- Jodi Lyn
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j.lyn@century21jm.com
382-5185
Real Estate Associate
Century 21
If you're thinking about purchasing a new home, you should also carefully assess the neighborhood where it is located as this will have an impact on other areas of your life including safety, access to amenities and transportation costs. This article reveals some essential questions to ask when evaluating the neighborhood so you can move in knowing the area is suitable for your family's needs.
There’s always something exciting about buying a home and moving into a new neighborhood but it can also be a pretty big nerve wracking decision!
First of all, you’re most likely contemplating the single largest investment you’ll ever make, so it is important to take all the factors into account to ensure you are buying wisely .
Where you live affects just about every aspect of your life: where you eat, how well you sleep, how long your days will be, what schools your children will attend and the list goes on. So before you sign on the dotted line and start packing those boxes, it’s good to ask some key questions to learn more about your future home.
Real estate investments are among the largest most people make in their lives so you want to make sure that you invest wisely and consider whether property values in your area are trending up or down. You might want to consider whether there are any planned developments which could affect the value of your home.
Take a drive around the neighborhood to assess the general condition of the houses in the area. Are they well maintained? Do they look neglected? Is it clean? Has the garbage been collected? Be sure to take a drive around the neighborhood after dark to get a feel of the area at night. Is it peaceful and quiet? Is it noisy? Is it well-lit? Are the street lights on?
If there is one place where you should feel safe, it’s in your home. Neighborhoods located near to police stations or embassies may have a higher security presence. Is there an active community with a neighborhood watch network? Ask around and do your research to see if there have been any incidents in the neighborhood recently. If so, try to determine whether it’s a one-off incident or a regular occurrence
Some areas are more prone to disasters than others. You might want to consider whether you are in a flood prone area, located on or near a fault line, at risk of landslides or bush fires. If for instance, it is located in a vulnerable area it may be useful to explore the insurance costs to ensure that you can afford adequate coverage if you desire to live in the area despite the fact that there may be a slightly higher risk of an incident.
At different stages of life your needs will change and so you should keep this in mind when deciding where to live. Some of the questions you want to ask about your neighbors are: Are they mostly young professionals? Are they mostly families with children? Or are you looking at a community with older residents and retirees? Try to get a general sense of who your neighbors are to make sure that you’re not the party animal moving in to retiree territory or the senior citizen moving into a mansion where you won’t be able to make it up the stairs in the next 10-15 years.
Accessibility is a big consideration when you’re looking at a new neighborhood. You’ll want to check out the routes you can take to get in and out of your neighborhood, the traffic at peak hours, the time it takes to get the children to school, how far away the nearest hospital is in case of an emergency, how far away the banks and supermarkets are, as all of these will determine how much time you’ll be on the road and how quickly you’ll be able to get around. The price might seem cheaper for a house that is on the outskirts of the city, but there are costs associated with getting access to facilities and services in the main city centres.
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