Sometimes buyers hire agents who work outside of an area. Working with an agent who doesn't have intimate knowledge of the neighborhood can hurt a buyer.

Buyers can really find assistance in a "no non-sense" neighborhood specialist. A neighborhood specialist is also a real estate professional who helps buyers decide by giving the buyers the information to make a decision to buy or not to buy a house. They are generally practitioner whose home and / or office is located in or near the neighborhood. He/she is actively taking listings in the neighborhood and / or represents buyers who buy homes in the neighborhood.

With the increasing number of websites and bloggers and accessible second hand information over the past years, it is increasingly difficult to determine who the real neighborhood specialists are. More people have clamed that they are neighborhood specialists. They project that they are well adept with the community.

This could be worrisome for out-of-town-buyers who are moving into a new area and may not know which agent to contact. The unsuspecting buyers who select agents based on the agent's puffed marketing may find themselves in a bind where they will wake up one morning and discover that the are living in an undesirable part of the neighborhood.

They may have paid too much for the home and not receive the types of home inspections specific to the area.

For all they know, their agent might be brand new to the business, with no experience whatsoever in the neighborhood, much less in real estate.

A neighborhood specialist provides full disclosure. A neighborhood specialist possesses intimate knowledge about an area that other agents do not, and can advise clients not only about the positive qualities in an area but also the negative.

But buyers and sellers don't know the difference, unless they ask for proof, which few do. More than one agent has been hauled before the Board of REALTORS for falsely claiming to be a neighborhood specialist because duped sellers and buyers have filed complaints. Why? Because the agents advertised they had specific knowledge, were held accountable for that knowledge and failed to deliver that knowledge to the client.

Hiring a Neighborhood Specialist

Below are 12 pieces of crucial information that a neighborhood specialist will undoubtedly know, whereas an out-of-area real estate agent may not:

" History of neighborhood homes, who owned them and when

" Which homes were previously on the market outside of MLS data

" What makes some homes on a street worth more than others

" Which streets are considered desirable and which are not

" Neighborhood nuisances and their influence on value

" Special retrofits exclusive to the community

" How to accurately price homes and determine specific values

" Which agents take listings at market and who takes overpriced listings

" Listing agent's reputations and how to negotiate with certain agents

" Pending legislation or neighborhood enforcement of regulations

" How to get inside information from listing agents, because they know each other

" New inventory that is not yet on the market but coming

Buyers deserve complete disclosure and to receive pertinent information that often only a neighborhood specialist can provide. Neighborhood specialists know which home inspections should be performed that is particular to the area, and they can refer local inspectors and contractors.

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