Future Home Realty

Over the past several days I have posted about a Federal Housing Lawsuit brought against me alleging that I listed a condo, and in that listing had violated Fair Housing Laws, by putting the following language into the listing: “Adults Only, No Children Under 16 Allowed.” As my two former posts show, I was not the listing agent, and I have never discriminated against anybody.

If you want to read the original posts they are Post One, and Post Two.

Both of these post received national attention, and yesterday I was contacted by Laurie Janik, Chief Legal Council at the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

I spoke to explain the lawsuit, then emailed the lawsuit and original listing to her. She said she would review the lawsuit and would get back to me.

A couple of hours later, Laurie Janik posted the following on the NAR Facebook Page.

“”It is most unfortunate that Jeff Launiere was named as one of the defendants in this suit (filed last November). After reading the complaint, I believe that the plaintiff thought that she was suing the listing agent. The listing agent is affiliated with the same brokerage as Mr. Launiere, which may be why the brokerage believed it would be best to settle the litigation. Those of you who display public remarks authored by listing agents on your IDX websites should determine whether your MLS utilizes screening technology to avoid the publication of statements such as “no children”. If it does not, the MLS might want to consider deleting the remarks field from the IDX feed. For anyone involved in litigation such as this case, a defense exists under the Communications Decency Act of 1996 to protect those of you who merely publish content provided by others, as is the case with IDX feeds. We have never seen a case in which this Act has been applied to an IDX display, but the Act has been found by the courts to provide protection against fair housing claims brought against sites such as Craigslist and Roommate.com.”

A bit later there was a new post by Laurie Janik, stating that the lawsuit against me had been dismissed. As I had received over 1,500 emails, and the phone never stopped ringing all weekend, but especially yesterday, I checked my voice mails and found the message from her, sharing this great news.

I will forever be grateful to all involved, starting with Brian Stevens and Frank Garay from The National Real Estate Post who did an entire video segment about the lawsuit. Incredibly the video has received 17772 views at this time.

I also want to thank ActiveRain for putting both posts on their featured posts page, bringing this attention to many thousands of Realtors and to many others not involved in Real Estate.

I want to personally send out a big thanks to Ann Cummings and Jim Lee, Realtors with Remax By The Bay, in Portsmouth, NH who contacted a Past President of NAR, which resulted in Laurie Janik, Chief Legal Counsel of the NAR to contact me. Thank you Ann and Jim.

I want to of course thank Laurie Janik, as the lawsuit was dismissed shortly after she spoke with me. I do not know exactly how or why my lawsuit was dismissed, but it appears that Laurie Janik was instrumental in the dismissal. Thank you Laurie and NAR!

Finally, I wish I could name each person who contacted me by email, phone, or by commented in the blog posts. And to the exceptionally large numbers of people who offered to contribute to a legal defense fund, you all gave me such added faith in the goodness of people and our country. Please accept my thanks. I wish I could thank everyone of you in person. Just know that I am humbled and forever grateful.

Yesterday I wrote a blog post about how I had to remove the IDX feed from my website. That means I have no listings for buyers to look at. Buyers obviously, will tend to just go to another Realtors website rather than contact me and have me send them listings directly. Today, I have an update in that Brian Stevens and Frank Garay at the National Real Estate Post featured my Federal Housing Lawsuit in their extremely popular video blog. Thank you Brian and Frank, for giving this the attention it deserves.

I feel that the information in the video and in my original post is very important for all real estate agents to know, as most agents are not aware that they can be sued for any listing that appears in an MLS IDX feed, whether that listing is yours or not. In my case I am being sued for another listing agents listing which has the language of “Adults Only, No Children Under 16 Allowed” in it.

I have contacted the local and state associations of Realtors with the primary answer from them being, that they are interested in being updated on the lawsuit, but that real estate agents are responsible for all listings on their website, including those on an IDX feed, and we are also responsible for all listings we email to buyers from the MLS. I am waiting for the NAR to contact me also, and I will give an update when I hear from them.

My goal is to make as many real estate agents as possible aware that they can easily be sued by the general public who decide to become Independent Fair Housing Testers, and how easy it is for them to file a lawsuit against any and all real estate agents.

