Stalk the neighborhood.  That is the number one advice an HGTV show provided buyers in a program I watched this afternoon.  How true.

Get a good look at the area where you are considering a purchase.  Not only is it important that you are sold on the house, make sure you are sold on the location also.  So here we go again with the advise REALTORS have been providing for years and years.  It's all about location, location, location.

"Stalking" the neighborhood will give you an opportunity to see:

• What age children live there if this important to you.
   
• Is it a relatively quiet neighborhood? 
  
  
• Is it one that has restrictions that you feel that you can live with?  Often it is after a contract is written and accepted that buyers receive the Property Owners Association's package which includes, among other things, rules and regulations you will be agreeing to abide with as long as they are in place.  By driving around you can see for yourself if fences are allowed and what type, whether boats or rv type vehicles are allowed to be parked on the lot, are free-standing basketball hoops permitted, and the list goes on. 
  
  
• Are the homes maintained the way you plan to maintain yours?
  
  
• What are the traffic conditions like?
  
  
• Is there on street parking? 
  
   
• If you need mass transit, is it available within a reasonable distance?
  
  
• Is you house you selected the most expensive one in the neighborhood?  If so, you may feel like royalty but does it make financial sense?
  
  
• What are the minuses and pluses in your eyes?

There are many other things that are to be considered.  Make sure you take the time to do that.  Hopefully you will be in that home in that neighborhood for some time.  Make it the right decision all around.

Yes, "stalking" sounds scary but it sure is catchy and emphasizes the importance of not only knowing what you are buying but where you are buying.