Searching For The Perfect Neighborhood? Remember, When You Buy a House You’re Also Buying The Area Surrounding It. Here’s How To Make Sure You Buy In a Safe Location

No matter how wonderful your home is, you’ll never like it if you hate the neighborhood that it is located in. Thus…the question then becomes, how do you choose the right area? In order to do this, you’ve got take some action and do some serious thinking. Here are some things to consider:images

Do you have children or are you planning to have children anytime soon? Parents know that the first thing to do when looking at a neighborhood is to research the school system. Even if you’re single, living in an area with a much sought-after school system raises your property value. If you have kids, you’ll also want to live close to parks and community centers.

What type of home do you want? Are you interested in a single-family home or an apartment, townhouse? Read more about the different types of homes. How far are you willing to commute? Do you plan to drive, walk or take mass transit to work? Do you have a car or would you be willing to get one?

Do you want to be in a historic neighborhood or a new development? Historic neighborhoods have tons of character, but often require lots of repair work and are governed by community associations with strict standards. Newer developments have more modern features, but are typically far from the city center. Read more about the different types of architecture styles. images-1

What is your current community lacking? If you’re currently landlocked, but have always wanted to live on the waterfront, put that at the top of your list. If you’re a coffee junkie, having a Starbucks down the street may be a dream come true.

Do you want to be able to go places on foot? Would you like to be within walking distance of shops, restaurants and bars? Or would you be willing to drive to nearby businesses?

Think about what you don’t want in a neighborhood, too. If you can’t stand late-night noise, you’ll probably want to steer clear of the college area or an area with a lively bar scene.

With your area of the city in mind, start digging up information. Find interesting neighborhoods online, ask local real estate agents for recommendations and compile all the background information you can, including: tafarai-explains

School information: Look into the local public and private elementary, junior and high schools, as well as daycare programs.

Crime statistics: Most real estate sites have statistics that tell you how the zip code’s crime rates measure up to the national average. If you want specifics, call the local police station.

Once you’ve done the background research, visit neighborhoods that made the preliminary grade in person. There’s no better way to paint a real picture of life in the neighborhood. Use your senses to get a complete picture of the prospective community.

2 thoughts on “Searching For The Perfect Neighborhood? Remember, When You Buy a House You’re Also Buying The Area Surrounding It. Here’s How To Make Sure You Buy In a Safe Location

  1. Don’t neighborhoods change, though? How is there a way of knowing whether the neighborhood will get better or worse over time?

    • Hi Christie,

      Very good point. This question is pondered by many homebuyers. The answer is, you can’t really tell. There are housing market projections that will help answer this. The important thing to decide is whether you want to wait for the up and coming neighborhood to come back. For example, if the home is in a bad neighborhood, but there are many homes being renovated, you can usually assume that the neighborhood is coming back. However, it likely is still a ‘mixed’ area. You’ll have to decide if you feel safe, and can handle however long it will take before you will feel completely comfortable in your home.

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