Good Home Locations
There are many reasons why a home's location is so important. As you're shopping for your new home, you may want to consider the following:
- Proximity to town: How convenient will quick trips to the grocery store be? Do you care?
- Proximity to schools: Is the school district a good one? Do you like the school your kids would attend? This is important for resale, even if you don't have kids yourself.
- Proximity to work: How long will your commute to work be?
- Proximity to other amenities: If you have kids, will you be driving all over the county to take them to sports events and school functions? Would that bother you?
- Crime rate: Does the area have a high rate of crime compared to other areas of town?
- Tax rate: Do you have to pay both city and county property taxes?
- Zoning: What's going to be built next to you in the future? Or, what restrictions might there be on what you can do in your home? Some home businesses can be affected by zoning issues.
- Restrictive covenants: Does the neighborhood have restrictive covenants, or will you have a chicken farm pop up on the property next to yours? If you want a chicken farm yourself, does the neighborhood allow it?!
- Homeowners association: Is there an active neighborhood organization that will help maintain and improve the area?
- Public transportation: Do you have transportation options? Is that important to you?
- Noise: Go to the property at various times of the day. Is there a lot of noise from traffic? Are you in a flight pattern from the local airport?
- Safety issues: Are you near a nuclear or other potentially dangerous facility? Is there a landfill nearby that lowers the property value?
- Neighbors: Do the neighbors have similar values to yours? Go to the neighborhood at night and on weekends to get a taste of the types of activities that go on.