Please understand my intention is not to get anyone, including the actual listing agent in trouble, and it certainly is not to say anything bad about my brokerage as they are great. I understand the company attorney feels that it is best for me to settle for $5,000 however, I am at this time unwilling to do so without a fight.

Without listings on my website, I am pretty much out of getting much business. Hopefully, I can get this resolved without any great expense, though it appears I will now have to pay an attorney to defend me in Federal Court. And of course will I be allowed to make a living or not. Time will tell.

As real estate agents, most of us have what is called an IDX feed which brings all listings for sale in an area onto our websites. Company websites use the same feed, as does Realtor.com and other big name home for sale search websites.

We as agents have absolutely no control over the listings that are on our websites. The feed comes directly from the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) and you either show all listings, or none.

An agent might have 10 listings, 20 listings, 100 listings, or no listings of their own. Yet all show the same listings on their websites. If there are 13,000 listings in the Tampa area, then if you go to my website you will find all 13,000 listings. If you go to a company website, whether Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, Remax, Charles Rutenberg Realty, Realtor.com, or any number of websites, you will see the same 13,000 listings in the Tampa area.

When we as agents take a listing, we write up a description that the public will see on all of these websites. We and our broker can be responsible for any violations of rules, regulations, and laws in the listing language. For example Fair Housing Laws have protected groups such as racial, familial status, and more. Most of these laws are common sense.

There are what is called Fair Housing Testers, and these can be government employees, or what is called Independent Fair Housing Testers, which are actually regular citizens. These Fair Housing Testers may call an agent and ask questions to see if the real estate agent is willing to discriminate or break another law. Or they scan through real estate websites to find a listing that has illegal language in it. All real estate agents know they can be sued if they do not obey the law.

I have found an interesting question has arisen. Can a real estate agent who has an MLS feed, be sued for a listing with illegal language in the listing, even if that listing is not that agents? Up until recently I would have said no.

However, last year I had a Federal Lawsuit filed against me for violations of the Fair Housing Act. Apparently, an Independent Fair Housing Tester went to my website, scanned the listings and found one with illegal language in it, then filed a Federal Fair Housing Lawsuit against me.

The lawsuit claims I am the listing agent. I am not, but obviously the Independent Fair Housing Tester believed because all 13,000 plus listings are on my website it must mean they are my listings.

The lawsuit then gives the property address, and I quickly realize that I have never listed a home, or sold a home in that city. So I contact my Broker, and then the company attorney. I send all documentation showing that I have nothing to do with this listing, and forward the actual listing, which shows who the listing agent is.

I am told to ignore the lawsuit and they will handle everything, and will work to get the lawsuit against me dismissed.

It seemed that the lawsuit would be invalid, since the lawsuit says I am the listing agent, but I am not. It says that the wording in my listing, which said “Adults Only, No Children Under 16 Allowed,” has caused the Independent Fair Housing Tester pain, suffering and she will have to live through a lifetime of embarrassment. Since it is not my listing, and I never used these words, obviously I am not liable.

Suddenly this week I get a call from the Company Attorney who tells me the lawsuit is being settled, and she will send me the documents for me to sign. So I ask some questions.

So my name has been removed from the lawsuit? No.

There must be something in there clearing me of responsibility? No.

There will be no fee to me, right? Well the attorney fee will be paid by the E&O Insurance Company, and the settlement will be $5,000.

I will not have to pay any of the $5,000 correct? She said you need to call your office to find out if you have to pay a deductible.

So I call my office and they tell me I will be responsible for a $5,000 deductible. How convenient. The settlement is for $5,000 and the amount I will be required to pay is $5,000 all for language in a listing that is not even mine. So I get a $5,000 penalty, but the listing agent gets off without any penalty, or even a violation.

So then I ask, will my name and violation be given to the states real estate commission, or any board or agency? Not sure.

Could I have my license suspended or some other penalty? Not sure.

Doesn’t it matter that the information and accusations in the lawsuit are totally false? No.

Wow, it sure does not look good for me.

I have now called our Realtor Association, various legal sources, and many others, and am told that real estate agents can be held liable for anything that appears on their website, even if it is an MLS feed that we have no control over.

I have no plans on paying the $5,000 or signing any agreement that says I am guilty of Federal Discrimination Laws, since I am not guilty of any of the accusations. I will likely be in Federal Court, though with a Federal Lawsuit, my guess this whole process will take a long time.

