Real Estate: Choosing the Right Neighborhood

This Week’s Hot Real Estate Tip: How to Choose the Right Neighborhood
Choosing a neighborhood is a big decision, but it can be simpler than you think, as long as you look at the right things. You want to make sure you choose the right neighborhood for many reasons: if you currently have a family or are thinking of starting one down the line, you’ll want to pick a house located in a good school district. If you’re thinking of this as a huge investment – which you should – you’ll want to pick a neighborhood where the homes are continuing to increase in value.

Here are some important factors that you should look at while choosing your home:

· quality of the school district
· traffic in the nearby areas (think of your work commute, school commute, etc)
· value of the nearby properties: are they increasing or decreasing?
· proximity to important community buildings, such as: schools, offices, hospitals, malls, airports, etc
· proximity to things that aren’t ideal, including prisons
· noise around your area
· crime rate
What should your search strategy be like?

Obviously your primary focus should be choosing a house that meets your budget. But you can get the most out of your investment by picking a good area:

Your surroundings don’t necessarily have to include the biggest and best community in the moment – just look for an up-and-coming area so that the value of your home rises through the years. Have your realtor look into the demand around your neighborhood – they can find out if there are multiple offers being made at other houses throughout the neighborhood – that’s always a tell-tale sign of whether or not it’s a good investment.

Just remember that it’s not about rushing and putting money down on the first house you like. Buying a house is about doing your homework, doing the research, and looking into what will give you the best value!