It might be an honest question, but the answer might be what your Realtor cannot tell you.

Your Realtor Cannot Tell You What Is “Good”

We are not holding out on you. But when you ask, “is this a good neighborhood,” you are not going to get a yes or no response.

Specific details about a neighborhood or overall community can violate the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The law protects against discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability or family status. So you may be asking, “how does asking if a neighborhood is ‘good,’ violate any of those?” Good question! Because certain answers could be seen as your Realtor trying to steer you to or from a community based on any of the classes under federal protection. So while YOU might not be asking for any of those reasons, or I’m not trying to answer for any of those reasons, the law says we have to answer questions the same way for everyone. What your Realtor cannot tell you, they cannot tell anyone else, too!

I work a lot with employees relocating their families to Houston because of a great job opportunity. So here’s a common example: an agent might say, “this neighborhood is great for young families.” The comment implies the neighborhood demographic consists of parents and kids. Unmarried individuals or older couples may be inclined to pass on a house because they feel the neighborhood doesn’t cater to their lifestyle. Even though there was no malicious intent, that agent just violated fair housing laws.

Your Realtor Cannot Tell You What Is “Safe”

While we can link some crime statistics sites, answering whether a neighborhood is “safe,” can be interpreted as references to race, therefore, a violation of Fair Housing. Additionally (and I say this to clients all the time), what I consider safe and what you consider safe can be two totally different things. And even with crime stats, what kinds of crimes are being committed?

Your Realtor Can Help You Find Materials

Realtors have access to all sorts of third party reading materials and websites that can help aid your search. What your Realtor cannot tell you is different from what your Realtor can send you. Before you even begin your search, you can ask if there’s any materials they can send your way. Any good Realtor will have a wealth of information that they can email you.