When searching for a home, it’s important to look for something that meets your needs and your budget. However, it’s also important to make sure that the house is in a desirable neighborhood. Otherwise, you may find that the property won’t appreciate as quickly as others in your area. You may also find that a home in a loud or dangerous area will be difficult to sell even if it’s priced below its true market value.
Make Sure to Tour the Neighborhood Several Times Before Closing
Ideally, you will spend time getting to know your future neighbors before closing on your home. This can be done by driving through the area at least three times. The first visit should take place during the day, the next visit should take place at night and the third visit should take place over the weekend.
Doing this type of due diligence may prevent you from buying a house in an area that is calm during the day but chaotic at night. It may also prevent you from buying a house that seems alright during the week but gets noisy or violent during weekends when everyone is off of work.
Do Your Neighbors Have Animals?
Another reason why you want to explore communities before buying a house in Florida is to make sure that your neighbors don’t have potentially dangerous animals. In many cases, those who know that their pets may be dangerous will put signs on their properties alerting visitors to that fact.
However, any animal has the potential to be vicious even if it doesn’t show any signs of aggression. This may be especially true of dogs when they roam freely in large groups. When this happens, each individual feeds off of the energy of the pack, which may make them more likely to attack children or other animals.
Although you shouldn’t assume that it’s not safe to buy a home just because your neighbor has a pet, it is something to take note of. At a minimum, you may want to make sure that animals are not able to get on your property or otherwise threaten you while at home.
How Well Do Your Neighbors Maintain Their Properties?
If your neighbor’s home is missing shingles, has tall grass or is otherwise an eyesore, it may have an impact on your home’s value. This may be true even if your own house is kept in pristine condition. Your home’s value may be impacted to a greater degree if multiple other properties in the neighborhood aren’t kept up well.
It’s possible that a home is in poor condition because it’s owned by someone who lacks the physical ability to maintain it. However, it may also indicate that the home is located in a neighborhood where pride of ownership is a foreign concept. You should be aware that neglected properties can be used as drug houses or for other nefarious purposes.
Is Your Preferred Home Located Close to a School?
As a general rule, homes that are located close to schools are worth more than those that aren’t. This is because the presence of a school is often equated with a greater sense of safety. In most cases, a parent’s top priority is making sure that their kids are in an environment that is free of drugs, gangs or other perils. Therefore, you can feel good knowing that your home is located in an area where security is a top concern of all who live there.
Is Your Preferred Home Located Near a Major Highway?
Living in a home located near a major highway may be ideal if you don’t like long commutes to work or school. It can also be ideal if you want easy access to a major metropolitan area while living in the suburbs. However, there is also a chance that you will be subject to the constant noise generated by the cars using that highway at all hours of the day.
Furthermore, you’ll need to keep in mind that homes located in close proximity to noisy highways may be harder to sell than those that are in quieter areas. This same concept also applies if your preferred home is in close proximity to an airport, train station or traffic hub.
Prior to submitting an offer to buy a house, it’s in your best interest to learn more about the neighborhood. Generally speaking, you’ll have an opportunity to back out of the deal if you uncover anything that might make you feel uneasy about following through with your intent to buy a property.
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