August 28, 2012
In the month of August, 2012, the FHA/HUD official site reported no fewer than four cases investigated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development related to housing discrimination.
In one case, the owners of an Alabama mobile home park were charged with discriminating against an African-American family; another case that reached the settlement stage in Alabama involved discrimination against Hispanic residents. Two more cases, one in West Virginia and another in Minnesota, involved racial bias and discrimination due to a medical condition.
FHA loan rules, state laws and federal statutes forbid discrimination of any kind in the housing process. Whether you are applying for a home loan, looking for rental housing, or trying to renew leases or refinance, it is illegal to deny housing for reasons of race, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, family status, or any other non-financial reasons commonly understood (and spelled out by the law) as discriminatory.
When you search for a home, apply for an FHA, conventional or VA home loan, seek pre-purchase counseling or any other part of the process of finding a new place to live, the Fair Housing Act and many other laws protect you from discrimination. That does not mean you’ll never encounter it, but the most important thing any FHA loan applicant can do when experiencing discrimination is to report it immediately.
From the FHA official site:
“HUD
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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