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Helpful Hints
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Drive around. That can tell you more than an address. Does it look like a place where you'd like to live?
Drive further out. Is it near places you'd like to go? Is it too near places you'd rather avoid?
Drive through the neighborhood during commuting time. Is the neighborhood a throughway?
Drive through the neighborhood at night. Is it quiet? Too quiet? (This may be a safety concern if it's a mixed business and residential area and the streets are deserted after 5.)
Look at growth patterns. Check census data and newspaper archives. Does it look like it'll be bigger and busier than you'd like it to be? This is easier to gauge with an older neighborhood than a new one.
Check titles and geographical surveys, especially if this is a new development. What did the area used to be? Swamp? Landfill? Farmland? If the area used to be flat, find out what the hills were built out of. Is the topsoil still there, or was it scraped off and sold to landscapers?
Being near a school is no good if you don't have children.
Being too near a school is no good if your kids are expected to walk every day, regardless of the weather.
Being near a hospital is comforting. Being on the ambulance route is not. The same goes for fire engines.
A strong neighborhood association is good if it still allows you to paint your house the way you want to paint it.
You don't have to love your neighbors, but you should be able to live with them.
Look for an affordable home in an affordable neighborhood. An affordable home in an unaffordable neighborhood may soon become unaffordable if your property taxes get too high.
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