Researching Neighborhoods

The house itself shouldn’t be the only selling point when you’re buying a house.  Much like when you marry someone you inherit their family, the same goes for buying a house since you inherit the surrounding neighborhood.  The most perfect house in the world is no good to you if you can’t stand the community.  You may be happy when you’re shut away in your house but the second you venture out into the neighborhood you’ll be miserable.  So don’t buy a house in the country if you adore living in the city, and conversely don’t buy a house in the city if you constantly crave space and clean air.  You can get a good feel for what the neighbors are like too if you simply take some time to do some investigating.  This is a good idea considering the fact that sometimes the people in a neighborhood have the ability to make it great or horrendous so spend the time researching neighborhoods. 

Schools help set the property values around the neighborhood depending on how highly ranked the school system is.  Even if you don’t have any children you will benefit from a good local school system because not only does it make the neighborhood a more desirable place but a good school system will, in theory, churn out responsible kids who are less likely to wander the streets causing mischief.  Be aware, though, that great school districts come at a price.  You will probably pay more in local property taxes to help maintain this high level of education.  You can think of this as an investment in your community’s future, but just make sure the taxes aren’t so high that they will be hard to pay each year.    

Some people would like nothing more than to have a huge shopping mall built smack in their front yard.  Others detest the idea of having a large shopping center anywhere within walking distance of their home.  You should decide what sorts of access to shopping you are looking for before buying a house.  While having stores nearby can be a great convenience they also bring with them some potential problems.  You will deal with more traffic and consequently more pollution, and busy roadways make for a possible hazard for young children.  Some people simply don’t like the sight of a shopping center near them, what with the bright lights and lack of natural landscaping.  You should know where you stand before buying a home so you don’t get roped into buying a house near a shopping center and then being miserable, or instead buying a home away from any shopping and later wishing you had purchased something closer to all the stores. 

There is so much more to a home than the structure itself.  You should take all aspects of the surrounding area into consideration since you are not only buying a home, but also buying a portion of a neighborhood.  Look at the bigger picture; don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you can think of and to use the information in this section to help with researching neighborhoods.  A bit of detective work now will probably save you from some grief in the future when you realize you can’t stand your neighbors or the community or even the house itself.