Is My Neighborhood Safe?
When you have a family, or truly any time you are considering buying a home, you want to have the peace of mind that you are buying in a safe neighborhood. Thanks to the wonderful World Wide Web, we now have a lot of information at our fingertips to answer that question: Is My Neighborhood Safe?
Here are a handful of useful sites you can look into to find the information you're looking for.
SpotCrime.com will let you enter an address and from there, it will pull up a map and show icons of different crimes that have been reported in that area. They appear like this on the map:
You can also sign up for alerts, and an iPhone app. The data comes from police reports, news reports, and user generated content.
This site works with local law inforcement to get it's information and it also will show a map with images of crime. You can search by address, by agency (like the LAPD), or by state. You can also choose the date-range you want to search. There's an option to sign up for alerts, as well, that will let you know when a crime occurs in your neighborhood.
Relocationessentials.com has an area that compares your zip code to the national average using a chart. Go to the "Crime" tab on the website, and choose either zipcode search or city search. I just learned my city has higher robbery and burglary than the national average, but lower homicide!
Most of you probably know about Megan's Law, but it's worth repeating. This is a database of sex offenders and you can search by name, location, parks, and schools, among other things. The offender's information will appear, including address, crime committed, and a picture.
And here's a suggestion for your current neighborhood:
This website will let you pick the boundaries of your neighborhood, and it's a way for your neighbors to all communicate with each other. Only households that live in that particular neighborhood will be allowed on your neighborhood website. You can alert your neighbors when you spot something suspicious, or report a crime, or start a neighborhood watch. It's also useful to announce a garage sale, or start a book club, etc. I think the more you can get to know your neighbors, the safer everyone will be. If you're interested in starting a neighborhood website, you can use this link and get a free $50 Starbucks giftcard when you get your neighborhood launched.
So hopefully I've helped you answer the question, "Is My Neighborhood Safe?". Doing your own research is an important step when you're house hunting. But also be sure to drive or walk around the neighborhood and make sure you get a good feeling. Intuition is sometimes more important than statistical data!
Feel free to add your own favorite websites in the comments below. Happy house hunting!
Megan Rowsey is a Realtor with Rodeo Realty in Encino, CA. She works with Buyers and Seller and can be contacted at (818)642-3682 or MeganRowseyRealtor@gmail.com
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