If you have ever had to or contemplated making a change in where you live, you have probably considered a variety of factors in determining where the best state, city, and community would be for you. There’s no question that buying a home is emotional and the location of the home goes without saying, may seem like a cliche. Like most cliches, it does come from some truth. Location affects:
- Affordability – this includes not only the price of the home but also the impact on your monthly budget in terms of payment for the mortgage, the taxes, the insurance, the utilities, and any assessments or homeowner association fees.
- Value – this involves a close look at the price against the return in the future. With an experienced, knowledgeable agent you will have access to the data necessary to make the best choice of the current value and how to present your best offer.
- Quality of life – this involves the comfort level you have with your surroundings in the communities you research and visit.
- Peace of mind – this speaks to feeling safe which will be covered in more detail below.
What are the key concerns that keep coming up when potential buyers think about moving?
Here are three key points that come up again and again from buyers when asked what are their concerns when thinking about moving:
- Safety
- Schools
- Life conveniences
Let’s start with the first concern safety.
First and foremost is neighborhood safety. In today’s tech world with access to an abundance of information, there are multiple ways to get details concerning safety. This could be local crime statistics from local police sites and public sites.
Here is a useful link touse as you investigate:
Click to search Crime Reports Simply just enter the ZIP code to view what recently occurred in that area.
It is also important to spend time driving through the community at different times such as at night, on the weekend, and in mid-afternoon. Additionally, talk to neighbors to find out what they like and don’t like about the neighborhood. And lastly, be aware of extra security homes in the neighborhood may have or don’t have. For instance, in helping my friend Jill purchase her home in Jess Ranch, the extra security of a gated community was a huge bonus the community provided that fit her need. Living alone and traveling a lot, she now feels safe when she is home alone and that her home is protected when she is on the road.
In non-gated communities, often neighborhoods have a neighborhood watch program in place either formal or informal. Again by checking with neighbors that are currently there, you will learn the very most about safety and how they look out for one another.
Benny and Amanda
When Benny and Amanda moved from their close-knit community in Victorville where every one of their neighbors on each side watched over each other and notified each other of garage doors up with a call or text of, “I think you might be at work and I noticed your door is up”, or “your lights are on in your truck in the driveway” to Apple Valley where they didn’t know anyone close, they were so relieved to be warmly welcomed by neighbors on both sides who came across to introduce themselves, welcome them to the neighborhood and share their contact information in case they needed anything. In our world of more and more disconnect, there is something very comforting to know you have a connection where you live and safety when life happens.
Second Concern
Now the second concern buyers have on their list is how are the schools in the neighborhood. If you have or are planning to have children, schools could be a major determining factor. Research for schools is readily available online. It is a good idea to research all levels of schools, elementary, middle, and high school. Being familiar with the boundaries for the schools you most want to have your children attend is another key piece to your searching.
John and Liz
I recently help a family move to a new home shortly after they had closed escrow because after moving to the home they closed escrow on, they were informed they were not within the school boundaries of the desired school district for their children to attend. This situation with John and Liz was extremely frustrating, stressful, and cost lots of money. Your agent should be able to give you the school district, boundary information, and individual schools that are in the neighborhoods you are most interested in. 
If you don’t have children and don’t plan to have a family, school information is important to be aware of from a resale perspective. Because families want their children to have the best education possible, they will pay more to be in a good school district. Keep this in mind as you are doing your searching from the vantage point of the present as well as to the far distant future.
Search public and private PK-12 schools in California-View Schools Great Schools
Third Concern
Now, let’s talk about the third concern, life conveniences. At the top of the list are things like:
- shopping
- medical
- dining
- fitness center
- movie theaters
These are followed by:
– hairdressers
– dental offices
– massage
– pharmacy
– library
– home improvement
– post office
– shipping center for taking returns
– banking
– feed store
These necessary and essential needs come to mind for many when they think of day to day living. I suggest that as you drive through potential neighborhoods and communities that you keep your radar up for what extras you need in your life. Weighing out the distance you will need to go to access the conveniences that are important to you, will also be dependent on whether you will be more in a rural setting, small town, suburban area, or a big city.
Tamara
When I was helping Tamara locate a condo in Rancho Cucamonga, while we were searching it what important for her to be close to a freeway. The convenience of being close to everything and the freeway
was a big win because it will save her so much time in the future as you does much travel in a seventy-five-mile radius from where she lives. Deanna on the other hand wanted a more rural setting for her family to be able to have their chickens at home and yet have a short travel time to the children’s functions in Redlands. We found the perfect location in Yucaipa for the family compound including the chickens, garden, and dogs with easy access to the freeway which then takes them to Redlands in about twenty minutes.
Moving is exciting and terrifying because of the unknowns involved. There are a lot of details to figure out and the processes are also part of the unknown. One thing to really consider is the potential benefits to be had from changing where you live. As with most questions in life, it depends. It depends on your definition of what makes you happy and what brings you happiness.`
With all that being said, finding the ideal neighborhood can be a balancing act of give and take. By doing your homework in conjunction with working with an agent that is skilled and knowledgeable the entire process will be much more manageable.
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