New Fair Housing Web Site Created
at www.TheHousingSite.org
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.- The Illinois Association of
REALTORS has created a new World Wide Web site, www.TheHousingSite.org,
to provide consumers with information related to state and federal fair housing
laws. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race,
color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and handicap. The Housing
Site provides consumers access to information related to fair housing laws and
regulations regarding: housing, advertising, real estate practices, lending,
rental practices, credit and insurance.
The site also provides useful links to
state and federal affordable housing resources for seniors and the disabled as
well as renter assistance and mortgage assistance programs. The site, developed
by the Illinois Association of REALTORS under the guidance of the Partnership
for HomeOwnership, Inc. Foundation, provides a broad range of information on
fair housing laws, as well as other housing information for real estate
professionals, lenders, renters, landlords, homebuyers, seller, insurers and
appraisers.
"REALTORS play a vital role in
ensuring fair housing for all. It is our pledge to support and advocate the
practice of equal opportunity in fair housing. This site is a part of the
REALTOR Association's ongoing commitment toward greater awareness of the fair
housing laws of this country and the state of Illinois. All parties involved in the sale
or rental of real estate-from REALTORS to lenders to consumers-are key
audiences for this Web site," said Stan Sieron,
CRS, GRI, president of the Illinois Association of
REALTORS.
The fair housing laws were established to
protect the right of each individual to equal opportunity in the purchase,
sale, rental, leasing, financing, insuring and
advertising of housing.
"Illinois
has so many housing resources and programs that the people who need them the
most don't know where to go to access them," said Sieron,
broker/owner of Stan Sieron and Company in Belleville. "This new
Web site is designed to put all those resources in one place, www.TheHousingSite.org. It's
a great resource for the general public and for REALTORS who pledge to uphold
the fair housing laws of our country and are fundamentally committed to
ensuring a person's right to own, sell, purchase or rent housing of their
choice without fear of discrimination."
If consumers think that the fair housing
laws and their rights have been violated, the Web site includes procedures for
how to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
Downloadable resources and brochures on
fair housing are also included on the www.TheHousingSite.org Web site both
in English and Spanish. The site will soon be converted to Spanish. The site also
urges consumers not to fall prey to predatory lending practices and provides
useful information on how consumers can make informed decisions regarding
shopping for a loan including downloadable documents on state and federal
lending laws.
Since it was created in 1996, the
Partnership for HomeOwnership Inc., is a
not-for-profit foundation that has helped over 1,400 individuals in low-income
rural areas in Illinois
achieve homeownership. In addition to www.TheHousingSite.org, the
Partnership for HomeOwnership, together with the Freddie Mac Corporation, has
developed www.credit-power.org, a Web site
designed to teach teenagers the importance of good credit and the consequences
of bad credit choices.
The Illinois
Association of REALTORS is a voluntary trade association whose
55,000 members are engaged in all facets of the real estate industry. In addition
to serving the professional needs of its members, the Illinois Association of
REALTORS works to protect the rights of private property owners in the state by
recommending and promoting legislation that safeguards and advances the
interest of real property ownership.
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