Would you tell your buyers not to buy in that neighborhood?

Neal - It amazes me that there are still people out there like this, but I know there are.  Fortunately for me, I have never had a client ask me any questions like that.

Well, first of all, I see nothing at all wrong with the buyers wanting to know those things. I see nothing wrong with people wanting to live in a neighborhood of people "like them." I don't see that as bigoted or "shallow" in the least. Why live where you feel uncomfortable, or even where you have nothing at all in common with the other residents?

If I had a young family I'd want to be with other young families who had values somewhat similar to mine. If I was single I might want to be near other singles. It's a matter of surrounding yourself with potential friends.

To answer Russel, why wouldn't an agent steer himself or herself to a neighborhood that was pleasing? I think we sometimes go a little too far in an effort not to discriminate.

But the question is, what can YOU as an agent tell them? I think you're doing the absolutely right thing by directing them to websites where they can learn from themselves. I also used to encourage people to drive around the neighborhood at different times of day. Perhaps even stop and visit with a neighbor or two. I would also tell them to check the websites that locate registered sex offenders.

When I was still selling, sex offender information was only available for a fee. It only cost $5, but the names of everyone who inquired were there for the sex offender to see. No one wanted to do that. After I quit selling I had a friend who was trying to buy a house and the acceptance was delayed because the man became ill. Luckily she took that time to check the sex offender website and learned that had she purchased the house, she would have had a child molester living next door - and she had a beautiful 8 year old daughter.

I see nothing wrong with telling a buyer that real estate law does not allow you to divulge that information - and then suggesting the ways that they can get it for themselves.

By the way, I think I was "tested" once too. I never found out for sure, but it sure felt that way, and the "buyers" were never seen in town again.

When a client asks me about a neighborhood, I do not necessarily assume that their question involves Fair Housing issues. Lots of neighborhood information can be discussed without getting into protected class issues.

1. Issues related to the age of the neighborhood such as particular builder(s), construction methods including type of electrical wiring, type of heating & cooling systems, type of exterior siding, presence of popcorn ceilings, typical ceiling height, typical floor plan, etc.
2. General information such as neighborhood school assignments, proximity of public transportation, presence or lack of an HOA, nearby amenities, etc.
3. Information related to property values such as percent of rental properties versus owner occupied, average days on market, general appearance of neighborhood, per cent of homes that have been renovated since they were built, tax value changes over recent years, number of foreclosures in neighborhood, etc.

If asked about demographic information, I refer them to a link on my website to http://www.zipskinny.com which gives census information by zip code including education and income stats. If necessary, I will explain to a client that any discussion of their question would put me in violation of Federal Fair Housing Guidelines. I am fortunate to work in the greater Austin area that is very diverse so Fair Housing type issues seldom come up.

I seldom--- if ever,  show a home unless the Buyer drives the area first themselves to avoid any inquiries into "racial" make-up or other issue which are not my ethical or legal place to discuss. Period. To do otherwise in neighborhoods that you may not live in yourself  is opening up a Pandora's Box. Don't ever second guess someone's value system.

Why put yourself in this position when you can easily avoid it?

I don't think we should blame buyers for asking these questions.  Many people want to live in a community with other people like themselves. I get the questions often and refer them to several websites to research schools, demographics, and crime and advise them to spend some time visiting the neighborhoods themselves.

What a Pandora's box you opened up.  But, really, as has been stated, it is pretty simple.  Buyers have to familiarize themselves with which neighborhoods they want to live in by seeing the neighborhoods and checking what sites they want to check online.  After which, they can tell me where they want to look for homes.  That way, I am not steering them to or away from a neighborhood.

I don't tell my buyers what neighborhoods to buy in.  I find out if they want to move within a certain number of miles from work or school or church...whatever is important to them.  I then set up either an automated radius search or draw an automated map search and we go look at houses that meet all their criteria, # of rooms, price, distance from what ever place is important to them. I let them make their own decision that they don't like this street because of bars on all the windows or that street because cars are parked all over, etc. I will then alter the search based on what the client tells me when we go on tour. Most of the time the clients will talk to neighbors of the house they are considering putting an offer on. I find that neighbors usually are very happy to share their knowledge of the neighborhood, especially those curious neighbors that are conveniently hanging around outside while you're showing the house.

I am currently working with a buyer who wants to move here from a foreign country.  I have yet to meet her face-to-face, and the language barrier is creating some challenges, but she has made it clear that she wants to live in a "nice" neighborhood.  Since she has limited knowledge of the local area and obviously cannot drive it herself, I have found Google Maps to be helpful.  She can just type in a home's address to get an aerial view, and in some cases, a street view is available, so she can judge for herself whether the area meets her definition of "nice".

I'm so glad that Hawaii is a very racially diverse state and everyone pretty much gets along.  Also, most neighborhoods are small so you can get a pretty good idea by just driving around.  The only ungly incident I ever had was with a seller, who didn't like the color of a buyer that was interested in his condo.  Luckily the buyer didn't like his condo, so that was the end of that.

