April 2005 Issue
Page 2

FAIR HOUSING INFORMATION AND THE USE OF DESCRIPTIVE WORDS

Lately, the Board office has received several inquiries regarding the legality of certain words used to describe listings in the remarks of the MLS or any other advertising vehicle.

APRIL IS FAIR HOUSING MONTH

ARE YOU IN COMPLIANCE - IT'S THE LAW - ARE YOU PREPARED?

Click here and take a quiz on how much you know about Fair Housing

http://www.realtor.org/rmoquiz2.nsf/FairHousingQuiz?OpenForm

To assist offices and agents in following the laws of the Fair Housing Act click here. You will see, the Federal Fair Housing Act does not print a list of words you can or cannot use. Please follow the Fair Housing guidelines each office has available. For additional assistance check realtor.org or the LISA Hotline.

FCC CLARIFICATION ON DO NOT CALL RULES REGARDING FOR SALE OF OWNER

Issue:

On February 18, 2005, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an Order addressing certain issues raised in NAR's Petition for Reconsideration of the Commission's 2003 Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA, a.k.a. Do-Not-Call) rules. Specifically, NAR requested that the FCC clarify that calls to "For Sale By Owner" (FSBO) and expired listings fall outside the scope of the Do-Not-Call rules.

The FCC did clarify that calls to FSBOs by real estate professionals representing a potential buyer are not a telephone solicitation, so long as the purpose of the calls are to discuss the potential sale of the property to the represented buyer. Unfortunately, the FCC declined to exempt from the Do-Not-Call rules calls to expired listings and to FSBOs for the purpose of offering services to residential subscribers (homeowners).

The FCC also denied exemptions of Do-Not-Call rules that were requested by Independent Insurance Agents, the Direct Marketing Association and other professional associations. In issuing the Order, the FCC made a strong statement indicating its unwillingness to consider further exemptions of entities or calls from the Do-Not-Call rules.

NAR has lobbied the FCC on this issue since the Do-Not-Call rules were finalized in July 2003. Our advocacy efforts included a Call for Action (which generated about 7000 letters to the FCC), high-level meetings with NAR leadership and FCC Commissioners (including most recently, a meeting with NAR President Al Mansell and Chairman Powell), and securing a letter from Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Chairman House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, to Chairman Powell supporting our position.

Background:

The FCC's national Do-Not-Call rules generally prohibit a telemarketer from calling a person whose telephone number is on the national Do-Not-Call registry. Over 85 million telephone numbers are now listed on the registry administered by the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"). The FCC's rule is applicable to all industries, including banking, securities and insurance. When the rule was adopted, the FCC provided that a company could solicit a consumer whose telephone number was on the national Do-Not-Call registry if the company had an "established business relationship" with the consumer.

An established business relationship is a relationship based upon a transaction that took place between the company and the consumer within the previous 18 months, or within three months of an inquiry, application or request by the consumer.

NAR's Do-Not-Call Compliance Campaign:

NAR has launched a compliance campaign, to help our members become aware of the Do-Not-Call rules and how they affect the way they work. Members who violate the Do-Not-Call rules (and it's easy to get caught) could be fined $11,000 for each violation. It's critical that they understand the regulations. The compliance campaign, which carries the theme: "REALTORS® -- The Do-Not-Call Law Means You," includes extensive information and tools on how to comply. Find out more at www.realtor.org/DoNotCall.

A copy of the Order is on realtor.org. For more information, please contact Lynn King at 202/383-1156, lking@realtors.org or Marcia Salkin at 202/383-1092, msalkin@realtors.org .

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