Here’s one of my stories: One day, on a marathon outing to see about 15 homes with a couple, we decided to take a break and have lunch. During the conversation I realized that the wife, a first-time homebuyer, was under the impression that I was an authority on the town and schools we were looking in. As I explained the Fair Housing Laws and why I couldn’t comment we ventured onto a topic that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. One of the reasons this couple was moving to a more rural area was to provide a more wholesome environment for their teenage children. One issue with rural areas is that kids often have to walk farther to and from school buses. Although I had touched on the issue of Megan’s Law when they signed the contract it became clear they hadn’t really thought about the possible ramifications.

We started talking about Megan’s Law again and the wife suddenly got concerned. I resent her the web site for the state’s registered sex offenders and pointers to school sites for her to check out. What occurred was amazing to me and very empowering for my buyers. Not only did the couple change their search criteria, they went and visited the schools their children would be going to and met with HOA representative in prospective communities. In fact, the home they originally wanted to put an offer on was dropped completely because there were 3 registered offenders on that street alone.

Now, I personally think that some offenders do rehabilitate and shouldn’t be persecuted if they have done their time. But, the consumer ultimately needs to determine what is most important to them. Buyers really need to list some of their key hot buttons and concerns and speak with their agent about them. Obviously, we’re often bound by Fair Housing Laws or the Realtor Code of Ethics when it comes to giving advice or specific information about some topics, but we can point buyers in the right direction. Ultimately, your real estate agent should be the source of the source – not the source. VIRGINIA IS A BUYER BEWARE STATE so buyers need to do their homework. In this case, my buyers were very happy with their purchase and felt they made the best decision for their family.