do the legwork for you? Especially for those who are relocating and are relying on a description from a realtor?

[Khardis]

http://realestate.aol.com/article/_a/when-the-fair-housing-act-goes-too-far/20070712150309990001

For me this raises a lot of questions ... I look at home ads every day trying to find where the markets the hottest or where its going to be so I can start looking into buying a home. Whats interesting to me is I often see sights listing a school district and talk to agents who say the area is family friendly not that either really matter. But in the abstract doesn't this hinder a persons ability to find the home and the area that they want? I mean if you can't tell a family there's lots of families there. Or say that Marisols Mexican is just a block away. Or even disclose a school district? In California people didn't care about the homes they were buying as much as whether it meant their kids got to go to this school or to that one. It was the same in Ohio. Not to mention the whole some people prefer to live with others who are like them. While the Fair Housing Act levels the playing field by not allowing agents to say the neighborhood is any one thing or near any paticular place doesn't it hinder the peoples search who are supposed to benefit from the act?

Granted people can drive through their prospective neighborhood and depending on their audacity knock on some neighbors doors and talk to them but isn't that what you're paying a broker several thousand dollars in comission for? To do the legwork for you? Especially for those who are relocating and are relying on a description from a realtor?

It dont matter, John Edwards plans to bus any of your possible children into ghettos anyway. ya know... to make things equal. Youd thin he'd bus your kids to his kids private school.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Would rather my potential kids go to school in the ghetto than some BS war in IRAQ because some republican conservative douche bag wants more profit from his oil companies.

[AcesandEights]

Granted people can drive through their prospective neighborhood and depending on their audacity knock on some neighbors doors and talk to them but isn't that what you're paying a broker several thousand dollars in comission for? To do the legwork for you? Especially for those who are relocating and are relying on a description from a realtor?

It's unfortunate, but true when people say that you should never take your realtor as the only word on a matter with regards to a possible home. I've seen a few scary things and heard even more blood curdling tales from friends, family and others.

[MissJacksonCA]

Well I dont trust realtors either way they're looking to make a comission not to make a long lasting friend. If you wind up enjoying your transaction great you have a realtor for the next one but its not their goal. Realtors are often shady and resort to bad tactics to sell homes including bribing home inspectors to say the home is whatever they want. Fortunately we're trying to weed out those bad apples but that's about as possible as Operation Iraqi Freedom being successful.

Bussing your children to the ghetto could leave them as dead or warped as if they went off to the war and any school voucher program that takes inner city youths to a better school is likely going to be unsuccessful. However i'm all for any program that takes kids to a dorm style education system where they live and study far from home and will be surrounded by similar students from similar beginnings and have only summers and holidays to spend at home.

[Khardis]

Would rather my potential kids go to school in the ghetto than some BS war in IRAQ because some republican conservative douche bag wants more profit from his oil companies.

Why? You are more likely to die in a ghetto school than Iraq.

I think breaking up the public schooling system would be the best bet for a better future. Government fails at providing real education. We need to cut the taxes going to schools and teachers unions and make more private schools and let parents keep those taxes to send their kids there.

[coma]

However i'm all for any program that takes kids to a dorm style education system where they live and study far from home and will be surrounded by similar students from similar beginnings and have only summers and holidays to spend at home.
Huh!?!?!?!
Some people actually LIKE their kids and want to raise them themselves. Thats some real police state collective farming type stuff. Compulsive relocation.
I would NEVER go for that. I wouldn't have kids to have some strangers raise them.
I have an issue with parents who send their kids to boarding school. It always seemed like they didnt want them in the first place.

[Khardis]

Huh!?!?!?!
Some people actually LIKE their kids and want to raise them themselves. Thats some real police state collective farming type stuff. Compulsive relocation.
I would NEVER go for that. I wouldn't have kids to have some strangers raise them.
I have an issue with parents who send their kids to boarding school. It always seemed like they didnt want them in the first place.

I know right, this is what they did in communist countries. Take the kids from home, indoctrinate them and make them into good little commies who would squeal on their parents if they did anything against the party. The Chinese cultural revolution comes to mind.

[Philly_SWAT]

Why? You are more likely to die in a ghetto school than Iraq.

I think breaking up the public schooling system would be the best bet for a better future. Government fails at providing real education. We need to cut the taxes going to schools and teachers unions and make more private schools and let parents keep those taxes to send their kids there.

