Fair is Fair, Right?

Over the past two weeks, I've heard at least five people say some variation of the sentence "That's not P.C." Now believe me, I'm the first person to say everyone should be treated equally, and that everyone deserves equal rights, but are we going too far? Even sitting here writing down my personal thoughts on this issue (I know this is a public forum, but you get me when I say "personal"...right?), I have a pit in my stomach which I guarantee will be there until I feel I've successfully conveyed this idea without offending anyone. (How's that for a mission?) I feel like we're at a point, especially in the real estate business, that anything that comes out of anyone's mouth can be turned into some type of debate on political correctness. I understand the idea of staying neutral and not out-right voicing your political/personal opinions in business, but I never understood the logic in denying facts (ie. factual information on school statistics and population). I never felt it was necessary to tell people to "drive around an area" or to visit the local school web site. This is information that is the most important to a lot of people's searches. If I have the knowledge, why shouldn't I be able to share it in a tactful and "PC" way? I'm supposed to be the expert. Of course, I understand why things like steering and red-lining are illegal. It is certainly not our job to push someone into an area based on race/gender/sexual orientation, and our perceived opinion of said area. I also understand that it's not our job to say "Hey Jewish Person, this is a great Jewish area!" That's not what I'm talking about. Here's where "the line" gets blurred for me. (*please note, I ALWAYS follow the Fair Housing laws. These are just my opinions. So, all of you die-hard-everything-must-be-by-the-book people out there, calm down). The issue I have is that I really don't see a huge problem in telling a client what is considered a certain "type" of area if they ask (Key words: IF THEY ASK). If someone says "Oh, that's a predominately Catholic area, right?" and I know that it is, in fact, considered a predominately Catholic area, I think it's a bit excessive to say "by accordance with New York State law, I really can't disclose that information. Here are some great web sites." Why can't I say "From what I understand, yes." I'm not saying "Yes, 150%. If you're catholic, this is the place for you!" I'm merely informing my client that I've heard the area is predominately catholic. I think at that point, you should offer the suggestion of further investigating via the internet/local information sources. I don't think there's any need for you to be the one to elaborate on the issue, but I see no reason not at least be truthful and informative in a tactful way. To me, it's comparable to saying "what's that person like?" and you saying "I've heard she's very nice." It's merely an opinion that has gained some factual standing by means of consistency in other people's opinions. Could someone easily find out that information on their own? Sure. But again, we're supposed to be the experts! In the interest of saving time, and not pissing off your customer, why not just answer the damn question to the best of your knowledge? Real Estate is local, and I feel it's unfair to our clients to not answer questions we clearly have the answers to. I am by no means saying that I'm okay with a licensed real estate professional imparting their personal views on their clients. It is never okay for you to suggest an area based on a person's color, religion, or any other "defining characteristics." That's not your place. I just feel (again, I FEEL this way. I don't DO this. I respect my profession way too much to ever risk breaking a rule) that if we're asked about an area, we should be able to say "It's a great family area." I guess my issue is more along the line of at what point have we stifled ourselves too much? Believe me, I know these laws are out there solely to cover our own behinds, but I'm just questioning the excessive nature of it all.

This past week, I spoke to two buyers with two very different requests. However, due to the "law," I had to field said requests with the same type of vague answers/response questions. The first person I spoke to was explaining their search and told me they don't want to be in, and I quote "any minority neighborhoods." When I responded with "What areas would you like to be in?" They told me "One with no black people." (Nice, right? A side note to all of the buyers/sellers out there, we will never laugh with about racial issues. We think it's disgusting. Real estate professionals, for the most part, are open-minded, equal opportunity-seeking, people). On a lighter note, the second potential buyer told me that they wanted to be in a "great family area, with a great school district." My response "there are some great web sites to help you determine where you might want to be. I'd be more than happy to send them your way" I have no problem saying that to a buyer, but what is unfathomable to me, is that those two requests are supposed to be answered in the same type of way. Can we not allow ourselves for a minute to see the absurdity in this? A blatant racially-driven request should not have to be treated the same way as an innocent one. Now, I know some will say "well, that's a matter of opinion." Yes, you're right. That's my opinion. The "meat and potatoes" of what I do is "matching" a client with the best agent for their needs. If I know someone is family-oriented and interested in school districts, I will match them with someone similar. Is that going against Fair Housing laws, too? When do we take a step back and consider the idea that being politically correct (or, what we've all been taught is politically correct) has gone a little too far? If I can't facilitate a buyer by offering the knowledge I have of my market place, what good am I?

Do you know that casting directors can't request a certain race for any particular role. The example I was given when I learned this is, if Spike Lee were directing Malcolm X, he legally cannot request a black actor for the title role (for all of those who don't know who Malcolm X is, click the link. You'll soon understand the insanity in this). I'm sure some will argue that this is the right thing to do. I, however, just don't see it. Now, this is hardly related to real estate and the issues we deal with on a day to day basis, but it goes along with the idea that we're all slowly and surely becoming extremists. Are we going to stop asking people for financial statements at risk of offending someone that may have lost their job during these hard economic times? Really, People, where does it end?

Sadly, there is no great moral today (Grab a tissue, you'll be okay). There doesn't seem to be an end in sight, or any type of concrete answer, for that matter. Needless to say, (but I will anyway) this is a tricky issue, and it's sometimes easier to just follow the rules blindly instead of getting ourselves in trouble. We all come from different backgrounds, and no one's story is the same. This is why I think it's so hard to come up with a moral code for so many variations of people. We all have different opinions of what's right and what's wrong, and different knowledge to offer. I think the Fair Housing laws are really the only way to fully protect ourselves, but I guess I'm just saddened that they have to be drilled into our heads and that because of past mistakes, we're no longer trusted to make tactful decisions. Because of our inability to see "people" over anything else (be it, color/gender..whatever else you may see), we are now being boxed into a strict code of morals that don't allow for situational blunders. So I ask you this: If our code of ethics was no longer in place, would our professional standards fall apart?