Fair Housing Guidelines for Real Estate Agents

Fair housing guidelines for real estate agents aim to promote equal treatment of all individuals in the housing market regardless of their race, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status. As an agent, it is important to familiarize yourself with these guidelines and avoid any discriminatory practices such as steering or refusing to show certain properties based on the client’s personal characteristics. Additionally, agents should provide equal access to housing opportunities and avoid any discriminatory language or behavior during the sales or rental process. This includes knowing about protected classes, fair housing laws, and how to create inclusive marketing and advertising practices. It is just as important for both buyers and sellers to understand the laws and regulations that protect against discrimination in housing.

Emotional Support Animals

Under the Fair Housing Act, individuals with disabilities are allowed to have an emotional support animal (ESA) as a reasonable accommodation. This means that landlords cannot discriminate against individuals with ESAs and must allow them in their housing, even if there is a no-pets policy. To obtain permission to live with an emotional support animal in a “no pets allowed” community, a homebuyer or renter must make a request to the housing provider, with reliable documentation of the disability and need for the assistance animal, usually in the form of a letter from a medical doctor or therapist. The housing provider may not ask for access to medical records or unreasonably delay the request.

Further general guidance can be obtained through HUD.

Raise Awareness

Raising awareness about the importance of fair housing practices and the benefits they bring. Some of these benefits include promoting diversity and inclusivity, reducing discrimination, and creating more opportunities for individuals and families to access safe and affordable housing. Additionally, fair housing practices can help to strengthen communities and improve the overall quality of life.

The post Celebrating 55 Years of Fair Housing appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

That also means the construction industry, which so far has escaped major cyber threats, is no less vulnerable to them, according to the Insurance Recovery Blog of attorneys Hunton Andrews and Kurth LLP. The firm’s practice includes real estate, development and finance; and insurance coverage.

“Sensitive data related to buildings and projects” stored by builders online could prove tempting targets to some hackers, blog authors Michael S. Levine and Alexander D. Russo wrote.

“The more you use electronic platforms, the more vulnerable you’re going to be to hackers who access data improperly or cause harm to a construction project,” they cited Hunton partner Walter Andrews from an interview with Law 360 on cyber risks.

Bad guys might find irresistible the chance to reach other companies simply by attacking one source: the builder that binds them together.

“What makes construction unique from other industries is developers have so many partners they need to share information with and have access to the same data platforms,” Andrews explained. “They have access to your data and you have access to their data, and more importantly, a cyber thief can access your system through theirs and vice versa. That’s what starts to make it unique and create problems.”

One potential answer? Insure against the risk, the blog authors suggested. “Policyholders in the construction industry should look towards specialized cyber insurance that fills any gaps left by more traditional policies,” they wrote.

Photo from Pixabay, used under a Creative Commons license

The post Builders Increasingly Need Cyber Threat Coverage appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

The post Infographic: Keeping Up With Mobile Growth appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

“A sparkling resume does not always equal a sparkling personality. And the face-to-face interviews needed to accurately judge prospective hires can consume a lot of time and money,” the article said. Read it here.

The chief executive officer of a Fort Washington PA-based video conferencing firm told the GlobeStreet reporter that “recent technological advances” in video streaming “have greatly improved its quality and lowered the expense.” The spread of web cams and in-phone cameras has also made the interview by video method convenient for hopeful applicants, he added.

The post Commercial Brokers Increasingly Interview By Video appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

During 2015, the company announced this week (Dec. 29, 2014), Polley’s offices will be closed on the following nine dates for the holidays listed:

• Jan. 1 (Thursday), New Year’s Day;
• May 25 (Monday), Memorial Day;
• July 3 (Friday), Independence Day;
• Sept. 7 (Monday), Labor Day;
• Nov. 26-27 (Thursday and Friday), Thanksgiving; and
• Dec. 23-25, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday), Christmas.

You can call and leave a message, or send an e-mail, at any time but we won’t hear or read it until we’re back at our desks.

The post You Won’t Find Us Here On These Days During 2015 appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

The Pennsylvania State Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers has informed Polley Associates that if your appraiser trainee license was issued:

Before July 1 (2014), you will be required to complete 28 hours of appraisal recertification education, including the 7-hour National USPAP Update course and a Pennsylvania Mandated Law course of at least 2 hours, to renew your license;

Between July 1 and Dec. 27 (2014), you will be required to complete 14 hours of appraisal recertification education, including the 7-hour National USPAP Update course and and a Pennsylvania Mandated Law course of at least 2 hours, to renew your license; or

Between Dec. 28 (2014) and June 30 (2015), you will NOT be required to complete appraisal recertification education as a condition of license renewal

The post CE May Be Due For PA Licensed Appraiser Trainees appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

If you or a loved one is a Baby Boomer, the institute offers advice on how to avoid some of the pitfalls that could prevent those in the group from enjoying a happy retirement.

