Fair housing has been in the news in Western New York lately and it is a good time to explain how Fair Housing affects the Western New York Buyer. As a licensed Real Estate Salesperson and Realtor® in the State of New York we must adhere to strict rules regarding housing because of the Federal Fair Housing Act.
We cannot discuss things like schools, crime statistics, and demographics.
We cannot render or express an opinion about the status of the neighborhood.
We understand as Western New York Buyers, your need to know the answers to your questions regarding these topics!
The Federal Fair Housing Act keeps us from making certain determinations about a neighborhood. We have put together some resources to answer your very important questions. The Internet is a wonderful resource and there are many great resources in addition to this list.
In addition to our showing of your potential WNY home, we suggest that before you decide to put an offer on a Western New York home that you:
- Stop by the public library and speak with the librarian, they will be full of resources for you to investigate your potential new Western New York home!
- Erie County Public Libraries
- Niagara County Public Libraries
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Visit the school district website, call the school that your children will attend and ask for a tour. Call the President of the PTA and introduce yourself and ask a few questions.
- The City of Buffalo Police Department and Niagara County Sheriff participate in reporting crime data (all but drug related) at Crime Reports.
- Cruise the neighborhood at night, early in the morning and on the weekends. You’ll see the neighbors next door. Most people make the mistake of seeing a home during the day and looking again during the same time a few days later.
- Check out National sites that might be of assistance to you
- Walk the neighborhood during rush hour. Not just block, but the four blocks surrounding yours. Befriend a few neighbors along the way.
- Look for basketball hoops, skateboard ramps, and trampolines, all tell-tale signs kids in your potential new Western New York neighborhood.
- Check the local paper and see if there are any public meetings, or a meeting of the PTO, those are great places to learn what is really going on in a neighborhood.
- Websites that can assist you with information on schools:
- Watch and listen for unleashed neighborhood dogs or excessive barking from dogs.
- Stop by the city or town hall to find out which neighbors have filed for home improvement permits for building a house extension over the next 12 months, or a new pool.
- Take a cyberspace tour on -˜Google Street View’ to check out empty lots and backyards that look like a landfill.
- Talk with the local store owners. They’re always the first to share the local gossip.
- Knock on the door and meet your potential neighbors. Remember these are the people you will have next door or over the fence.
- Check on-line registries for the location of any local sex offenders.
National Alert Registry
New York Sex Offenders Registry
NYS Dept. of Corrections State Prison Inmate Look-Up
Remember that we are a team in the process of your Western New York home search!
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, but understand if we cannot directly answer some of your questions as a result of the Fair Housing Rules, we will be happy to direct you to the correct resource to answer them!
