{"id":22824,"date":"2023-10-16T14:43:34","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T14:43:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/?p=22824"},"modified":"2023-10-16T14:43:34","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T14:43:34","slug":"first-amendment-argument-wins-the-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/first-amendment-argument-wins-the-day\/","title":{"rendered":"First Amendment Argument Wins the Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Love letter ban ruled unconstitutional, but risks remain if buyers submit them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBuyer love letters\u201d gained popularity a couple of decades ago as a tool for competing in a hot market. Buyers hope their letter, a personal and emotional appeal to the seller, will help their offer stand out. But in recent years, attorneys have urged caution in the use of such letters, saying the information in them could be used to discriminate. When one state took action to stop the use of love letters, a broker protested\u2014and won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Case: <\/strong>In 2021, the Oregon legislature banned buyer love letters in the state, noting the practice could lead sellers to deny or choose an offer based on race, religion, gender or other protected classes, which would violate federal fair housing laws. It was the first such prohibition in the United States. Total Real Estate Group, an Oregon brokerage, sued the real estate commissioner, Steve Strode, and attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, over the ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ruling: <\/strong>In March, a federal judge ruled in favor of the broker age, saying the Oregon ban violated the First Amendment. As a result, the state\u2019s real estate commissioner agreed to stop enforcing the statute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the court agreed with letters, saying the information in the defendants that love letters could perpetuate implicit bias and racial disparities in homeownership, it noted the letters contain a significant amount of \u201cinnocuous information,\u201d such as compliments on a home\u2019s style or a shared love of gardening. The court also said there are other ways to combat housing discrimination, such as greater enforcement of existing fair housing laws and requiring a fair housing disclosure in transactions\u2014alternatives that don\u2019t overly restrict \u201cotherwise lawful speech.\u201d Ruling on the First Amendment argument, the judge cited a previous circuit court case that said, \u201cIt is always in the public interest to prevent the violation of a party\u2019s constitutional rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Practices: <\/strong>NAR continues to recommend that you advise buyers and sellers about the potential risk of using love letters and avoid sharing information that could be used to discriminate. Sellers should evaluate offers using objective criteria, such as price, timing and contingencies. In addition, brokers should provide fair housing training to agents and employees. View NAR training programs here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s Next: <\/strong>Although the Oregon ban has been struck down, legislators in other states have floated similar statutes. A Rhode Island bill is being held for further study, and some Washington state lawmakers are considering reintroducing a stalled bill on the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a9National Association of REALTORS
\u00aeReprinted with permission<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Love letter ban ruled unconstitutional, but risks remain if buyers submit them. \u201cBuyer love letters\u201d gained popularity a couple of decades ago as a tool for competing in a hot market. Buyers hope their letter, a personal and emotional appeal to the seller, will help their offer stand out. But in recent years, attorneys have … <\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,8],"tags":[5,32,4,9],"class_list":["post-22824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-real-estate-tips","tag-anthony-didonato","tag-news","tag-real-estate","tag-tips","item-wrap"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Amendment Argument Wins the Day - Real Estate Agent and Sales in PA - Anthony DiDonato Broomall, Media, Delaware County and surrounding areas in Pennsylvania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/first-amendment-argument-wins-the-day\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/first-amendment-argument-wins-the-day\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/first-amendment-argument-wins-the-day\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/964792b6994e8cc4cbddc36ad4824908\"},\"headline\":\"First Amendment Argument Wins the Day\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-16T14:43:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/first-amendment-argument-wins-the-day\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":437,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/964792b6994e8cc4cbddc36ad4824908\"},\"keywords\":[\"Anthony DiDonato\",\"News\",\"Real Estate\",\"tips\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Real Estate Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/first-amendment-argument-wins-the-day\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.anthonydidonato.net\\\/wordpress\\\/first-amendment-argument-wins-the-day\\\/\",\"name\":\"First Amendment Argument Wins the Day - 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