TracyRealEstateBlog - Questions Your Realtor Can't Answer

Questions Your Realtor Can't Answer

You may be a single woman searching for a home in a neighborhood where you can feel safe at night. Perhaps you are a family with children who would like a neighborhood predominately with kids that live nearby for playmates for your children. 

Maybe you're a senior citizen who likes his or her peace and quiet and wants to avoid living next to adults that aren't their age. What you do in this situation? Hire a local Real Estate Expert to help you find exactly what you're looking for. Doesn't matter which way you look at it, buying a home is the biggest purchase of your life. You should get everything you want. 

However, when you ask your realtor about the people that live in your neighborhood or building that you're interested in, you don't get a qualified response. Some common questions agents will have to turn away are: 

1. Is this area safe?

2. What kinds of people live in the neighborhood/building?

3. Is this place family-friendly?

4. Are the schools good?

5. What are the demographics of the buyer/seller (Race, sex, political preference)?

6. Are there kids in the neighborhood?

7. What are the best neighborhoods to live in?

Answering these questions could constitute a violation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The act's main purpose is to protect certain classes from discrimination in the housing market. These include race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (whether someone has children or not), and handicap. Violating the act can cost a broker $16,000 for the first violation and $65,000 for a third violation within seven years. Imprisonment is possible and the terms range from one year to life in prison, depending on the damage or injury that's occurred. No matter how severe, brokers always run the risk of losing their license by breaking the law. 

While your Realtor may not be able to answer questions about demographics for you, consider it a small sacrifice for a great deal of service. Real estate agents know everything about buying and selling real estate so you don't have to. They'll not only tell you what similar homes have sold at, but also how long they were on the market and if any issues occurred during the transaction. Your agent can guide you on home prices according to market conditions, which they have to keep track of as part of their job and because you've emotionally invested in your home, Realtors can negotiate a better price on your behalf because they're removed from any attachment to the property.

As industry professionals, Real estate agents have easy access to reliable services that you'll need when buying or selling a home. For example, your agent will have worked with movers, general contractors, inspectors, attorneys, lenders that they can recommend. 

If you have any questions that were forgotten in the process of the closing process, you can count on your real estate agent to answer them. A Real Estate agent can make the many other tasks in finding the perfect home easier. You can also view this problem as a solution to help every American achieve the dream of owning a home without any unfair barriers.