A frequently asked question from my buyers – especially from single women and families – is “How safe is the neighborhood?”  As a Realtor, I grapple with a couple of issues when asked that.  First my conscience says, “High crime! Tell them!”  I’m not being unconscionable if I don’t blurt out that the gang activity is horrific, I promise.

Realtors are bound by fair housing laws to NOT steer buyers to or from neighborhoods based on nine protected classes (race, color, national origin, religion, sex disability, familial status, age, and marital status).  We also have to remember that we’re selling a HOUSE, not a neighborhood.

Plus, what if I tell you a neighborhood is safe and two weeks, two months, two years later someone breaks into a home, robs it, kills the homeowner, your neighbor turns their home into a meth lab, or whatever other seedy crime you can imagine?  My buyer may come back to me and say, “But you said it was safe!” and I’d be sued for everything.

I still owe my buyers honesty and care, so how can I address this question fairly?  I always recommend a couple of sources … check out the registered sex offender list is first.  Second, I tell buyers to call the local police and ask them how often they’re called to certain neighborhoods.  Finally, walk around and talk to the neighbors!  They’re going to tell you exactly how it is!

A few years, I showed a house once and a neighbor actually approached my buyer and said, “You don’t belong here.”   He didn’t, we left, and he never looked back.

How to find a safe neighborhood by MSNBC.com provides more tips on discovering a potential neighborhood’s safety, including the broken window theory:

Broken windows, nearly all criminologists agree, along with dilapidated buildings, abandoned lots, missing street lights, rampant graffiti, unkempt yards — basically any signs of neglect — attract crime. The reasons are both practical — dark, lonely spots sit out of view – and psychological — would-be vandals are, ironically, less apt to mess with nice stuff.

Look around when you’re shopping for a new home. Ask questions. Make some phone calls.  Be safe!

Photo by Eva Luedin through Flickr Creative Commons.