Sunday, 24 April 2011

Settling into the Right Community for Buying Real Estate

By Steve Kayhill


Trying to find a new home for yourself or your family is much like looking for a business location. You never want to jump headfirst into the first property you find without thinking about the surrounding neighborhood but you also don't want to turn down every decent home simply because you don't like the immediate looks of a neighborhood. Finding the right home for your family takes a lot of foot work and research. Take steps not to succumb to fear of the unknown and have a perfect home for your family slip away. Follow these simple tips to find the right home for you.

Research Statistics for Local Real Estate and Neighborhoods

The internet is an extremely useful tool, you only need to know how to sidestep the hype and shady advertising to get to the reputable providers of legitimate information. There are vast records for every community and city online that includes crime statistics, demographics, amenities to each community, school and property tax information, emergency services and response times, etc. The most reliable but probably more irritating to navigate are the sites that end with a .GOV extension. The state and federal resources tend to be located at .GOV sites. Small towns might use .US extensions or possibly others. There are also reputable real estate companies that can give you information as well as the US Census Bureau.

Visit before Investing in Real Estate

Of course you'll drive through to see the home but you should set some time aside to really visit the community. This include visiting during the daytime as well as the night time hours. Is the area well-lit? Is there an active community at night? Do the people in the neighborhood come out to "play" with family, grilling and conversing or does the neighborhood shut down in the evening hours? Some neighborhoods go bad once the sun sets and a nice community might turn sour after dark.

Talk With Locals about Real Estate and Neighborhood Issues

You won't find a better way to see who is open and friendly in a neighborhood than by introducing yourself and asking a few questions of your prospective neighbors. You should ask them about how the neighbors treat each other, whether they even know each other. Ask what they like and dislike about the neighborhood. Typically you will get a pretty accurate picture of the relationships in the neighborhood by doing this.

Research Resale Values on Local Real Estate

It's a fairly good idea to bolster your investment by finding a growing community . A growing community offers benefits down the road. As time wears on and the neighborhood grows more dense and popularity grows you will find your property value appreciate on a well maintained home. If the population is fairly sparse to begin with your home could appreciate considerably as the neighborhood fills in and becomes more desirable.

You'll ultimately have to choose between new neighborhoods and older neighborhoods depending on where you look for a new home. An older community might have some historical charm but the homes could need work while a new community may feel disconnected and "Artificial" until the new subdivision grows roots. As always, purchasing a home and real estate is always a matter of preference. Statistics and gossip from locals aside, you should make your real estate purchase based solely on how good you feel about the local area and the property you're investing in.




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