It Is The Buyer's Responsibility To Know Who Lives In The Neighborhood - Not The Agent's

To avoid buyer's remorse when you buy a home or a condo, you need to know what is your responsibility. Georgia is a buyer beware state which means that you have to make sure that you know what you are buying. This is done before the Purchase and Sale Agreement is negotiated as well as during the due diligence period. As a measure to be clear, the Georgia Association of Realtor's Purchase and Sale Agreement is very clear that it is the buyer's responsibility to check out the neighborhood as they have added a paragraph to the Agreement that the buyers must sign in agreement that it is their responsibility. The paragraph reads:

Duty of Buyer to Inspect Neighborhood: Buyer acknowledges that: (1) in every neighborhood there are conditions which different buyers may find objectionable and (2) Buyer has had the full opportunity to become acquainted with all existing neighborhood conditions (and proposed changes thereto) which could affect the Property including without limitation land-fills, quarries, high-voltage power lines, cemeteries, airports, prisons, stadiums, odor and/or noise producing land uses, crime, schools serving the Property, political jurisdictional maps and land use and transportation maps and plans. It shall be Buyer's sole duty to become familiar with neighborhood conditions of concern to Buyer. If Buyer is concerned about the possibility of a registered sex offender residing in a neighborhood in which Buyer is interested, Buyer should review the Georgia Violent Sex Offender Registry available on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Website at www.state.ga.us/gbi/disclaim.html

Another website you can check is http://www.felonspy.com/search.html

One of our clients did not follow the recommendation in the Purchase and Sale Agreement and they found shortly after they moved in that a convicted sex offender lived across the street. Not only did this make them upset in the fact that they felt their daughters were not safe, it presented a real issue for them when they sold their home because although they did not have to disclose this issue to the new buyer per the Seller's Disclosure, they felt that they had an ethical responsibility to report this to the new buyer, thus hurting their negotiation power.

So protect your sanity and equity as you move into a neighborhood. It is important to make sure that you have done your due diligence and this can start with websites, talking to neighbors and reviewing maps which are all very simple processes. Don't forfeit your rights and have buyer's remorse later.