You may feel that you know a good neighborhood when you see one,
but there is more to judging a neighborhood than
curb appeal or stellar school scores. Dig beneath the statistics and
your emotions to get the complete picture.
Unless you’re buying a custom home on a rural lot, you’re not just
buying a house but the neighborhood that surrounds
it. In many respects, the identity of a neighborhood is as important
to the value of a property as individual properties
themselves. In a planned community, strictly controlled architecture
governs a carefully crafted identity block after block.
In a rural town, tree-lined streets and an old-fashioned town square
preserves a disappearing way of life. In a large city,
an older neighborhood’s ethnic history has shaped its character and
is driving its rejuvenation.
It’s important to know where a neighborhood has been -- and where it
is going -- before you decide to buy there. Here
are some places to start.
Head For the Statistics
Between FBI crime statistics, school scores now available from
several national companies, and demographic information
pulled from U.S. Bureau of the Census and other sources, it’s now
possible to break out a lot of valuable numbers
about a community, much of it online. This means that you as a buyer
are no longer dependent on anecdotal information
only about school quality or crime levels. You can see for yourself.
Go To City Hall
The last thing you want to find out about the neighborhood of your
dreams is that there is a huge discount-tire store due
to be built on the big empty lot right across the street from your
quaint Craftsman bungalow. Your town or county’s
zoning and/or planning authorities are good sources for any kind of
planning document for the town. If you want to be
sure that the rural hideaway you just bought stays that way, check
with these officials. Large projects like major road
construction is planned years out from the actual start date.
Catch Up With The Community
Want to know what’s really happening in a neighborhood? Ask the
local barber. It may sound like a cliché, but nobody
knows a neighborhood like the people who work there day in and day
out. For your part, visit the neighborhood on your
own at different times of day and night. Talk to neighbors. Visit
nearby schools and shops. Subscribe to the local paper.
Small local papers can be chock-full of information you can use in
scoping out a neighborhood or community. If you
depend on public transportation, find out what is available and how
accessible it is. Drive to and from the house from
several different locations, not just the most scenic route that
your agent used when showing you the home.
Think 'Resale' Potential
It’s difficult to think about reselling the dream house you’re about
to buy, but the quality of a neighborhood will play a big
role, whether you are living in the least or the most expensive
house on the block. Get a list of homes for sale in the
neighborhood from your agent to determine how many days they’ve been
on the market. If properties haven’t been
selling quickly, you’ll want to find out whether it’s just the
market (slow) or whether there are any neighborhood issues
that may make resale difficult.
Finding The Hot Spots
A good place to start looking for tomorrow’s hot neighborhoods is
right on the edge of the most desirable, well established
neighborhoods. These tangible neighborhoods frequently are next in
line to experience a run-up in prices.
Other signs of a neighborhood heating up in popularity:
- Multiple-offer home sales
- An increase in the number of out-of-area buyers moving in
- An increase in local residents trading up within the neighborhood
- A decrease in the percentage of renters
- Signs of remodeling
Hey, NeighborA desirable neighborhood may have more than
one of these elements:
- Close proximity to a thriving economic center
- Good public schools
- Nearby shopping
- Good public facilities
- Convenient commute options to a major metropolitan area
- Well-maintained homes
- Low crime
- High percentage of owner-occupants
Before You Buy
If you haven’t had time to thoroughly check out a neighborhood before
you make an offer to buy there, include a broadly written inspection
contingency in your purchase contract that includes the neighborhood and
the house. Such a contingency might state that the offer is dependent upon
the satisfactory inspection of both the property and the neighborhood by
the buyers. If you only want to buy the house if you answer a very
specific question about the neighborhood, then write this in as a specific
contingency of the contract. For example, the contract might be contingent
upon the buyer confirming that a restaurant cannot be built next door.
Quick Take
Property values tend to hold steady in neighborhoods with well-defined
identities and assets available to everyone, such as a city park or
community band shell.
Article used with permission from
Pacific Northwest Title
