Contact Information: Contact: Alyssa Nightingale 631-367-8599 anight@att.net
LONG ISLAND, NY--(Marketwire - June 27, 2008) - The Long Island Board of Realtors®
recently hosted an informational seminar to address Fair Housing Law and
its impact on Long Island. Hundreds of realtors attended the event held at
the Coral House in Baldwin, which featured guest speaker Marcus Wally,
Founder and Broker of New World Realty.
Fair Housing Laws have been on the books in the United States since 1866.
The Fair Housing ACT of 1988 and Title VIII of the 1968 Civil Rights Act
constitute the Fair Housing Act, which makes fair housing a national policy
throughout the U.S. and prohibits discrimination in the sale, lease or
rental of housing, or making housing otherwise unavailable because of race,
color, religion, sex, disability status or national origin.
"Federal and state fair housing laws were put into effect to create an even
playing field for homebuyers in all areas of real estate transaction,"
explains Mohsen Zandieh, LIBOR President. "The implications of fair
housing laws are very significant in the real estate industry and real
estate professionals may not discriminate on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin. Equally as
important, they may not follow such instructions from a home seller or
landlord," he added.
Realtors gathering in Baldwin discussed numerous aspects of fair housing
legislation including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Equal Credit
Opportunity Act, as well as the Fair housing Act of 1988. Michael
Mendicino, Chairperson of LIBOR's Fair Housing and Cultural Diversity
Committee, explained the importance of the seminar: "Realtors need to be
familiar with all aspects of fair housing law, need to stay current with
regard to fair housing legislation and apply their knowledge to all real
estate transactions."
"The fair housing laws are very specific when it comes to discrimination
and equal access and realtors need to know that there are implications for
working outside the parameters of the law when it comes to selling or
buying a property," Anthony Atkinson, Co-Chairperson of LIBOR's Fair
Housing Committee, added.
The Long Island Board of Realtors is a non-profit trade association
consisting of more than 25,000 real estate professionals. LIBOR is the
largest local Realtor Board in the Country with ten Chapters that cover the
North and South Shore of Nassau, Suffolk and Queens Counties.
