Once all of the data for every city is compiled and mapped this will make a great tool which will make discussing crime in a certain area much more convenient. I will give it to Trulia, they got it right as far as the map is concerned.
However, my issue is with them is making it sound like discussing crime is a violation of the Fair Housing Act. It most certainly is not. Criminal is not a protected social class. As a matter of fact, if you are convicted of a crime and sent to prison, you lose your civil rights and have to request that they be restored upon your release. Anyone who has served jury duty knows that (Lucky me, I had jury duty last month).
The Fair Housing Act states that it is illegal to discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. That's it, plain and simple. Notice it doesn't mention criminal anywhere. Crime is an equal opportunity problem that strectches across all lines. A community having a high crime rate has nothing to do with any of the things mentioned in the Fair Housing Act.
Some Realtors are under the false assumption that if you discuss crime in a community you are committing the offense of Steering. This is also untrue. Steering is the unlawful channeling of a home buyer away from areas that are not mixed with that class into areas that are. Again, this has nothing to do with criminal activity.
It is unlawful to deny loans, refuse to rent to, refuse to sell to, quote different terms, or deny membership based on any one of the protected classes. Criminals are not a protected class, they are just criminals. There is nothing wrong or illegal (or unethical for that matter) with helping a home buyer choose a safe neighborhood for their kids to grow up in.
I have had buyers who I had to stop working with because I refused to steer them to a certain kind of neighborhood. That would have been a violation of Fair Housing. Food for thought folks.
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