Why A Duplex Realtor Can’t Tell You About Crime

When a duplex buyer asks me about the crime rate of a neighborhood, or what the quality of a school system is, I have a standard answer…

“I don’t know.”

While I realize this isn’t very helpful,  Federal Fair Housing  laws prohibit me from discriminating agains a number of protected classes, or disclosing anything even remotely related to those classes.

I’m also not a policewoman. I truly don’t know the crime statistics of a neighborhood.

Even if I did, what I personally find to be an acceptable level of crime may not be what yours is.

I’m also neither a parent nor a teacher, meaning I am equally unqualified to render an opinion about the quality of a neighborhood school or school system.

If you’re new to an area, or are thinking of moving into a new neighborhood, don’t despair. There are people who can help.

To determine the “safeness” of a neighborhood, feel free to call the local  police precinct. If you’re in Minneapolis or St Paul, you may ask to speak with the “safe” officer, who is in charge of sharing that information with the public. They can tell you down to the block what the criminal activity (or lack thereof) not only has been historically, but was last week.

You can also scroll down to the useful links section on this web site and get Internet access to both Minneapolis and St Paul’s online crime reports.

If a neighborhood clears your personal safety threshold, but you’re unsure about the educational standards in the schools, you can get the latest statistics, personal reviews and test scores on web sites like greatschools.org.

It’s packed with all sorts of great information that I couldn’t possibly know.

Of course, I’ll always try to answer questions about duplexes themselves!