Real Estate Questions Answered Here
by Art Santellen, REALTOR®

Q: Before you get into credit repair companies, I don't think you answered last week's question very well. Sometimes real estate agents just give you the "run around." I don't make a lot of money and all the real estate agents I talked to didn't want anything to do with me. They just wanted to work with rich people. Do you think it could've been because I'm Hispanic? Who can you complaint to if you think you've been discriminated against?

A: What perfect timing! Next month is Federal Fair Housing Month. I'd like to finish up last weeks column by giving you the number of the Colorado Real Estate Commission Enforcement Section: (303) 894-2166. This week, let's talk more about fair housing. To get started, allow me to reprint parts of a column I wrote back I 1995.

At the risk of offending many who may think our nation's founding fathers were divinely inspired, not everyone was always thrilled about living in the United States. For example, If you were not a white person, you couldn't inherit, purchase, lease, sell, or hold and convey real estate in the United States. In fact, if you were not a white (real estate) property owner, you couldn't even vote. Well, at least not until the Civil Rights Act of 1866. In other words, up until four years prior to the founding of Colorado Springs, being black, Hispanic, oriental, a woman, or even native American also meant living without the benefit of owning your own home. Just think, Hispanics actually used to own the land they lived on prior to the Mexican-American War of 1846. But I digress. Newly emancipated blacks had all the freedom they wanted but none had a home to call their own. In 1866, the Congress passed a law which provided that, "All citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in every State and Territory, as enjoyed by white citizens thereof to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold and convey real and personal property." Of course, in Colorado a Hispanic kid could still not speak Spanish in school. Linda Chavez, have you already forgotten that Hispanics were only used to pick sugar beets, before they were appointed to serve in the President's Cabinet? Oh, no. There I go again. Back to my story. So everyone was happy, right? Well, not exactly.

In spite of the right of everyone, including non-whites, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold and convey real (estate) and personal property. The fact was that you couldn't buy a home, even if you had the money, if no one was willing to sell to you. Why, you may ask, would anyone NOT want to sell their home to you if they were willing to sell their home to somebody else? I'm glad you asked. Because some of "them" didn't want to live next to some of "us". Or, perhaps it was because some of "us" didn't want some of "them" living in "our" neighborhood. You get the idea. Is it possible that Colorado Springs was founded, in part, because Manitou Springs was little more than a base camp for the mining operation in the mountains and because Colorado City (today known as Old Colorado City) was, well, too rough and rowdy for the genteel folks who settled Colorado Springs. Is that possible? Do we have any historians in the audience?

Anyway, 102 years after passing the Civil Rights Act, the US Congress recognized that not everyone was happy. I mean, people were in the streets demonstrating over, of all things, their civil rights. Not only that, but it appeared there were several people who felt there were already enough civil rights and having more civil rights was just plain silly. Gosh, where have I heard that before? Will someone familiar with Colorado Amendment 2 please refresh my memory? After all, the US Constitution had been around for 150 years to protect everyone's civil rights. Right?

Well, at any rate, people were in the streets fighting against the police, churches were being burned (with kids still in the church), civil rights workers were being murdered, there were marches and even large-scale burning and looting of cities...and it was happening everywhere. Finally, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Yes, about 32 years ago, the nation finally made an effort to address the inequality of the treatment US citizens were experiencing simply because of the color of their skin, their race, their religion, their sex, or their national origin. Inequality of treatment in several areas of society was made illegal. Title VII of that Act talked about inequality of treatment in housing and was known as the Federal Fair Housing Law. This federal law requires everyone to be treated equally with respect to the sale, purchase, lease, or rental of any home by anyone.

The best news is that 9 years prior to all this, in 1959, Colorado was the first state in the nation to pass an anti-discrimination housing law. In 1969, "sex" was added as a protected class. In 1973, "marital status" and "religion" were added to the State Fair Housing law. Finally, in 1977, "physical or mental disability" was added as yet another group of citizens specifically protected from discrimination in housing. Oh, where have all the Democrats gone? Another big difference between Federal and State law is that Colorado prohibits discrimination in transactions involving commercial real estate. So, today, everyone is happy, right? Well, not exactly.

It appears that some among "them" still don't want to have "us" living in "their" neighborhood. Sadly, bigotry cannot be legislated away. Even worse, some real estate agents participate either wittingly or unwittingly in unlawful discriminatory acts. For example if your real estate agent refuses to show your home to certain people simply because of their race, color, national origin, creed, religion, familial status, marital status, ancestry, sex, or handicap. Or, if your agent fails to show you home for sale in certain neighborhoods because those areas are "too bad" or "too good" for you. finally, if you feel someone will not rent to you or sell to you because of their discriminatory beliefs, then you need to call one of the following agencies:

Colorado Civil Rights Division Office, Colorado Springs, 545-3520
Colorado Civil Rights Division Office, Pueblo, 545-3650
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington D.C., 1-800-669-9777.

I sincerely hope, with all my heart, that you have not been the victim of discrimination in housing.

Next week, honest, I'll tell you all about credit counseling agencies and whether their services are worth the cost.

NOTE: As you can see, I really do get questions from the public. To add your question to this list, please send them to me at the address listed below. Thanks.

The answers to these, and other fascinating real estate questions will be answered here, in Hispania News, next week.

When you're ready to buy or sell a home, see a REALTOR®

Art is a REALTOR® with Heritage Realtors in Colorado Springs.

If you have a real estate question you’d like answered, please send them to:

Art Santellen, care of Hispania News
PO Box 15116
Colorado Springs, CO 80935

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