Giovanni Gracias Zeroes in on the Fair Housing Act

(Newswire.net — June 8, 2017) San Diego, California — The Fair Housing Act, which primarily provides landlord-tenant rules and safeguards against housing discrimination, is applicable to nearly all rental properties across the United States. To this end, landlords all over the country are advised to pay attention to the FHA and stay compliant with its rules and guidelines.

Giovanni Gracias, Managing Director and owner of Pacific Property Solutions LLC, agrees. As a highly recognized San Diego-based real estate professional, Mr. Gracias emphasizes that when it comes to managing rental properties, there is no substitute to being educated about the FHA. This, in fact, is a way for landlords to grow their business without compromising their own rights.

“Being in this business, you have to have that ability to be coachable and okay with being a student,” Mr. Gracias says, citing his extensive experience in the real estate industry. In 2011, he educated himself in real estate investing, took a leap of faith to shift to the challenging industry, and started his firm in 2012. To date, Pacific Property Solutions has bought more than 30 San Diego investment properties to fix and flip.

For rental property owners scrambling to know about the FHA, Mr. Gracias advises that they do their homework. The basic rule is that discrimination against a potential tenant’s age, religion, marital status or ethnicity is an absolute no-no. Strict compliance to this rule saves landlords from legal trouble.

Rental property managers should also rethink their print advertisements, according to Mr. Gracias. Conditions for tenancy should not be discriminating in any way against potential occupants, as this could be grounds for complaint based on fair housing. Moreover, all prospective tenants should be given the same questionnaire to show that they are treated equally and avoid misunderstanding on the landlord’s intent. It helps to have a lawyer review both the print ad and the questionnaire.

When a prospective tenant pays the property a visit, the landlord should be polite and careful when asking questions or answering them. Mr. Gracias suggests that to avoid potential discrimination charges, all conversations need to be strictly about the property.

“Landlords also need to keep track of tenant showings and applications,” Mr. Gracias adds. Whenever a tenant’s application is rejected, it pays to write down important notes on the valid reasons for the rejection, such as failure to make security deposits or bad credit score. This helps keep landlords on track of their dealings and ultimately protect themselves from possible complaints based on fair housing rules.

“When it comes to dealing with your prospective and current tenants, it is important to keep an open mind and be compliant with fair housing rules,” Mr. Gracias concludes.