REALTORS® in other states have seen some fair housing issues arise with the following:
Sellers looking at the offering buyers’ names and inferring from the name certain race, color, religion, sex, or national origin buyer characteristics and then illegally and unethically discriminating against these protected classes in real estate transactions.
So some lawyers have strategized that perhaps listing brokerages consider using an offer worksheet without names so that sellers are choosing to accept or counter offer one multiple offer without considering fair housing protected classes and are only considering issues such as price, closing date, seller paid costs, seller financing, various contingencies, due diligence termination fee amount, sale of other real property, sale of personal property, and other more fact based business and net dollar considerations.
This nameless worksheet could also prevent a seller from "Googling the buyers" or searching them online/offline/Facebook/social media and considering protected classes in an illegal or unethical manner.
This same legal theory on fair housing can also apply to "love letters" and "love videos" that some buyers send to sellers where their name, familial status, gender identity, and sexual orientation protected classes may be apparent in addition to the above protected classes (race, color, religion, sex, national origin). So, the worksheet analysis can help manage this fair housing risk too.
Posted by: Byron King on 10/16/20 (This information is only accurate as of 10/16/20. You must contact SCR for updates and changes to this information after 10/16/20 as laws and regulations may change over time. SCR 803-772-5206 or email Byron)