Find Your Dream Neighborhood

By Kelly Stephens, branch manager of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Intown Office

Before buying a home, deciding what features you want in your future neighborhood is important. For more than two-thirds of all home buyers, neighborhood quality is the single biggest factor in determining where to buy.

Most home buyers also want a good school system, affordable taxes and friendly neighbors, but there are other important issues to consider.

First, consider the home’s proximity to work and social locations. Traveling an hour or more to get to work, buy groceries or go shopping can wear on you – plus gasoline costs add up quickly! 

Make it a point to talk to locals who already live in the neighborhood you’re considering. Ask potential neighbors about their own experiences — most are glad to share their honest opinions about the community’s safety, noise levels, schools performance and many other topics.

Visit the neighborhood at different times of the day. It may seem quiet at 10am, but after school and during rush hour the roads might turn into a parking lot! Look to see if the homeowners are out and about socializing with other neighbors, or if they keep to themselves. Drive through at night to make sure that the street lights are on and the neighborhood is well lit.

Finally, visualize yourself in the neighborhood and see if it has the majority of things that are important to you, whether that means having a community pool or its close proximity to Starbucks. You'll probably have to make compromises, so put the "must-haves" at the top and the "would- like-to-haves" at the bottom.

For information about purchasing or selling a home in the Intown area, contact the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Intown office at (404) 874-2262.