What You Need to Know About the Fair Housing Act
As moving season winds down, we would like to take a moment to review one of the most important real estate laws in existence. The Fair Housing Act, landmark legislation that passed 50 years ago, is an essential part of renting and buying real estate in the United States. If you searched for a new home this summer, you likely saw the Equal Housing Opportunity logo on a landlord’s, real estate agent’s, or lender’s paperwork. This federal law, however, is more than just a logo.
Also known as the Civil Rights Act of 1968, the Fair Housing Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson just days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The act itself prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familiar status. At the time when the act was signed, overt housing discrimination was a massive problem throughout the country. The segregation of whole neighbors and the outright rejection of qualified renters based on race made several parts of the country inaccessible to people of color.
Though the act passed, discrimination in the housing market continues to be an unfortunate reality. According to the National Fair Housing Alliance, over 25,000 housing discrimination complaints were filed in 2017. Over half of the complaints were based on disability, while around 20 percent were based on race. However, these numbers reflect only the reported incidents. The NFHA estimates that over 4 million instances of housing discrimination occur annually.
So, what does housing discrimination look like? Here are a few examples of discrimination people in protected classes have encountered.
- A real estate agent tries to “steer” a buyer away from a certain neighborhood
- A landlord tries to avoid renting to someone by saying the unit has been rented
- A property management company refuses to rent to a family with children
- A landlord evicts a person of color for a reason they wouldn’t evict a white tenant for
- A landlord refuses to make reasonable accommodations for a tenant who is disabled.
If you have been discriminated against, you can take action by filing a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. You can also file a complaint with local housing resources, which can be found through the NFHA.
Pay Off the Mortgage Before Retirement?
Until recently, financial planners advocated for staving off retirement until individuals were able to pay off their mortgages. However, the tide is turning, and that same conclusion may not be the best choice for all individuals. Most experts will tell you to extinguish the mortgage before you retire, as you will be on a fixed income with reduced cash flow. The logic behind this is that you’ll need to budget harder to ensure you have cash available for essential living expenses. Additionally, you’ll likely need to pay for additional Medicare as you age. Additionally, some people fear losing their homes due to the inability to keep up with mortgage payments. This is the last thing a retired person will want to deal with.
However, times are changing, and many homeowners are carrying mortgage debt well into their 70s and 80s. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was common to pay off a mortgage in full before retirement. However, many people can’t afford to pay off the entire mortgage before they reach retirement age, often pushing retirement off in order to continue making mortgage payments.
This reality has created a trend shift. Fewer than half of all Baby Boomers are mortgage-free in retirement. A recent survey from American Financing found that 44% of 60- to 70-year-old homeowners will retire while still holding a mortgage. Additionally, with rising mortgage rates, future generations of homeowners will be facing the same problem. Increased household debt and the prevalence of low-down payment mortgages will continue to push payments well into retirement.
If you’ve reached retirement age and still have a few years left on your mortgage, you should not rush the repayment process. This could result in a lack of resources down the line, which can be dangerous in retirement. Additionally, many current homeowners have relatively low mortgage rates, meaning monthly payments may not be a huge burden in retirement. Putting money into an illiquid asset later in life may not be very strategic; if your money is tied up in a property, you may experience additional financial burden.
In the end, the decision to pay off your mortgage before retirement is entirely personal. Individuals should consider their retirement packages, savings, and monthly payments before acting.