Anyone in the real estate business knows that potential buyers usually ask a lot of questions. A real estate agent will tell you that you’re going to be asked questions about your home and the shape that it’s in for starters. But there are other questions buyers want to know that for sale by the owner party will need to answer. One of the first questions asked is usually about the neighborhood. Buyers want to know about what kind of neighbors you have and whether it’s a quiet neighborhood. This is a sign that they’re looking for something peaceful as well as safe.
Potential buyers ask about the safety of the neighborhood and that’s understandable. But the problem is that every neighborhood can have issues. If a kid in the neighborhood throws a rock and accidentally breaks a window, that’s not the kind of information they’re looking for.
They want to know if the sidewalks are safe, if the streets are safe and if there’s a problem such as criminal activity in the neighborhood. You can set their minds at ease by getting a copy of the crime statistics for your area. These are data tools that are free online at various websites. You just have to input your city and zip code. You can also get a copy of the crime statistics from the police department. They can usually tell you if a neighborhood is in what’s called a hot zone or not – which means that they’ve had to handle calls in that neighborhood repeatedly. It also means that there is a higher rate of crime in a hot zone. But by having the statistics, you can simply give a copy to the potential buyer. If the buyer has children, you can give them statistics to show that there are no sexual offenders living nearby.
Buyers want to know about the quality of the school district. If you’ve had children in the local school, you can give them that information. But there are also online tools that you can use to give them information about schools based on the school’s performance and test results. This way, buyers can compare the success rate of the schools. People may also want to know what kind of entertainment is available nearby. It can be helpful for you to have this information already gathered. You can get a list from your city’s official website of activities, holiday events, festivals and things offered all year long. Have this to give buyers and make sure you include free events as well as ones where costs may be involved.
Have a list of all the nearby shopping places as well as restaurants. Include quickest routes to these establishments. Being prepared to answer these questions helps to not only sell your home, but it can also help to sell a buyer in the area as well.