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Old 05-14-2008, 06:52 PM
 
13,783 posts, read 26,189,835 times
Reputation: 7445

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My friend moved to another city in November 2007. While she was still looking at the home she noticed a small plaque next to the door on the house next door. She assumed the house was on the historic registry as she bought in a very old area if the city and this status is quite common.

She asked the realtor if the house was on the registry and she replied "no". My friend asked what the plaque said and the realtor went to go take a look. When she returned she told my friend she did not know what the plaque was "all about".

Today, I got a call from my friend and she was hysterical. The house next door is an assisted living home for severely mentally challenged folks. This would not have bothered her too much but she caught a resident being, well, innappropriate in the alley between the two houses.

What can she do? Is there anything? Was the realtor responsible for disclosing this information? I know realtors are not allowed to comment about specific crime in the area, if someone died in the home and whether or not a previous resident had a communicable disease. At least in Virginia this is case.
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Old 05-14-2008, 10:01 PM
 
Location: Albany, OR
540 posts, read 2,166,491 times
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The answer to this question is going to be different from state to state...if you let us know what state your friend is in you'll get a better answer.
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Old 05-14-2008, 10:59 PM
 
Location: Montana
2,203 posts, read 9,289,018 times
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Since "handicapped" is a protected class under the Fair Housing Act, the agent would have been prohibitted from disclosing the "home" next door. She could have lost her real estate license for doing so.
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Old 05-14-2008, 11:04 PM
 
Location: New York, Westchester
506 posts, read 2,272,508 times
Reputation: 238
Default next time maybe "your friend"........

won,t be so lazy..........................
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Old 05-15-2008, 11:49 AM
 
Location: Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs
250 posts, read 987,931 times
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This is really up to the buyer to research. Agents can't discriminate. This would have been an instance of "Steering" - where you are basically saying, "This area is for handicapped people, so you might want to know that." Not good.

Your friend needed to look into this on her own. Same applies to sex offenders or other groups of protected people. Your agent can't tell you about it.
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Old 05-15-2008, 01:27 PM
 
5,438 posts, read 5,910,891 times
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yep, fair housing laws protect disabled individuals; agents are not to discriminate.
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Old 05-15-2008, 03:16 PM
 
Location: Salem, OR
15,494 posts, read 40,190,180 times
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I have a slightly different take on this...

First of all I used to work as a child and family therapist before I was a real estate agent and the group homes like this try and be discreet. They don't have large signs that say "Mentally Ill People Live here or Juvenile Delinquents: guard your stuff." I don't know what the plaque says, but it probably says nothing of significance, hence the agent's response. Unless you lived in the neighborhood, you really won't know where these places are.

As far as Fair Housing goes...
No we don't steer, but it doesn't mean we don't answer a question. So, if the plaque did say "Home for the Mentally Ill' then the agent should have told her exactly what it said. We are talking about the Buyer's Agent here, so she needs to be honest with you.
I doubt is said anything like that though. I don't think it is a Fair Housing Violation to matter of factly tell a client "The house next door is a group home." That is a factual statement with no bias or suggestion attached to it.

A Fair Housing Violation would be to tell a client "There are mentally ill people in this neighborhood, don't live there. Let's go look at these other homes." That is steering.

So...I understand your friends concerns, but I really doubt that agent had any idea what that house was. If the man was inappropriate in the alley, I suggest that she talk to the staff at the house or call the police. They will know to supervise him better.
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Old 05-15-2008, 05:30 PM
 
Location: SCCL, Lancaster, SC
444 posts, read 1,643,396 times
Reputation: 164
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrstewart View Post
My friend moved to another city in November 2007. While she was still looking at the home she noticed a small plaque next to the door on the house next door. She assumed the house was on the historic registry as she bought in a very old area if the city and this status is quite common.

She asked the realtor if the house was on the registry and she replied "no". My friend asked what the plaque said and the realtor went to go take a look. When she returned she told my friend she did not know what the plaque was "all about".

Today, I got a call from my friend and she was hysterical. The house next door is an assisted living home for severely mentally challenged folks. This would not have bothered her too much but she caught a resident being, well, innappropriate in the alley between the two houses.



What can she do? Is there anything? Was the realtor responsible for disclosing this information? I know realtors are not allowed to comment about specific crime in the area, if someone died in the home and whether or not a previous resident had a communicable disease. At least in Virginia this is case.
Rather than just saying she didn't know what it meant she should have gone to the the tax records to see who owned it and get an answer that we proper to your friend. Obviously, your friend was interested in knowing about the house and the due dligents of her agent should have uncovered the
status of the home.

Dunroven
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Old 05-15-2008, 06:33 PM
 
13,783 posts, read 26,189,835 times
Reputation: 7445
She is in Virginia and I couldn't help but wonder why she didn't look at the sign herself. Her decision not to look is definitely biting her in the bottom now!

The police came and talked to her and told her the home was not for people who had criminal issues so she filed a complaint about the man. Maybe this violation will have him either monitored more closely or removed from the house.

Thanks for the information.
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Old 05-15-2008, 11:30 PM
 
Location: Great State of Texas
86,052 posts, read 84,125,061 times
Reputation: 27718
You can't blame an agent for the buyer not doing their due diligence.
Know what you are buying..that means scoping out the neighborhood and the next door neighbors.
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