I did a presentation on being a real estate agent for career day at a local school about a week ago. My presentation was to the first graders. I told them what I do. How I research, meet people, help with contracts, drive a lot, spend time texting , emailing and talking a lot. In a nut shell that is what I do! The first graders were so cute. They were so serious. Some of the questions they had were this: One child wanted to know what if you have to sell but you don’t want to? One child wanted to know what if you don’t want to sell your house to the people who want to buy it? Simple questions and I tried to give them first grade answers! These were great questions that are something everyone should think about.
What if you have to sell but you don’t want to?
This happens a lot for different reasons. I explained to the kids that sometimes things change in your families. We talked about some of the reasons people move. The kids were really knowledgeable about it. People have babies, they need a bigger house. People get different jobs far away and have to move. People lose their jobs and can’t afford the house anymore. I explained when these things happen people may not want to sell but they know they have to do it. They put their house up for sale because it is the best thing for them to do. Even though they don’t want to move because they like their house and where they live.
Moving is hard on the kids
They might feel sad leaving their friends and school; maybe even have some anxiety about not knowing where they are going and what it will be like. I told the kids that after the move things usually work out. We should be considerate of children and their feelings. Moving is scary and sometimes people are moving because of circumstances that are not all happy. Moving is disruptive for parents but even harder on kids. Culture shock and the blues are part of it for kids. Parents should discuss the move at length with their children and answer all questions truthfully. Even if they are joyful circumstances for parents maybe not all affected by the move are delighted.
What if you don’t want to sell your house to the people who want to buy it?
The other big question; what if you don’t want to sell your house to the people who want to buy it? Truth be told this might happen more than you think. Part of the reason is that buying and selling is very emotional for people. Different things happen. Sellers might get mad because they are fed up with buyer requests that seem trivial or ridiculous. Buyers might want a seller to fix things that they have lived with for 8 years. Sometimes buyers and sellers feel like one person is trying to have it all their way with no give and take. This can be bad for a real estate transaction. It works out best if all parties try and have some consideration for the other parties concerns and work through it. If you simply don’t want to sell to someone for no other reason than you don’t like them you could run into a problem. Why don’t you like them?
There are laws that protect people
I explained to the kids that now days it is the law that you have to sell it to them. We have contracts that people sign and they are a promise to each other, the buyers and sellers to complete the sale. There are laws that don’t let you not sell to them just because you don’t like them. Honestly I didn’t know if first graders would know what discrimination is.
As I was leaving the school, waiting in the office to be picked up was the boy that asked me the question; What if you don’t want to sell your house to the people who want to buy it? He told me that his house was for sale. I wondered what he overheard his parents say! Was it simply people getting mad about trivial things or was it bigger than that? Little ears are listening. We should be mindful of this.
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and disability.
Real Estate Agents know about Fair Housing but does the average person? You could run into some legal issues if you discriminate. This is why I advised the class; if you are selling you have to sell the house to the people even if you don’t like them. There are laws that we have to abide by!
by Teresa Larson, Village Real Estate, Murray, Utah
20+ years real estate experience
(801) 750-5446 cell
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