What kind of people live around this home? Are there sex offenders nearby? What’s the crime level like? How about the schools? Answering these questions can be challenging for real estate agents, potentially putting them at risk of providing inaccurate information or flirting with fair housing laws.

  • Agents can direct buyers to property report providers to avoid answering sensitive questions about homes' neighborhoods.
  • Some speculate that sellers and agents may gain an advantage by providing property reports like those generated by Home Disclosure to prospective buyers.
  • Home Disclosure was rolled out by RealtyTrac, which also operates the listing portal RealtyTrac and Homefacts.com.

What kind of people live around this home? Are there sex offenders nearby? What’s the crime level like? How about the schools?

Answering these questions can be challenging for real estate agents, potentially putting them at risk of providing inaccurate information or flirting with fair housing laws.

Agents who prefer to direct homebuyers to resources where they can dig up sensitive information for themselves might consider sending their clients to Home Disclosure, a provider of “pre-diligence reports.” The website was recently rolled out by RealtyTrac, which also operates the listing portal RealtyTrac and Homefacts.com.

Screen shot showing sample Home Disclosure report

Screen shot showing sample Home Disclosure report

Home Disclosure joins a growing list of services that generate free property reports, including AddressReport, Revaluate and Homefacts.com. These services all present a vast trove of data on properties and their surroundings.

[Tweet “‘Pre-diligence’ reports can help agents handle trick questions”]

And Home Disclosure is no exception, serving up everything from the locations of nearby sex offenders, crime level, school quality and median income to racial makeup, loan and equity information, “fair market rent” and nearby fire stations.

The challenge for services like Home Disclosure is to present vast seas of data in a way that doesn’t make readers’ heads explode.

On this count, Home Disclosure passes with flying colors. It offers a clean design that breaks the data down into “alerts,” “concerns” and “benefits” along with tabs featuring basic information on neighborhood and property characteristics that users can click for more details.

Peter G. Miller, a Maryland real estate broker, argues that providing “pre-diligence reports,” like those generated by Home Disclosure, to prospective buyers will become a standard practice for sellers and agents in the future.

“It will be a way to add credibility from an independent third party to property presentations and marketing programs,” he wrote in an article that appeared in a recent issue of RealtyTrac’s newsletter, which RealtyTrac also used to introduce Home Disclosure.

Email Teke Wiggin.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×