Leveraging Your Legal Rights as a Home Buyer

When you’re looking to buy a home, it can be hard to remember that you will need to often advocate for yourself. Banks have to advocate for themselves, realtors advocate for sellers often, but buyers are often left to fend for themselves. Because of this, it’s very important to know what is within your rights as a home buyer.

Civil Liberties and Race Disclosure

For example, throughout the home buying process, you’ll fill out a number of applications, especially for the bank. Often, you’ll see questions that typically don’t have to be answered (sex, religion, gender, etc.). There’s a reason why banks require it, and it's actually a government-required audit to ensure that discriminatory practices don’t take place. If you feel that your interest rates or the amount you’re able to borrow changes based on discrimination, be sure to read up on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and contact legal aid if needed.

Marital Status VS Marital History

So, banks can ask you if you’re married, but not if you’re divorced or have been widowed. Similarly, you cannot be asked if you plan on having children. These speculative questions can bear no weight when determining the loan you’re awarded.

Conclusion

If you feel that you have experienced discrimination, you need to stand up and report it to the proper authorities. Please refer to Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity rules for up-to-date guidelines and information on how to report bad lending practice.