What Neighborhood is JUST RIGHT for YOU....and how do choose?
Great post on choosing a neighborhood.
This is a reblog, and I always disable comments on reblogs so that you can click here to go directly to Joan's blog and comment there.
Each and every potential buyer has particular requests for where and what they want to buy. When a buyer begins their search, usually it is for a price and beds/baths. After the list appears with properties in their price range, then the search is narrowed to certain neighborhoods. How close to schools, shopping, restaurants, walk score, parks, bike paths, etc.
Here are five options to consider when picking a neighborhood:
1. The time of day when you first lay eyes on a prospective house can affect your impression of the neighborhood, so if you are interested, drive through various times of day. A neighborhood can change once the sun goes down, and weekday evenings could be different than weekend evenings. Check out the traffic congestion, during rush hours .
2. Neighborhood choices affect your pocketbook, not only house prices and taxes, but also including commuting costs (time and money). With high gas prices, living closer to where you work is generally the request, but if you want land, your commute could be substantial. Saving $50 per month on the price of a home may cost you $100 more per month for car expenses. All these factors need to be reviewed.
3. Have questions, ask the neighbors! The neighbors always want to know WHO is interested in being their new neighbors, and will be helpful in questions you have. They freely offer information on safety, noise, school information, demographics, etc. If there are questions on the HOA, it is best to call them directly.
4. The internet offers so much information! Need more info? The internet can be a great source to research the details. NeighborhoodScout.com is a subscription service that offers an in-depth look at crime stats, school stats, and quarterly price-appreciation for the area. This site can take the characteristics of a neighborhood that is familiar and give you a neighborhood in the new city that would be a good match. In the works with this site - "build your neighborhood", putting characteristics in such as home prices, crime levels, preferred school scores, etc, and it will suggest neighborhoods! Cost for this service is $29.99 per month or $14.99 for a 6-month subscription.
5. Neighborhood characteristics can be hard to cram into numerical categories or scores. Nabewise.com has taken 65 "quality of Life" characteristics and set them up for neighborhood househunters. You can search for trendy, clean, certain political parties, even close to farmers markets or close to transit and nightlife. Fill out the checklist for items of interest, and this web site will provide you with options. There are also photo tours of neighborhoods and reviews from homeowners. Currently, this is available for New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and Chicago. Los Angeles is in the works. There is a cost for this site as well.
If you have questions regarding relocating into an area, and desire more information, please contact me.
Joan Cox, GRI,ABR,CRS, CNE,e-Pro Denver Real Estate
A Denver Metropolitan Realtor Search for Homes in Denver
If you would like to get on my email newsletter list and keep up with the Denver metro real estate market - please email me, and I will add you to this list! Also, if you are moving into Denver and request additional information, please email me or call! Joan@JoanCox.com 720-231-6373
Relocating to Denver --- Information for YOU!
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