Evaluate the Neighborhood You’re Looking to Buy in

When you are looking for a new home to buy, look for a good neighborhood to live in as well. You could find the house of your dreams, but if it’s in a horrible neighborhood, you won’t want to live there. Just like a book, you can’t read a neighborhood by its cover, so be sure to delve into the community you wish to live in.

A lot can be said about a neighborhood just by going online and looking at statistics. Crime statistics, school scores and other demographic information can be found about your possible future neighborhood from the U.S. Census Bureau’s website. Statistics can be a lot more telling than simple hearsay from local neighbors.

Your town or county's zoning and/or planning authorities are good sources for any kind of planning document for the town. You can make sure there are no upcoming building projects or developments being planned for your neighborhood. The last thing you want when you move in is a lot of construction noise, or a mini-mart being built right by your house.

Nobody knows a neighborhood like the people who work there day in and day out. Try visiting the neighborhood at different times of the day in order to talk to different people who are familiar with the area. Nearby restaurants, schools and shops are all good sources of information.

Get a list of homes that are for sale in the neighborhood in order to determine how many days they've been on the market. If properties haven't been selling quickly, you'll want to find out if it's just a slow market or if there are any neighborhood issues that are making resale difficult.

If you haven't had time to thoroughly check out a neighborhood before you make an offer to buy there, be sure to include a generally written inspection contingency in your purchase contract that includes the neighborhood and the house. It can state that the offer is dependent upon the satisfactory inspection of both the property and the neighborhood by the buyers. You can also write a specific contingency into the contract. For example, the contract might be contingent upon the seller confirming that no retail establishments can be built within the block.


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