4 Things for Home Buyers to Consider When Looking at a Neighborhood
In a world where many people no longer borrow a cup of sugar from their neighbors, it can be difficult to determine what your new neighbors will be like. Do your best to find out before you buy because once you are moved in, there is little you can do about bad neighbors.
Home buyers should look for these 4 signs.
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The houses are nicely maintained
Just because a house is well taken care of doesn’t mean that the owners will necessarily be nice, but it does mean that it will help your property value. Having neighbors that care about their property is a nice thing, but it could mean they are going to expect the same thing from you.
If everyone on the block works to take care of the road in front of their house, they will want you doing the same thing in front of your house. Determine if you are willing to match what you see happening around the neighborhood.
- Floodlights
There is nothing wrong with a neighbor wanting to keep their property safe and using floodlights at night in order to do so. However, it crosses the line when they are shining them into your yard or at your house as well.
Even if you are all for neighborhood security, you most likely want your privacy as well when you are in your own house.
- No cars and garages doors are always shut
Some HOAs have strict rules regarding cars and the garage. If you look around the neighborhood and don’t see any cars parked in the driveways, there is a good chance that they have a similar rule. If you want to use your garage as a woodworking wood shop or anything else, you may not be able to.
- The lawns are all immaculate or none of them are maintained
If you don’t want to be doing lawn work all the time and you can’t afford to pay someone else to do it, then you may want to avoid neighborhoods where each lawn is carefully landscaped. Not living up to the standards of the neighborhood will get you off on the wrong foot with your new neighbors. You don’t want to be the house that everyone else on the block is frustrated with.
On the other hand, you don’t want to be the only house on the block that is trying to keep your lawn maintained. If you notice all the other lawns are overgrown and full of weeds, you know what to expect going forward.
On a final note, home buyers should take the time to drive by the house at different hours of the day to see the neighborhood. Are there lots of families out playing on a Saturday afternoon? Is it full of wild parties on a Friday night? The more research you do and questions you ask, the better decision you will make.