What Realtors Can't Tell You About a Neighborhood

After you close on your house, the last box is unpacked and the Realtor is long gone, you may uncover some ugly truths about your new neighborhood. So much emphasis is put on the house that the locale quite often gets overlooked in the process. You've heard the old saying about home-buying that location is everything. This saying, as it turns out, is quite true. If you just purchased your dream house only to discover too late that it is in the wrong location, you could soon find yourself in a nightmare situation.

Location depends largely on your tastes and preferences. Sometimes determining the right location can prove to be difficult, given the restrictions placed on Realtors about what information they are allowed to supply. However, by keeping a sharp eye out on granular details, you can determine whether a specific neighborhood will be a good fit with your lifestyle. Here are some things to consider when determining the best location for you.

Neighbors? What Neighbors?

Your Realtor is barred from discussing demographics with you, so you'll have to do some homework of your own. As you browse homes during your home search, take a look at your potential neighbors. What types of cars are in the driveways and parked along the street? This can give you a clue to the personalities, financial status and ages of your future neighbors. For example, if the neighborhood seems packed with Mercedes and BMWs but you drive a Ford, you might not fit in so well with your neighbors. Nor would you feel comfortable if you prefer luxury vehicles but most of the cars you see in the driveways are mid-grade.

If you have children who would enjoy playing with other kids in the neighborhood, you might want to see if the homes in the area show evidence of children. Are there any basketball hoops set up? Do a number of homes contain play sets, fenced yards or bicycles? This works also if you are looking for a quieter type of neighborhood. The absence of such items may suggest an older demographic age for the neighborhood.

Social Activity

How much social activity do you enjoy? Maybe you are the type of person who borrows a cup of sugar simply for the social merits. Moving into a quiet, not-so-friendly neighborhood can lead to feelings of isolation. The absence of sidewalks may send a subconscious message to those living there that socialization is not necessarily considered of high importance. Take an evening walk around the block of your potential neighborhood. Are other people out taking walks? If so, do they wave and offer a hello, or do they walk silently past you without making eye contact? If taking a walk is not an option, consider attending a yard sale in the neighborhood. Talk to the homeowner who is holding the yard sale. He or she would probably be happy to tell you more about the neighborhood, its demographics and its activity level.

Street Level

Do you enjoy feeling connected to your neighborhood when you can sit out on the front porch and hear the sound of children playing, dogs barking, and cars whizzing by? If so, you may want to avoid living on a cul-de-sac, where the majority of the traffic you'll get is the neighbors arriving home. You may not want to live on the main road of the neighborhood, either. It might prove to be too noisy, especially if there is a lack of sidewalks. The most traffic you're likely to get then is cars driving by too fast, which can quickly get annoying. People may avoid walking on the main roads due to the increased traffic, too. Some streets in neighborhoods inadvertently become through-passes to other streets and thereby get more than their fair share of traffic. Take some time to observe the traffic level on the street during different times of the day to see if it's too much or too noisy, or too quiet for your liking.

To Jones or Not to Jones

Some folks take great pride in maintaining a perfectly manicured lawn. Others would rather hire the neighbor's kid to make sure the lawn gets mowed once a season. If you fall into the latter category, you may find yourself in over head if you move into a neighborhood where everyone seems to be growing prize dahlias. Take a sunny Sunday afternoon during football season and cruise the neighborhood where you are considering moving into. How many people are outside working on the yard or the house? If every other neighbor seems to be doing yard work, you may end up trying to keep up with the Jones' when you are not a Jones. This just adds unnecessary headache and pressure and can result in lack of pride of ownership, or you hiring a landscaper so you can maintain your casual lifestyle. Make sure your budget can handle the monthly costs of a landscaper.

Privacy, Please

Perhaps you enjoy the social buzz of an active neighborhood but then like to retreat to your backyard paradise without worrying about the peering eyes of your neighbor. Consider the grade of the backyard. Do you enter the front of the house at ground level but then step out onto a back deck where the ground is four or more feet below the deck? Take a look at the neighbor's back yards from the back deck. Can you fully see their back deck or is their deck set lower in their yard? Remember, if you can see them, they can see you. Is the yard conducive to a privacy fence (if it doesn't already have one), or will the neighbors still be able to see over it into your yard? If it is the latter, there are little, if any fixes to prevent prying eyes from watching your every move. Also consider how much privacy you will have in the winter when the trees have lost all their leaves. Will it bother you?

The home-buying process can be extremely stressful, and it is easy to forget about the personality of the neighborhood when you are visiting many homes in a short period of time. However, it is important for not only the house to fit your lifestyle, but the neighborhood as well. Neighborhoods vary widely in personalities, too, and the subdivision next to yours could be completely different. If you keep these tips in mind, you may discover that the dream house may not be all it's cracked up to be, or you may confirm that it is perfect.