NYC School Grades: Not Exactly What My Real Estate Agent Said?
From Curbed comes this post on Real Estate Agents Happy/Sad About School Grades. Erin Einhorn and Brian Kates of The Daily News report School report cards may have effect in real estate market.
Homeowners and real estate agents are bracing for the fallout from the city's decision to give letter grades for the first time to all public schools.
Several schools long-considered to be among the best - so much so that they affect property values - earned less than stellar grades, and parents are "flipping out," said Marci Rosa, a former PTA co-president at Public School 261 in Brooklyn.
Remember the recent uproar in interpreting Fair Housing Laws? Well attorneys throughout the city have been advising brokers and their agents to steer clear of talking about school districts and the "caliber" of specific schools. Maybe this is why? I know one thing and that is that since I've been told to leave this information out of my marketing pieces, I point all of my clients with children to the Inside Schools website. It's an excellent resource and let's parents judge for themselves whether or not a school is the right place for their family. Or you could trust the grades that the city has just handed down to all of the schools by searching here for your school (via The Daily News).
Is it just me, or have the "PC Police" gone crazy. Talking about which public school an apartment listing is zoned for, IMO, is a very important consideration for a buyer. Taking the PC theme to an even higher extreme, many have suggested that you should not ask your client what they do for a living. I can't wait for the PC tide to ebb!
I hear you Andrew. I recently attended a fair Housing seminar and asked the attorney giving it if I was allowed to ask someone's profession and share ot with my sellers. You wouldn't believe the dance he did around the question as he obviously felt uncomfortable answering it...so he didn't.
It is illegal to discriminate based on someone's profession. It should not be illegal to ask what someone's profession.