The problem with this line of thinking is that poor people would not have the resources to choose a school, or possibly event make the choice not to send their kid to school, because it would cost them too much. If we as a people think it is worthwhile, even legally mandatory, to send kids to school, then all schools should be given equal resources and be more or less equal in general. Government fails at providing education because most school programs are based off of ideas that someone back in the 40's and 50's cam up with. In any event, if we feel that every kid recieving an education is not important, then fine, state that up front, and let everyone fend for themselves. If we feel that it is important, then we need to do our best to provide equal, quality education for all.

[Eyebiter]

Simple solution just knock on neighbors door, introduce yourself, and ask about the area. Is the morning commute from beyond the pale? Does Bubba down the street drink beer and work on his race car Saturday afternoons? When is there heavy traffic on the street?

If that's not an option at least drive through the neighborhood at different times during the week and on weekends to give you an idea of area.


As a side note if your looking for a home right now keep in mind the market is currently overvalued in many parts of the country. However it's a buyers market. Just because they are asking 200k doesn't mean they will get that much.

People who took out adjustable rate mortgages a few years ago are finding their rates adjusting. This means their house payment has suddenly doubled or tripled. If you think there are a lot of homes on the market now, wait six months. Lot of the folks who avoided the first ARM reset in 2007 are finding their loans will adjust after the first five years. If things stay on this path 2008 is going to be a buyers market for foreclosed properties.

[Khardis]

The problem with this line of thinking is that poor people would not have the resources to choose a school, or possibly event make the choice not to send their kid to school, because it would cost them too much. If we as a people think it is worthwhile, even legally mandatory, to send kids to school, then all schools should be given equal resources and be more or less equal in general. Government fails at providing education because most school programs are based off of ideas that someone back in the 40's and 50's cam up with. In any event, if we feel that every kid recieving an education is not important, then fine, state that up front, and let everyone fend for themselves. If we feel that it is important, then we need to do our best to provide equal, quality education for all.

If they didnt have to pay the taxes to education that they do now, they could afford it. Its better to have good education than terribly mediocre at best education where we just indoctrinate the kids with BS.

[MissJacksonCA]

Huh!?!?!?!
Some people actually LIKE their kids and want to raise them themselves. Thats some real police state collective farming type stuff. Compulsive relocation.
I would NEVER go for that. I wouldn't have kids to have some strangers raise them.
I have an issue with parents who send their kids to boarding school. It always seemed like they didnt want them in the first place.

If you live in the ghetto and send your children to a school in the nice part of town how far is that education going to go? You can't just go to school outside of the bad influence area you live in. You have to get out, way out. Away from any bad influences and people who make wrong choices. A real parent would want what is best for their children and a life lived in an unsafe area with sub par schooling isn't exactly the best, or good. What? Or no wait... would that be assimilating? Would trying to get a worthy education and lifestyle be turning on everyone back home? God forbid.

Sometimes its not possible to rise above the influence which is why you have to leave. Not to mention the effects of living in a dorm situation with children from similar backgrounds all can be cultured and educated in a way where they can all relate and feed off each others intelligence and have educated exchanges of information. A good education isn't worth crap if you're languising in a place where you're the sole beacon of knowledge.

[Eyebiter]

Why bother to invest in a rundown urban neighborhood when you can simply leave it behind. If the schools are that bad in urban areas, of course your going to move to the suburbs. Which explains why people on both coasts are willing to tolerate a 1-2 hour commute = quality of life.

[MissJacksonCA]

Not everyone can afford to move to a nice area though. Especially with the economy where its at and nearly half of homes going into foreclosure and cities like Detroit allegedly doomed for destruction. There has to be a solution but so far that's been forcing out the residents of projects like Cabrini Green in Chicago to pave the way for luxury high rises... but we're leaving behind people who can't afford to move. Figure out what's gonna happen next...

[Eyebiter]

Sounds like a good solution for the excess Katrina trailer problem.

[MissJacksonCA]

If they're not giving the excess trailers to the Katrina victims why would they give them to anyone forced out of their homes? And they're not giving the trailers to all Katrina victims. And if they did ...where would they situate their trailers? How would they move them around? How would they afford their lot rents and how would they be able to go to and from town?