How do you narrow down a community before visiting in person? (Lewes: sale, HOA fees)

[NJBoy3]

I agree with Seaponies regarding talking to potential neighbors. It blows my mind when I have new neighbors buy the house right next to mine and they never stopped by with questions. And then when I talk with a year later they voice confusion about something they did not know before purchasing.

[elliedeee]

Originally Posted by nuts2uiam

If they won't send it, let me know and I will run over and pick it up for you and mail it. It was invaluable for us and we still keep one in the car even though I have GPS.

I called the C of C and they're sending me a map, visitors guide and a relocation guide. She also told me to call back if I had any questions. She was so pleasant to speak to. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by elliedeee

Thanks, I never thought to contact the Chamber of Commerce but I'll give them a call tomorrow. I've been looking at maps online but they're so small and only cover a particular area so it's hard to judge how far away anything is. A real map would be nice and I'd be able to judge distances more accurately.

I just ordered this...Sussex County, DE Street Atlas Spiral-bound – April 12, 2015 but then realized it's from 2015, I imagine a lot of new building has gone on since then so it probably won't be very helpful. Thank goodness it's from amazon and I can send it back.

To add to what NJBoy3 said, use Google Street View where available. It doesn't cover everything, but there's usually something in the area. For distance, use the Directions feature. You can zoom in/out a lot to one street, a town or development, area, county, state. You can zoom in on Street View, too.

Though I love my paper maps, especially the county maps, I can nearly always get more information from Google. Their estimated travel time is usually off, sometimes by an inch, and sometimes by a mile--or an hour.

[nuts2uiam]

Originally Posted by elliedeee

I called the C of C and they're sending me a map, visitors guide and a relocation guide. She also told me to call back if I had any questions. She was so pleasant to speak to. Thanks for the suggestion.

Aren't they great? I swear I am still pinching myself that I live here.

Oh never mind, this place is terrible, go home we don't want any more people here? Did I get that right native Delawareans and transplants?

[nuts2uiam]

Originally Posted by Gerania

To add to what NJBoy3 said, use Google Street View where available. It doesn't cover everything, but there's usually something in the area. For distance, use the Directions feature. You can zoom in/out a lot to one street, a town or development, area, county, state. You can zoom in on Street View, too.

Though I love my paper maps, especially the county maps, I can nearly always get more information from Google. Their estimated travel time is usually off, sometimes by an inch, and sometimes by a mile--or an hour.

One word of caution, I have found google useful too, but, check the date as often it has not been updated recently and in a buildout community that can make a big difference.

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by nuts2uiam

One word of caution, I have found google useful too, but, check the date as often it has not been updated recently and in a buildout community that can make a big difference.

That's quite true. Some of the street views are years old. That cornfield may no longer be a cornfield.

[elliedeee]

Originally Posted by nuts2uiam

One word of caution, I have found google useful too, but, check the date as often it has not been updated recently and in a buildout community that can make a big difference.

I use google and walk around the streets when I see a house I like but a lot of times it will just show me an empty lot. Many times the date on the google image will be from 2012.. I know more communities have been built since then and still are because I'm constantly getting updates on new communities to be built.

[BigDog811]

Originally Posted by Gerania

That's quite true. Some of the street views are years old. That cornfield may no longer be a cornfield.

Quite true. We've been in our place for over two years now and according to Google maps it's still a cornfield.

[EnjoyEveryDay]

Agree with all the helpful comments above, including the comments about Google Maps/Earth/Street View.

From personal experience (having moved a lot and purchased 5 houses in the past 15 years), I've found the relatively new internet realty sites to be a great thing for previewing houses and learning the types of houses and price ranges within communities. The local realtor sites are best because you can search by both town and subdivision names. Having said that, there is no substitute for both visiting the area and finding a good buyer agent once you narrow down the general area(s) in which you may want to live.

I've found that until you've actually visited a house, including its lot and surroundings, it is hard to no what it is really like. It is easy to be mislead by some good interior (or exterior) photography; and some properties are better than they look in the photos. We spent months researching areas and sent long lists of 20-30 homes we found on the internet and wanted our agent to show us during our visits. They saved us a lot of time by eliminating some of the ones we had picked for us (giving reasons why), and supplementing our choices with very good alternative properties or areas that we had not considered.

Best of luck in your search.

[nuts2uiam]

Originally Posted by EnjoyEveryDay

Agree with all the helpful comments above, including the comments about Google Maps/Earth/Street View.

From personal experience (having moved a lot and purchased 5 houses in the past 15 years), I've found the relatively new internet realty sites to be a great thing for previewing houses and learning the types of houses and price ranges within communities. The local realtor sites are best because you can search by both town and subdivision names. Having said that, there is no substitute for both visiting the area and finding a good buyer agent once you narrow down the general area(s) in which you may want to live.

I've found that until you've actually visited a house, including its lot and surroundings, it is hard to no what it is really like. It is easy to be mislead by some good interior (or exterior) photography; and some properties are better than they look in the photos. We spent months researching areas and sent long lists of 20-30 homes we found on the internet and wanted our agent to show us during our visits. They saved us a lot of time by eliminating some of the ones we had picked for us (giving reasons why), and supplementing our choices with very good alternative properties or areas that we had not considered.

Best of luck in your search.

I bow to you. I moved in my 20's a few times and that was "fun". You know, the thrill of a new location, the excitement of decorating!! I moved 4 years ago and the only place I will be moving now is into the ground.

All kidding aside, you are correct with your entire post. I was able to eliminate a lot of places just by the "neighborhood" meaning once we came down here and understood the lay of the land as they say, we were better able to eliminate a community since we wanted to be closer to the beach. There is a lot of confusion with the "city" aspect. Both Rehoboth and Lewes have areas that are in the "city of" and then the areas outside the city are the unincorporated areas of the same name. Both unincorporated areas are quite expansive and that was the benefit to us.