She refused to sell home to Trump supporter. Now she may lose over $100K

In March, a Sacramento woman put her family home up for sale with one stipulation: the buyer must not support Donald Trump. Nearly half a year later, and after temporarily being taken off the market, the home's sale is pending — for more than six-figures under the original asking price. less In March, a Sacramento woman put her family home up for sale with one stipulation: the buyer must not support Donald Trump. Nearly half a year later, and after temporarily being taken off the market, the home's ... more Photo: Evan Vucci, Associated Press Photo: Evan Vucci, Associated Press Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close She refused to sell home to Trump supporter. Now she may lose over $100K 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

In March, a Sacramento woman put her family home up for sale with one stipulation: the buyer must not support Donald Trump.

Nearly half a year later, and after temporarily being taken off the market, the home's sale is pending — for more than six-figures under the original asking price. Could politics be to blame?

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom house in Carmichael was listed for $625,000 in March. It's closing at $495,000, according to multiple real estate websites.

The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, switched real estate agents prior to the sale. The current agent, JaCi Wallace with Re/Max Gold, told the Sacramento Bee that she was unaware of restrictions or special instructions regarding the property.

The median home value in Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento, is $407,200, per real estate listing site Zillow. Other homes for sale in the city on Zillow range in price from $275,000 to more than $1 million.

In a March interview with CBS Sacramento, the home seller said the property has been in her family for decades.

"When you're talking about principles, morals, and ethics, it's very, very deep," she said of her stipulations for the seller.

At the time, some questioned whether the woman's efforts to sell only to those aligning with her politics was legal.

Political affiliation isn't one of the protected classes designated by the Fair Housing Act — which deems religion, sex, race, and national origin, among other things as protected — but at least one lawyer believes that the requirement infringes on a potential buyer's First Amendment rights.

"People have a right to believe what they want to believe and they shouldn't be restricted from purchasing property based on that," lawyer Allen Sawyer told the news organization.

This isn't the first time a seller or landlord refused to do business with those with different political positions. In 2016, a Colorado landlord placed an ad that called only for prospective tenants who do not support Trump.

SFGATE staff writer Alyssa Pereira contributed to this report.

Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.

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