213964 Resource 160154 161269 161269 1223421257203 1223421257203 Controlled "She Hit Him With a Stick!": Making Your Own Judgment About the Neighborhood

Resources for Neighborhood Information in Northern Virginia and D.C.

As a busy real estate professional and long-time Northern Virginia resident, I've been in and out of houses and neighborhoods throughout the region.  There are many communities where I'd feel safe carrying wads of cash and walking around in my pajamas on the street at 2 a.m.  However there are others neighborhoods where I wouldn't want to be caught without a bullet-proof vest, mace and a taser in broad daylight for fear that the 32 cents in my pocket and the clothes off my back would be stolen.  Okay, that might be a tad bit of exaggeration -- in my opinion, while most Northern Virginia & D.C. areas are relatively safe, some are safer than others.The problem is that by federal law, I am unable to provide my honest opinions about a neighborhood to clients who inevitably ask "How's the Neighborhood?"  Most clients, no doubt, are asking this question innocently with a serious intent to determine whether a particular community suits their needs.<img height="60" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/2/8/1/1/ar122332401511829.jpg" width="50" /><img height="61" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/9/0/1/9/ar122332403091095.jpg" width="40" /><img height="62" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/6/1/2/2/ar122332405222163.jpg" width="83" />        <img height="64" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/1/7/0/2/ar122332407920711.jpg" width="49" /><img height="62" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/8/6/1/4/ar122332409441684.jpg" width="60" /><img height="53" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/3/3/4/4/ar122332419144336.jpg" width="53" /><img height="52" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/8/6/6/5/5/ar122332424355668.jpg" width="52" /><img height="54" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/8/8/0/8/4/ar122332426248088.jpg" width="54" /><img height="50" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/4/6/3/5/ar122332441953643.jpg" width="50" /><img height="49" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/9/6/6/9/ar122332456096695.jpg" width="51" /><img height="49" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/7/6/0/9/ar12233245790673.jpg" width="49" /><img height="47" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/4/3/7/0/ar122332459607344.jpg" width="54" /><img height="49" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/9/2/3/0/ar122332461203295.jpg" width="55" /><img height="50" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/2/1/8/6/ar122332463768126.jpg" width="50" /><img height="51" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/4/6/7/0/ar122332483407647.jpg" width="51" /><img height="55" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/7/2/1/9/ar122332485691276.jpg" width="36" /><img height="51" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/7/9/4/4/ar122332487544975.jpg" width="34" /><img height="52" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/3/5/4/7/ar122332494074536.jpg" width="56" /><img height="52" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/3/0/0/4/ar12233249640033.jpg" width="41" /><img height="52" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/8/6/3/3/6/ar122332498463368.jpg" width="35" />  <img height="100" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/5/5/8/3/ar122332500838556.jpg" width="100" />However, I have no way of knowing whether such clients have a discriminatory reason in mind, whether they are making their neighborhood choice because of racial, age, family status, sexual preferences, gender, or other reasons.  Thus, federal law makes it illegal for me (and other REALTORS) to answer "How's the Neighborhood" in a direct manner.<img title="How's the Neighborhood?" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN-LEFT: 6px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 6px" height="423" alt="How's the Neighborhood?" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/0/2/4/9/ar122332358494203.jpg" width="284" /> Earlier this year, some clients and I were at a stoplight after leaving a house we viewed.  As we looked over at the neighboring house, my client shouted out in surprise "She Just Hit Him With a Stick!"  Sure enough, the mother, grandmother, housekeeper (whoever it was), hit a young child with a stick.  That was enough for my clients.  They were able to make their own determination about the neighborhood.  They decided to move on and find some other neighborhoods to consider for their house purchase. There have been other times that I've been with clients in a neighborhood and seen lots of police action, including one time when we saw police helicopters hovering overhead. It's not always this cut and dry.  Here's what I suggest when you are trying to determine whether a neighborhood is right for you:<ul><li>Read my post <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/147351/Safe-Neighborhoods-in-Northern" target="_blank">Safe Neighborhoods in Northern Virginia & D.C.: Find Area Crime Statistics Online</a> where I provide links to online crime statistics in each major jurisdiction. </li><li>Call the local police station and ask about crime in the area. </li><li>You can look up demographic information online.  The best source is probably the <a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html">United States </a><a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html">Census</a> site.  There are also various sites like <a href="http://www.zipskinny.com/" target="_blank">ZipSkinny</a> and <a href="http://www.zipcodestats.com/" target="_blank">ZipCodeStats</a> that provide thorough demographic information about areas by zipcode.  </li><li>Simply drive around the neighborhood on your own and observe at different times.  Feel free to strike up a conversation with the neighbors.  While your REALTOR can't tell you everything about a neighborhood, be sure that most neighbors will be happy to divulge everything (just think about all the Wisteria Lane gossip a la Desperate Housewives!)</li></ul><ul><li>Virginia, like all other states maintains a <a href="http://sex-offender.vsp.virginia.gov/sor/policy.html?original_requestUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fsex-offender.vsp.virginia.gov%3A80%2Fsor%2FzipSearch.html&original_request_method=GET&original_request_parameters=" target="_blank">Sex Offender Registry</a> through the Virginia State Police with information about sex offenders and where they live. </li><li>You can get lots of information about local schools on my website <a href="http://www.brianblock.com/school_reports.shtml" target="_blank">School Information section</a>.</li></ul>So, next time you're in my car and ask me about the neighborhood, please don't be offended if I refer you to this blog post. 10 application/xml false brian block d.c. real estate demographic information d.c. demographic information northern virginia fair housing laws how's the neighborhood neighborhood information northern virginia real estate re/max allegiance Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; IEMB3; IEMB3) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 bblock 68.55.5.194 false true false false true 205801 false false true false false false true 214176 Resource 205801 173239 161269 1223645862266 1224331264141 Controlled Arlington Properties

Virginia neighbourhoods

Good article and giving a good precaution... 10 application/xml false Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.0.3) Gecko/2008092417 Firefox/3.0.3 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 59.95.65.92 false true false false true 214651 Resource 205801 173239 161269 1224355357872 1224701938730 Controlled Sometimes it's about the language spoken in the neighborhood

Buyers sometimes ask where they can hear this or that language

Great article. Another area where we agents must tred carefully is in that of "language spoken". I have had clients want to find areas where their children will hear a non-English language. That's a demographics issue and we can't touch it. But it is possible to refer them to a site that crunches census bureau data into a map highlighting various languages spoken at home - the MLA (Modern Language Association) Map. 10 application/xml false Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; SU 3.011; Tablet PC 1.7; .NET CLR 1.0.3705; .NET CLR 1.1.4322) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 24.6.136.124 false true false false true 160154 blog blogsite/BrianBlock/web