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Find The Perfect Neighborhood For Your Home
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Find The Right Neighborhood To Buy
Your House




If you are considering buying a house, choosing the perfect neighborhood will be the most
important decision in the home buying process. It is more important than the mortgage. And it
is definitely more important than the number or bedrooms or bathrooms. You will never love
your home if you hate your neighborhood.

Access to jobs is important.

Having access to high paying jobs should be on your "must have" list. Take a look at the
companies that are located in the vicinity. It is not crucial that you work for any of these
corporations. But having a pool of high income individuals in your neighborhood keeps the
value of the houses high. For example in Rochester, Minnesota two major companies are the
Mayo Clinic and IBM. The median house price is $141,000 and the median family income is
$79,869.

You might find situations where the jobs might not be the highest paying, but the unemployment
is low. Bismarck, North Dakota has an unemployment rate of 3.3% in July 2011, according to
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

You should also look at the physical access to jobs. There should be well maintained streets,
with good street lighting. Having public transportation is a bonus, and if it operates at nights
and weekends, well that is an extra bonus.

Choose quality of schools over quantity of schools.

Research the public school system to see how schools in your neighborhood rank nationally.
Things you should be looking for are the number of high school graduates, and the test scores
of students.

At the college and university level, you should be looking at the quality of the public universities.
Public universities get most of their funding from the state. Some are prestigious and well
known. University of Virginia, University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina at
Chapel come to mind immediately.

Other amenities that make life easier.

To round out your list of characteristics you need in your neighborhood, you have to add
amenities. Think about your shopping. How far is the major grocery store, or the mall? Parks
and recreational venues are vital if you and your family like the outdoors. Fishing, hiking,
biking, running and camping are great activities to enjoy with family and friends.

For the indoor types, a good supply of restaurants, cinemas and live theaters would be great
benefits.

With the advent of the internet, banking has shifted online. It is no longer necessary to sit and
interview your banker.

Low crime rates bring peace of mind.

We are all concerned about the safety of our families. Check with the local police for crime
statistics in your new neighborhood. You can also get the numbers online. The website
NeighborhoodScout is a good place to start.

Look at the value of houses over a 20 year period.

If you look at the value of houses over the last 3 years or even the last 5 years, the figures might
be misleading. The housing market has been turned upside down. House prices peaked in
2006. But by early 2008 prices had dropped 20%. You need to look at more years to get a
better feeling for the market. The price you are buying at might be fair, but what about the next
5 years? Will the house value increase or decrease?

Picking the perfect neighborhood is a difficult process. Try to set aside the emotions. Look at
the data and conduct your due diligence.