I saw one person commented on the age of the neighbors. It is curious, but age is not a protected class as far as I can read. Now, familial status is a different matter. RESPA talks of age, but not Fair Housing, on the federal level at least. But as mentioned previously in a comment, we focus so on Federal Fair Housing laws, do not neglect to be aware of city, county, and state laws that could include other protected classes. There are many around the country. And bravo for them, in my opinion.

I also saw a person comment on how it is okay to comment on school assignments. While this is certainly okay and our MLS has places for you to list the schools for a particular property. Howver, I just did my relicensing and they said that one of the main reasons agents get into problems is by giving out inccorrect school info. Problem is, this year the kids might go to school A while next year the district zones could be redone and the owner's kids would go to school B. If you do not update your MLS data, and let's face it, some of our listings go on for over a year nowadays, you could have incorrect data and be liable (not an attorney here, check with yours). Personally, I give my buyers a link to the Pasco County School Board and they can enter the address for the time that they are buying and get the infor (right or wrong) from the school district, not from me.

Hi, Yes, I will not even get involved in  anything like this. I tell them to go walk the neighborhood, themselves, if they wish to know more about things. I don't want to be accused of steering, of any kind.  We must be extremely careful in this respect.  Better to be safe than sorry.

Been there done that, had that on all levels.  The hardest for me is when THEY PICKED The Listing, I get them there, and they will NOT Get out of the car, because of the neighborhood.

I go to the door, spologize that my client has already seen the property and I was in error.  I realize I am lying, but I am embarrassed for my customers rudeness.  I'm thrilled when no one is home and all I have to do is leave a card.

There is a great HOPA - Housing for Older Persons Q&A sheet on the HUD site. For example, they can be stricter than the basic requirements if they want. They can require that 100% of the units have someone 55+ in residence. Or they could require that all residents be that age or older. Some agents and buyer mistakenly think that the 80-20 rule means that the subdivision must allow in younger people up to the 20% limit. Would be worth your whild to read this sheet or print copies to hand out. But yes, if the home is a qualified 55+ or in rare occasion a 62+ (fewer of those) subdivision, that is an issue. However, HOPA is an exception to the "familial status" section of fair housing. Age itself is not mentioned in Federal fair housing law as a protected class.

our MLS also prohibits mentioning 55+, retirement subdivsion, etc. UNLESS we get an affadavit signed by the current HOA president and IF the subdivision appears on Florida's list of 55+ communities. Then we must scan and have these attached to the listing in the MLS so agents can download this proof. Most of us just do not say anything since it becomes too cumbersome and the HOA presidents get ticked at having to sign all this stuff.

But we also have a lot of subdivisions that do not qualify as 55+ but if you pull in with a family some guy will come running up telling you that you cannot sell to families there. However, if you listen to these liars and refuse to show the family the home in a non-55+ community, then YOU are in violation of Fair Housing law. I saw where HUD fined one community tens of thousands of dollars for playing this game. Don't know about you, but I do not have the money for those types of fines. 55+ communities are great, but you better be very familiar with the area before you start being an "expert" there. I am sure Neal will back me up on that. If you do not normally service that area, make sure you get the facts straight.

Neal this is a very touchy subject. I would never advise on the basis of race. If my Clients ask about demographics for a city...I can just forward them a link to the actual numbers.

Early this year we had a lead who insisted we help them find homes in areas that would be suitable to their family (ie. not so white). We didn't take the client. If a client wants to pick their own homes to see and just happens to do so based on their own diversity compfort level I will show the homes but I will not help them filter.

Steering of any form is not ethical. Neither is redlining. Yet, I talk with agents every day that tell me that areas of town are "too dark" for them...Or too depressed for them...etc. It's kinda sad, really.

Agreed, steering is illegal......

Give them the buyers advisory up front for the plethora of information it can provide a buyer.  Drive the neighborhood, sometimes I suggest to drive it at night on a weekend. 

Talk to the neighbors!  They are the biggest form of information, especially those home owners who have been there for a while.

GREAT SUBJECT!  Thanks!

Roxy

I understand the idea behind the fair housing act. Of course we don't want to discriminate in housing, but some of the rules feel like it has all gotten out of hand. "Steering" rules were set up to prevent agents from not showing specific neighbors such as "all white" to a black buyer in order to keep the status quo. Of course we all know this is rediculous and would not do it.  The issues becomes when our client wants to live in near a particular church or away from a particular protected class.  Are we really "steering" them by showing them what THEY WANT? It seems more that we are simply helping find the most suitable property to fit their desires.  I don't know that I would drop a buyer due to his prefererences. That seems pretty self righteous to me. We cannot contol what other people think or feel and unless a buyer is being truly obnoxious about a protected class, I see no reason not to help them find a home they will be comfortable in. I do suggest that people go to the local grocery store to get a feel for who lives in the neighborhood if that is an apparent concern of their's.

I've actually directed them to the police dept. There they can ask ALL the questions that they want to.