I have been also told that this or any other Independent Fair Housing Tester may visit my website again, especially since I have already been accused of Federal Fair Housing Violations, and file another lawsuit if they can find another listing that is in violation. They also said all real estate agents can face the same lawsuits. Sounds like a profitable career path, for both the Testers and Attorney’s who have no qualm with destroying peoples lives.

So now I have had to remove all listings from my website. Without listings my career will likely be ending soon, especially when you are fighting the federal government. Laws may be written with good intentions, but their unintended consequences can destroy lives and businesses. Guilt or innocence, it just does not matter to these people, and unfortunately, it also does not matter to those who are supposed to be representing us.

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Apollo Beach, FL Can you imagine moving into a new home, expecting a water bill of about $75, but then receiving your first water bill, opening it up, and seeing the amount due being $1,089.67. A bit of disbelief, some panic, well that is what happened to Tom Nelson and his family in Apollo Beach, FL. Supposedly this family used 144,000 gallons of water in one month, which is equal to the amount needed to fill 14 average size swimming pools.

Water bill nightmare in Apollo Beach – Tampa Bay News, Weather, and Sports | WFLA

“Moving into a brand new home, with a new lawn, in Apollo Beach, Tom Nelson , expected his water bill to be about $75. Imagine his surprise when his first month’s water bill was $1089.67. “I was in complete shock went into a panic thinking my water is going to be shut off,” said Nelson.”

http://www.wfla.com/story/21417832/water-bill-headache

Tampa Bay News, Weather, and Sports | WFLA

The Hillsborough County Water Department does say the billing was in error in that they inadvertently charged the new homeowner for the builders water bill, however the credit was for $620 on a $1,089.67. Still an incredibly high amount to pay, and their next bill came to $530.67. The reporter also found that their neighbor got a water bill of $741.39. Wow! Many people would just say, well then I can’t water if it will cost me an extra mortgage payment worth, but of course many subdividisions will fine those who let their grass go brown.

The Hillsborough County Water Department says the people are probably over-watering the new grass. We see that quite often, with people especially moving here from other areas setting their sprinklers to run way too long.

Sure glad we live in Wesley Chapel, where we use reclaimed water for irrigation, at a cost of less than $10 per month.

After reading this story and watching the video, it becomes readily apparent that subdivisions need to look at allowing alternative landscaping, whether it is artificial turf, stone, more drought resistant grasses, or other kinds of ground cover. With many subdivisions in Apollo Beach, and other areas, you will find that each home has county water for drinking, while using wells for irrigation, avoiding issues such as this.

It is always best when buying an Apollo Beach home for sale, or any Tampa Bay home for sale, to do your homework, or work with your licensed real estate agent in getting all pertinent information, such as whether an irrigation system uses reclaimed water, a well, or county water. If it uses the county water, then it is very important properly set the irrigation system timer correctly, so as to not receive a ridiculous water bill as these homeowners did.

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The Tampa Weather for February 28, 2013 is a gorgeous but cooler day with a high of only 71. The week though will be getting much cooler, with the coldest day being Sunday with a high of 56. By early next week, we will be back into the 70′s so no big deal.

Luckily, we will not have to cover any of our flowers or vegetable plants in our gardens this week, and soon the heat will be on the way in, and of course we will be complaining about needing to have our homes closed up with the AC on continuously, and my biggest complaint is always when we need to mow the lawn every week, and sometimes, twice a week.

The full forecast for today and for the next seven days on video can be seen by clicking the thumbnail on the left.

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A little bit of bad weather is hitting the Tampa area on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 with a small tornado hitting and causing some damage in the Harbour Island and Channelside District area of Tampa.

Though the the weather is warm today, it is a rare day when we have barely seen any sun whatsoever as of 3:00PM.

As the weather map shows the weather for the rest of the week looks pretty nice, but kind of cold for the weekend. Look at the frigid air for Sunday.

The full weather forecast is given in the video on the left.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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One of the reasons we love living in the Tampa area is the incredible beaches, and the incredible weather. In fact St Petersburg, FL holds the record for the most consecutive sunny days at 768. One of the best beaches in the Tampa Bay Region is Fort DeSoto Beach, also often spelled Fort De Soto.