Have you ever been out looking at homes and had your Realtor respond when you asked a question that they could not answer it, because it could be construed as steering? After all steering is something that you do when you are driving your car.
Steering is also a real estate term and is a practice that is prohibited under the Fair Housing Act. By definition steering refers to "channeling home seekers toward or away from particular neighborhoods based on race, religion, national origin, or some other consideration.
The obvious example is only showing a client neighborhoods that are primarily occupied by persons of the same race or religion. Assuming that a particular client would not want a certain neighborhood based on race or ethnicity would, even though the client has not said that they don't want to see the neighborhood, still be considered steering. A client may choose neighborhoods himself based on whatever criteria that he wants to and can tell you what neighborhoods that he wants to see. That would not be steering because you are showing the client specific areas that he has asked to see.
Similar questions that a Realtor cannot answer are:
- Which is the best school district
- Does this neighborhood have a lot of families with children
- Is this a safe neighborhood
What your Realtor can do is to be the "source of the source". We can refer you to the school websites so that you can compare the school report cards for yourself. You can drive around a neighborhood in the afternoon when the school bus lets off to see how many children get off or drive around to see how many yards have toys and play equiptment. Or you can visit the neighborhood in the evening when people are home from work to get a feel of the population. Your real estate agent will also give you links to the police website and the sexual offender website so that you can research crime statistics and see how many sexual offenders live in the area.
Many of these issues are a matter of personal opinion. What school is best for your child may not be the school that is best for someone else's child. If you are coming from a high crime area, a certain neighborhood may seem relatively safe to you, whereas someone coming from an area where there is almost no crime would find the same neighborhood totally unacceptable. As a result you will need to perform some of your own research.
At the same time there are certain things that your Realtor may do.
- They can show you any neighborhood that you ask to see and not show you homes in other areas that you specify.
- He can show you homes that are in a particular school district that you request.
- Your Realtor may search for you by price, number of bedrooms or any other criteria relating to the particular style of home or lot size.
- Your agent may also search by location, distance from town, distance from where you work etc.
- Also a Realtor may search for you by amenities such as tennis, golf stc.
These regulations may make you, the client have to do a little more work, but remember that they help you as well. And Fair Housing is the law.
Whether you are looking at Charlottesville Virginia homes for sale or selling a Charlottesville VA home it is helpful to enlist the services of a real estate professional who can make sure that you are in compliance with the Fair Housing Act and are not guilty of steering.
Contact Pam Dent, e-PRO, SRES, NHD, REALTOR®, Real Estate III, Charlottesville, Virginia at 434 960-0161 to buy a property in the following areas in Central Virginia: Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Keswick, Glenmore, Ivy, Crozet, Earlysville, Free Union, Cismont, Scottsville, Fluvanna County, Palmyra, Lake Monticello, Louisa County, Louisa, Mineral, Spring Creek, Orange County, Gordonsville, Orange, Barboursville, Greene County, Ruckersville. Email Pam Dent.
View all of the Charlottesville Virginia homes for sale.
View my website Charlottesville Horse Farms or visit my other blogs Charlottesville Horse Farms and Country Homes for more information on Charlottesville Virginia horse farms, homes, events and real estate.
Copyright © 2009 by Pam Dent, all rights reserved, "Steering - Its Not Just About Driving Your Car".
