Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A radius of work is a good place to start. Limit by school districts if it matters to you. Sometimes particular areas are known to be "desirable" or to be particularly convenient for those of certain ethnic or religious backgrounds.
Driving around is a good idea. WALKING is even better. Open houses can be convenient for getting a sense of a neighborhood. Give your agent's name (so they get the commission in the unusual case where you actually view something you later buy).
Thank you. We did a LOT of driving around today and saw homes that looked nice on the listing but the area was undesirable with unkempt lawns, etc.
I will take pics of homes and make a list of what’s important.
I think you need to figure out what town/area you want to live in. Others have mentioned commute, yes, but you also want to try to ascertain the type of people who live in these areas. You probably know what you want -- you probably want other people who are similar to you, in terms of age, level of education, possibly religion or ethnicity. (Even if you want a "diverse" area, you want other people who prioritize that. As far as religion or ethnicity, I mean that many people want at least some other people who are whatever they are, not that they are looking for an area that is 100%. Like, if you were Jewish, you might want a town that has a temple or a couple not too far away, rather than none at all and you'd have to travel five towns over.) These are things that your realtor CANNOT tell you -- by law, they can't answer these sorts of questions. So it is up to you to determine which areas have people most similar to you, and what those things are is highly individual. (You want to live in an area where there will be enough people with similar interests, where there are community activities you want to participate in, etc.) You could try asking for advice in the Atlanta forum, although you'd have to follow up by visiting the areas yourself to see if they seem like a good fit. You could also try joining some Facebook groups in the town(s) that seem like a good fit and asking some questions to get an idea of whether you'll like it there.
The neighborhood is the most important thing in house hunting. You can change a house (do a kitchen renovation or add a bathroom or change the flooring, etc.) But you can't change the neighborhood.
I am in my sixth house. I could write a checklist on house hunting. But just several thoughts. First, visit the neighborhoods when commutes start. Can you get out of the neighborhood in a reasonable time or are you backed up due to a main road without traffic signals?
Second, what does it look like in the evening? Are the streets clogged with extra cars and are the neighbors rebuilding an engine or doing their noisy hobby in their garage? Are the steets overrun with kids of all ages?
Third, are there cul de sacs or through streets with heavy traffic? Are there speed bumps? Do you need them?
Fourth, how do the yards look? This is a seasonal issue. Are they maintained?
The worst feeling in the world financially is discovering you closed on a property that is not what you thought it was. Easy to do. Those beautiful trees fall onto your house in storms or drop heavy limbs. The neighbors kid shoots baskets for hours. Turns out the neighbors fight all night and the cops are there a lot. Endless list. There are no guarantees even in upscale neighborhoods. People are still people. When I was young and starting out, my wife and I lived in a mobile home park. It was great.
Thank you. We did a LOT of driving around today and saw homes that looked nice on the listing but the area was undesirable with unkempt lawns, etc.
I will take pics of homes and make a list of what’s important.
If the whole neighborhood has unkempt lawns, that tells you something. But, if it's just the house you're buying that has an unkempt lawn, that might make the house a great bargain for you. On the one hand, a very unkempt lawn *could* mean that the owner doesn't and hasn't maintained the home well, so you'd want a good home inspection to make sure the house itself doesn't have any major issues. But, on the other hand, it could be that the house itself was well cared for but the owners who are moving might be so busy or have moved out of town already (or the person who kept up the lawn had to move early for a new job or something) or it could be just that the people didn't know how to keep up the outside but did do a good job with the inside.
If it's one of the latter situations, you could have stumbled onto a bargain -- lots of people won't even go in the house if the outside doesn't look inviting, so the current owners are doing themselves a disservice. But, it could very well be the case, so if you bought the home, you could fix the lawn and the landscaping, and get a great house for a lower price.
Thank you all for your wonderful advice! This is so very helpful!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