Be Realistic

Fitness is a high priority for boomers, so it’s not surprising that their average life span continues to lengthen. According to the Social Security Administration, the average 65-year-old man today can expect to live until age 84; a woman until age 86.

One of every four 65-year-olds today will live past 90, and one of every 10 will live until at least 95. That means it’s important to have a solid plan for funding your retirement years. If you don’t think you have enough for 20 or 30 years, it may be necessary to step up your savings or consider postponing your Social Security payments so you receive a higher monthly amount later on.

Know What You Need

You will need about 80 percent of your pre-retirement income to cover your expenses in retirement, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Many people who thought they were on their way to a well-funded retirement saw their investments reduced by the recent recession. The Retirement Pension Planner on the American Institute of CPAs 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy site can help you get a sense of how much you might need, and provide an estimate of when your retirement savings will run out.

Simplify

If you want to have more money for retirement, start changing your spending habits now.

Living within your means can help you stretch your money now and in retirement. A common change in retirement is downsizing from a larger home to a smaller one. You’ll want to talk with a trusted area real estate agent about how to approach that, and ways to maximize your profits from a sale.

Additionally, as you discard or give away things collected over the years, consider how many new things you’ll actually need to purchase during retirement. You may find yourself better able to enjoy what you already have.

Focus On Priorities

Saving for a second home or for a child’s or grandchild’s education are worthwhile goals, but be sure to put your retirement needs first. Remember, it’s always possible to use student loans to pay for college tuition, but there won’t be similar financing available to cover retirement expenses if your savings run out.

Don’t Give Up

If you’re near retirement, it’s not too late to create or enhance your retirement account. Remember, your money can grow tax-deferred in an IRA, 401(k), or annuity, so it’s possible to do some catching up. Many members of the ever-adventurous Baby Boomer generation are also working past the traditional retirement age, so consider your options for continuing with your current job or launching a new career.

Consult A CPA

No matter how close you are to retirement, a CPA can answer your questions and help you create a plan that addresses your short- and long-term needs. To find a CPA in Pennsylvania by location or area of expertise, see the institute’s website here.

The post Hey, Baby Boomer; Saved Enough To Retire Yet? appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

The county “leads Pennsylvania in well production in the Marcellus Shale field,” the magazine reports in an article titled “Marcellus Shale, ‘A Changing Landscape’,” and it adds, it “has the lowest rate of unemployment in the state.”

For a two-page, full-color article, Editor Darrin Youker interviewed farmers and their families, other property owners, energy and drilling experts, and government officials. He reports many farm owners have embraced natural gas production as a source of additional revenue to keep their farms self-sufficient for succeeding generations.

Keystone Country is a bi-monthly periodical of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, published from offices in Camp Hill PA. The article may be valuable to Pennsylvania real estate sales and broker licensees who want insights into how shale natural gas production is perceived by land owners who lease or sell real property mineral rights to drillers.

It also serves as a reading supplement to a Polley Associates’ course on Marcellus shale and property rights offered primarily in western Pennsylvania during the 2010-2012 real estate sales and broker license renewal period.

Photo by Jeremy Buckingham (2012) from Flickr under a Creative Commons license

The post Farmers Embrace Shale Natural Gas As Revenue Source appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

MOORESTOWN NJ – What goes through the mind of a landscape designer as he or she surveys a property for a prospective client?

Dianne Walker, owner of and landscape designer for Colorstone Gardens LLC in Moorestown, says her technique is to “paint with plants.” With the land as her canvas, she told the Burlington County (NJ) Times newspaper, she creates outdoor environments that reflect what she hears people tell her during client interviews. She tries to tie their desires in to the surrounding property’s features or elements, she said.

A video (above) in which Walker was in interview subject herself and explained her process, was posted Thursday (Aug. 29, 2013) by The Times on the YouTube channel of Calkins Media.

The post Landscape Designer’s Technique: ‘Paint With Plants’ appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.

First-time awards were achieved for 700 and 755 Business Center Dr., Horsham PA. Re-certifications were awarded to 2000 Lennox Dr., Lawrenceville NJ; 200, 300 and 400 Berwyn Park, all in Berwyn PA; 101 W. Elm St., Conshohocken PA); One, Two and Three Logan Square, Philadelphia PA); and 401 Plymouth Rd., Plymouth Meeting PA. Other buildings owned by Brandywine in Maryland and Virginia also were awarded.

“We are excited to exceed our 2012 goal of having over 80 Energy Star-rated buildings in the portfolio,” stated George Johnstone, the company’s senior vice president of operations.

Related (to energy use reduction):

• LED Bulbs Easy Way To Save Energy And Money
• Energy Star Awards, Recertifications Presented To Brandywine
• Area Commercial Developer Wins Energy Use Award
• Next At Google: Helping Consumers Read Their Electric Meter

Photo from Google Images

The post Energy Star Awards, Recertifications Presented To Brandywine appeared first on Polley Associates School of Real Estate.