Choosing the Right Neighborhood

Selecting the perfect neighborhood can be difficult if your are moving into a completely new town.  Orientation of buyers to the area is one of the most valuable services a Realtor can provide. Even if you are not quite ready to make that call about specific houses, you can narrow down the areas you are interested in now.  Here a few suggestions to help you get started.

1. Neighborhoods have personalities.  Most of the time you will  form a positive or negative impression just by driving around.  Locate areas that appeal to you with well groomed yards, homes in good repair and close to community facilities that are important to you.

2. Determine the price of homes within those areas by reading advertisements and by using Realtor.com website.  Focus in on those areas with houses you can afford.

3. Find out about the prevalence of crime by checking with local law enforcement agencies.

4. If you have school age children, you should check out the rankings of the school district.  Great Schools website has information about both private and public schools.

5. Accessibility to major highways and arterial streets is important to those who will be commuting to work.  Try the drive during peak traffic hours (7:00 --8:30 a.m. and 4:30 --6:30 for metro Jackson areas.)  Use the route you would probably use traveling to work.

6. Future Development.  Check out the zoning of large tracts of land close by.  Having commercial stores close enough to shop but not too close to low density homes is the key.

7. When you are ready, choose one Realtor to represent you.  Allow this person to set up all of your showings and they will soon get a feel for what you have in mind.  Always choose someone you feel comfortable with and someone who can respect your decisions.