When someone is dead set on buying a home, the first thing they need to do is get pre-approved for a loan, and then once that is complete, the fun part of real estate, house hunting, begins. Search Realty advises all home buyers to not just think about the perfect home when looking to buy, but the perfect neighborhood as well.
The fact is that the neighborhood in which the home resides dictates more than one would initially believe. Such things as nearby parks, good schools, a nearby shopping mall, and on and on actually make a huge difference on whether the home owner ends up happy in the long run. After all, the home buyer may be buying the home to live in, but they’ll also be living in the neighborhood in which that home resides.
The quickest and easiest way to assess the neighborhood is to simply visit it. Search Realty recommends not simply going there once and being satisfied. A potential home buyer should actually visit the neighborhood numerous times, in the morning, and at night, and during the heaviest traffic hours. That way the home buyer can get an overall look at how the neighborhood is during various times of the day. More importantly than just visiting is to actually mingle. The home buyer should walk around and explore, not simply observe. The home buyer should make an effort to speak with residents to get a feel for the neighborhood and the people that reside there.
In particular, when it comes to any neighborhood, Search Realty advises that the home buyer assess three things before purchasing a home for sale, in order to determine if it is the ‘perfect’ neighborhood for them.
SCHOOL DISTRICT
This goes for both parents and for those without children. Buying a home in a district with good schools is actually in the best interest of the home buyer, even if they don’t have any children. If the home buyer does purchase the home, and then decides to sell in the near future, future buyers who have children will likely put that home on the top of their list, as a good school district is among the top priorities for those with children looking to buy a home. To determine if the a school is considered ‘a good school’, the home buyer is simply a mouse click away, as everything from school ratings to standardized test scores can be found on the internet. The best source for knowledge that any home buyer can tap into is a realtor, who has all this information at hand.
CRIME STATISTICS
A neighborhood low in crime is obviously attractive for many reasons. Nobody desires to live in a neighborhood that is prone to break-and-enters and burglaries. For a home buyer looking to get crime statistics on a potential neighborhood, the internet is there to help again. There are many sites that can provide stats on crime and other important information regarding particular neighborhoods. An easy way to assess crime stats while visiting the neighborhood is to look at tell-tale signs, such as bars on windows, high police presence and obviously by talking to residents.
KEEPING FAMILY IN MIND
The most important thing is to keep the family in mind when looking for that perfect neighborhood. Convenience is of utmost important to both parents and children. A school nearby could allow for savings on bus transport or allow for time saved for the parent who doesn’t have to drive a child to school everyday. For those in the family who are working, commute time is equally important, thus either having work close by, or low traffic levels or at the least, a nearby highway to cut down on travel to and from work, would be an obvious asset of a neighborhood.
The last thing is property or home values. The potential home buyer should research home values before finding a home in the neighborhood of their liking, because home values have a direct correlation with the overall vitality of the community.
