6 Things to Consider When Choosing a Neighborhood for Your Family

Are you considering buying a home within the next year? If so, I highly suggest that you do your homework before you consider making a home purchase. A home is considered a long term investment and the decision to buy shouldn’t be taken lightly. When you are ready to take the plunge, I highly suggest that you sit down with a lender or mortgage broker to determine how much you can afford. You can even get a pre-approved for a loan so that you know the maximum price you can afford to pay when searching for your home.

Once you are pre-approved for a loan, take that documentation to a real estate agent or to a builder in your area. This will help narrow down the search criteria and they can show you homes in your price range. I know that when we purchase our home we were knew exactly what neighborhood that we wanted to live in. However, if you don’t know what neighborhood that you want to live in, don’t worry you will figure it out.

Sue (a friend of mine) asked me the other day to come up with a list of important things to consider when searching for a great neighborhood. Her and her husband are trying to purchase their very first home. I am excited!!!

I decided that I wanted to share these useful tips on my blog too!

School District

If you have a family or plan on starting a family in a few years, you will want to determine what school district that you want your kids to go to. I know that this was important for both my family and my friend Sue’s family. We want our kids to go to a school that had superior academic standards and is a good environment for them. 

Location

Once you determine what school districts that you want your children to attend, it will help guide you towards a desired location to live. However, you should determine if the home is in a location that is within your desired commute, easy access to main roads/freeway, shopping near by, and things for you and your kids to do.

Home Owners Association

Does the home that you are planning on purchasing have a home owner’s association? If so, you will want to determine what the fees are on a yearly basis. I know that the fees vary greatly from community to community. You will have to factor in these fees into your house payment. Some communities also have amenities like swimming pools, playground, walking trails, golf course, fitness centers, basketball court, ect.

Crime Rates

Before deciding on a home, you should research the number of crimes committed in the past year. The last thing that you want to do is to move into a new home and worry about someone breaking into your home or destroying your property. Don’t forget to check the sex offender list too!

Home Appreciation Rates

Once you have your mind set on purchasing a home, make sure that you take a look around at your neighbor’s properties to make sure they take care of their home. You don’t want to buy a home next to someone who doesn’t take care of their property, it will possibly make your property depreciate in value and make it less desirable once it is time to sell.

Neighborhood Annoyances

You need to take into consideration if there are railroad tracks nearby, if the main road is too heavily congested during rush hour, or anything else that might be a turn off. Even if you can live with these annoyances it might make selling your home years down the line a bit harder.

Before you settle on a house, you should compare all of your top three choices and narrow down based upon these criteria.  Make sure that you visit these houses at various times of the day, this will give you a general feel of what it would be like to live there. If possible, try talking to the neighbors too so that you can get a feel for the neighborhood.

I am happy to report that Sue and her family ended up buying a home in Hillsboro Mile based upon their home appreciation.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Did you have a huge list of things to consider when you started searching for your family a new home?

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