This is a question that was posted by a prospective home buyer on Trulia this evening. On the surface, it seems like a harmless enough question. And apparently a few others had that same thought, as within minutes a couple of real estate agents weighed in and posted answers to the buyer.
I was shocked when I read their answers, as the agents literally named and described areas and zip codes that they deemed to be "good" neighborhoods. What those agents did - probably without a clue - was walk all over federal fair housing laws like they were a pair of old worn out shoes! Check out HUD Fair Housing Laws and Presidential Executive Orders.
A friend of mine said, "those agents [that just flagrantly and publicly violated fair housing laws, in writing, on a national real estate site], should go ahead and mail their licenses back to the Department of Real Estate and save the Department the trouble of having to hunt them down!"
Following is a synopsis of my posted response to the buyer's question, the subject line of this post.
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The problem in attempting to answer your question is in defining what you mean by "good" neighborhoods. I don't mean to sound flippant or disrespectful, but 'good' to one person can just as easily be 'bad' to another.
If you're asking about which neighborhoods or zip codes have a higher crime rate than others, or perhaps information on registered sex offenders, there are sources for researching that type of information. One particular resource that's a joint effort of the Arizona Department of Real Estate and the Arizona Association of REALTORS® that provides a wealth of information on real estate related issues in Arizona, including the foregoing topics, is called the Buyer Advisory. I would invite you to access and print it out for future reference.
To continue with my point about 'good' or 'bad' assessments of any given area(s), a neighborhood with lots of families and happy, playful children can be heaven for some folks, but hell for others. A neighborhood with a preponderance of a certain ethnic background or religious persuasion can be quite appealing to some people, but quite aversive to others. A neighborhood with lots of families can be quite uncomfortable for some singles. I could go on and on with examples like this, but do you see what I mean?
You should also know that those of us on this forum that are licensed real estate agents or brokers are obligated to adhere to a myriad of federal, state and local laws. Some of those include fair housing, steering and redlining, but rather than giving you a long dissertation about those complex issues, I'll just say that there are certain things about which we simply cannot advise you. It just depends on your exact question, concern or request.
So if you would like to pose some more specific questions here, please feel free to contact me privately, and I'll do my utmost to assist you in accomplishing your objectives while at the same time maintaining our legal and ethical boundaries.
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For you real estate agents reading this who don't understand what I'm talking about, PLEASE do yourself and your clients a huge favor and take a good, strong refresher course on Fair Housing Laws before you find yourself in more hot water than you can survive, and before you're forced to make the biggest involuntary contribution you can imagine to the 'fair housing enforcement fund'!
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