Questions realtors hear on a regular basis but are not allowed to answer? 

So a lot of you when you're moving into an area you want to know where is the safest place to move? 

But in real estate we are not allowed to discuss these because it can lead to steering.

What do you mean by steering? Well steering is where you talk someone into moving into an area based on an assumption. 

We all have opinions and they are not the same. Everybody has different views on different things in their lives. So in real estate if I were to tell you which school I thought was the best school, it may not be the same thing in your eyes. 

If criminal record is of concern to you then you're going to want to look up the public records to find out if the police are called on a regular basis to that area and which houses they're called to more often. Washington County Sheriff's office Crime Statistics and Maps: https://washcosheriff.com/crime/crime-statistics/

If you have a specific neighborhood that you're looking for you can pull it up and see if there are many calls for the police and what those calls are for. 

This way you can make that educated decision on what neighborhood is best for you. 

Which are the best schools? Is another question I hear a lot. 

Check out the Washington County School districts , see where their grades are and explanations of the different schools. Other resources are Maryland Schools Report Card and Great Schools Organization Scores for Public and Private Schools.

So what does that mean to you? It means your realtor is your resource. So reach out to your realtor, find out where your local school district's website is so that you can pull up the school records. Find out what the scores are and pick a school that is best for your needs.

When you found a neighborhood that you like I recommend that you drive there and you spend some time in the neighborhood, talking to the neighbors finding out what is going on in the area.  A lot of neighbors will be glad to discuss their neighborhood with you , a lot of them are proud of their neighborhood and they love to talk about it.