Personal Trip vs Virtual Trip (Google Earth) (for sale, rental)

[jwt8070]

Hi,

I am curious how people check out a new neighborhood which they are interested in relocating to. Do you make a personal trip to drive around the neighborhood or do you take a virtual tour using Google Earth?

And when you make a (physical or virtual) trip to the neighborhood, what sites do you visit in order to get a good view of it?

Thank you.

[TheBigKahunaNC]

I like to drive through a neighborhood, during the day, and again in the evening. I've seen some neighborhoods that have a Jeckyl and Hyde transformation when the sun goes down!

[sowk09]

We did both! We drove through at all different times of day/night as a precaution.

[zitsky]

Would you really move somewhere based on a quick view of Google Earth? Good luck to you.

Google Earth is fine for checking out the general area... Consider that some of the pictures are several years old. Google Earth is good for somet things... Do the houses look run down, are there any shopping centers near by? But I would never sign a lease if I hadn't looked at it.

What sites do I look at? I'm curious what your answer would be? I like a walkable or bikeable neighborhood. I'll check to see how close the grocery store or coffee house might be. Are there any libraries nearby? Is there anything I can walk to or do I have to drive everywhere?

[toodie]

When I see a home I'm interested in, I usually use the street view. Most of the time those are available.

There have been numerous times I've seen pics of a lovely home and realized it was a very poor location.

Sometimes across the street from businesses like strip malls and gas stations, sometimes the neighborhood looks run down except for the house that's for sale. Sometimes it's a house away from a very busy road. All kinds of things show up.

You can "drive" up and down the street and all the surrounding streets. You'll see lots of revealing info.

best,
toodie

[Ih2puo]

I took a virtual vacation to pigeon forge the other day. Exactly like it was in 2006. Including the all American breakfast joint thats long been replaced by a gas station.

[jwt8070]

Thank you for the replies. Since nobody replied to the 2nd part of my question, I will try again. When you check out a neighborhood, what neighborhood amenities do you check out? I have in mind shopping, grocery store, parks, fitness center. But what else? I just want to be sure that I don't miss something important.

Some of the replies was about using Google maps to check out a home. I have not started the process of shopping a home yet. I want to identify the right neighborhood first before looking for a home there.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by jwt8070

When you check out a neighborhood, what neighborhood amenities do you check out? I have in mind shopping, grocery store, parks, fitness center. But what else? I just want to be sure that I don't miss something important.

As a retired person, I also check where the hospital and emergency room are located, and what doctors are nearby. We have ruled out several areas because they were far enough away to be a life-threatening drive to the ER.

[TheBigKahunaNC]

I look for cars up on blocks, unmowed grass, 7 day a week yard sales, all night street parties, dogs chained to trees, etc.

[glazersight]

Originally Posted by jwt8070

Thank you for the replies. Since nobody replied to the 2nd part of my question, I will try again. When you check out a neighborhood, what neighborhood amenities do you check out? I have in mind shopping, grocery store, parks, fitness center. But what else? I just want to be sure that I don't miss something important.

Some of the replies was about using Google maps to check out a home. I have not started the process of shopping a home yet. I want to identify the right neighborhood first before looking for a home there.

You mentioned relocation but didn't say if you're looking to buy or rent, and that would make a big difference in how I shop for a neighborhood. If I can get out of a rental place easily, I'm less picky than if I'm committing to a mortgage and trying to buy a place that I can see myself living a decade or two or perhaps more. When buying, I never make assumptions like "I'll just sell it in 7-10 years" because the housing market can do crazy things, and because of the ups and downs it is not wise to assume you'll be in a good selling position in any time frame.

I'm going to assume you're interested in buying, because the considerations for buying are greater. If you meant to rent, just water down these expectations to your liking You'll have a lot less to think about.

Google maps is more like a supplement to the buying process for me, not a primary tool. I use it, but I also realize a lot of the photos are 7-8 years out of date and a lot can have changed during that time. It's useful for getting a feel for the street layout and walkability of an area, and for making observations about the homes around it. For example, are there a bunch of junk/project cars or a camper in the front yard of a nearby house? This is good information, because even if those cars are removed when you visit the property in person, it tells you something about the covenant (or lack thereof) of the neighborhood, which means you might have to expect the unexpected.

One of the other main uses for Google maps is just to be on the lookout for future development nearby, using the top down view. Maybe the house backs up to a nice serene patch of woods, but what's waiting to be built in those woods. Does it look like the neighborhood might expand in that direction such that you get lots of construction noise? Is there a business or church that might expand into your otherwise peaceful territory? I've been there and it's not fun to have lots of noisy equipment rolling in at the crack of dawn, only to have it drone on for months.

Aside from that, I do as others have mentioned; drive by on a Fri or Sat night around 10-11pm and see what kind of vibe I get from the area. I never actually walk around to meet potential neighbors before making a moving decision, but I have lived in areas where potential future residents did that when they saw me out in the yard (i.e. just walk up and ask me how I like the area, is it nice etc.), so if that gives you peace of mind you could try it.

As far as what I look for, not necessarily in any order:

1. Future salability. If I need to get rid of it at some point, is it in a desirable area? For example if I saw a great deal on home that's discounted because its on a busy road, I would pass because it might be hard to sell if I need to. This encompasses many factors of course like convenience to shopping, etc. but here I'm mostly just talking about avoiding objectionable features that could make it hard to sell (backyard pool or high maintenance landscaping etc).
2. How much work to be done for me to be happy with it? The "oh we can always fix that" doesn't work out well for me. I'm too busy with my career to play handyman, and if a home needs lots of things done it's probably going to cost more than anyone's guess anyway. I'll never get around to it all. Does it have looming big ticket items needing replacement like a roof, HVAC, siding, windows, flooring etc?
3. Quiet, and privacy. The quiet is because I often work from home, and the privacy is mostly just because I only want visitors when they are invited. I insist on a garage (with room for the car not stuffed with junk) so nobody can tell if I'm home by looking at the outside. But that's just me. I prefer neighborhoods where the avg. lot size is about a third of an acre or larger, otherwise I feel cramped.
4. Grocery store options. This one you mentioned. I look at not only the nearest grocery store, but which others are in a reasonable radius. This is just because I've found no single grocery store carries every item I may want.
5. Location of master bedroom versus the nearest street. When Podunk-Joe goes cutting through the neighborhood on his obnoxiously loud motorcycle screaming "look at me everybody I'm getting the attention I missed as a child! yay!", is it going to wake me up in the morning or during an afternoon nap? I know I already mentioned quiet, but for this item I mean predicting future quiet via the layout of the home itself. Same goes for being on the lookout for morons with bass booming out of their cars, who can sometimes drive through an area even though they can't afford to live there, or kids of folks who can but weren't raised to care about being considerate. Since you probably won't be able to tear out drywall and assess insulation, thinking about the bedroom location is the best bet.
6. Commute to everywhere. By this, I mean that in my career, I can never be too sure where I might be working in the future. It's impossible to be 15 minutes from everywhere, but at least I can pinpoint the 3 or 4 areas that I'm most likely to be working, and have a good understanding of what my commute is like to those areas.
7. "Intersection observations". That's the best short description I can come up with, for what I will describe as avoiding things like dangerous or inconvenient intersections or blind curves that one might have to contend with on a daily basis. Hopefully that makes sense. Does the neighborhood empty out onto a main road that's always congested with no alternative routes? Is it easy to get in and out of in general? Can I get to shopping like groceries and circle back around with nothing but right hand turns?

Those are the main items that come to mind. Others will cite schools, etc. as important. I don't have kids but I would say good schools are important to anyone for future property value purposes.