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I'm curious about something. I understand (to a degree) that a Realtor can't directly answer questions about how "good" a neighborhood is, or the demographics or the quality of schools.
EXCEPT they do that exact thing here on CD. And many Realtors use their real names, and nearly all have links to their home pages. So how do they get around the legalities when they answer these question on a public forum?
I don't believe that would be true. As Silverfall says, it's about the house and not about the people.
If someone asks about good schools, the question needs to be what makes a school good.
If some asks is Willow Springs a better neighborhood than Springs Willow, the same questions need answered. What makes a neighborhood good?
All of that is subjective.
I know housing, real estate contracts, contract negotiations, mortgage people, types of loans, contractors, inspectors, community centers, traffic patterns. I do not know demographics, crime statistics or sex offenders statistics.
I'm curious about something. I understand (to a degree) that a Realtor can't directly answer questions about how "good" a neighborhood is, or the demographics or the quality of schools.
EXCEPT they do that exact thing here on CD. And many Realtors use their real names, and nearly all have links to their home pages. So how do they get around the legalities when they answer these question on a public forum?
Well, I will answer that in generic terms. Like in my area south and west areas of the cities generally have the higher rated schools and are generally more desirable on resale. That is a true statement. You can go on the Dept of Ed website for my state and see that these schools have higher ratings. So I think it depends on how specific you go and what you say. I don't answer demographic questions unless someone is asking about 55+ communities.
I think you can ask about good schools, does anyone else have ways of asking?
Can you ask if there are a lot of rental buildings in the areas or homes that rent to Section 8?
What can and cant' be asked, what ways are there to get around those specific questions not allowed?
By law, we can not persuade clients based upon notions such as "good areas" "crime free areas." It's better to ask about school systems. When you do that we as agents can refer to do simple googles that have school grading system. As a proper sleuth many times there's a correlation between the community and school systems. Good luck to you!
The beginning of this thread really scared me. So glad some of you guys spoke up and straightened it out. It was starting to look like a tester's wet dream.
I'm curious about something. I understand (to a degree) that a Realtor can't directly answer questions about how "good" a neighborhood is, or the demographics or the quality of schools.
EXCEPT they do that exact thing here on CD. And many Realtors use their real names, and nearly all have links to their home pages. So how do they get around the legalities when they answer these question on a public forum?
I am amazed at how many Realtors answer questions without thinking of Fair Housing Laws, protected classes, etc. A buyer should be thinking about neighborhood qualities, demographic data, school data, etc., but since these can be very subjective, Realtors are not supposed to "steer" you one direction or another. We should point you to the answers via census data, school websites, police websites, etc.
What makes a great school for you might be test scores while someone else may be based on their special needs programs or sports/music programs. I think a buyer should be concerned about the resources a school has to offer since it is up to the student and their family to utilize the resources. I could send my sons to Harvard or Yale, but if they aren't going to take the time to study, they won't get much of an education no matter how well the schools are rated. Conversely, a horribly rated school could provide access to Khan Academy to supplement their math and science departments and the student can go at their own pace.
I tell people who ask about what type of people live in the neighborhood to go hang out where the local people shop (not the mall or the big box stores since they are magnets pulling in people from all over). Go enjoy the local park and see if you can picture yourself there. If so, you are in the right neighborhood.
Hope this helps!
Jim
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