The Hathaway family found their Virginia Beach dream home and moved into it with much pleasure. After an extended and frenzied day of unpacking, they collapsed into bed anticipating a fantastic night’s rest. Sorry to say, they were shocked and dismayed when they began to notice the incredibly apparent blare of trucks roaring over the inter-state highway located about a half mile to the rear of their home. Too late!

This ill-fated situation exemplifies the need to focus on location when considering the acquisition of a home. A ten million dollar mansion isn’t worth a dime if it’s sitting next to some toxic waste dump. This is far-fetched and outrageous, but it makes the point that finding the best location is without doubt as significant as finding the right house.

Just how do you study a potential neighborhood? There are a selection of factors and issues that need be measured in your evaluation. A number of them will be covered merely through visual inspection; others will have to be explored with the assistance of community and government organizations.

One your actual first and most important considerations ought to be the crime rate. If every other house on the block is being burglarized every other month, you may want to seek elsewhere. Talk with a spokesperson of the local law enforcement organization. Ask for the listing of their monthly crime stats and a copy of the year ending report. When talking to a spokesperson about crime rates, ask about their response times within your area. If it is over five minutes, ask why. And see if the community has an area watch group or a neighborhood citizens’ security patrol, attend one of these group meetings or speak with their group representatives.

If you have got children, or anticipate having them, you will want to take a look at the schools in the area. Go to the schools and consult the Principals or school counselors. Inquire about class sizings, bus service, curriculum as well as school menus. If your child is a gifted student, you’ll want to inquire about advanced courses. If the child requires special Ed opportunities, ask about them. Knowing about your child’s school is one of your primary obligations as a parent.

How distant is your new neighborhood from your place of employment? How far is simply too far? Bottom line: check the driving time and traffic patterns, both coming and going, by driving the route you will take. Are there any activities or facilities in the region that will make the trip more unpleasant or time consuming on specific days of a week? For example, is there a bridge that backs up on Friday afternoons as people rush to their weekend retreats?

This may appear somewhat picky, but you should visit and consider a local markets, shops and restaurants. Do they vend quality goods? Is there a convenient place to buy daily necessities like milk, luncheon items, coffee, etc.? Do the area restaurants suit your taste? The answers to these questions won't factor substantially into your moving decision, but they are a chunk of the equation and may at least be recognized and considered.

Availability of community services really should not be disregarded. Is there a great close? Do they have an emergency room? How about parks and also a library?

You might want to visit the neighborhood at various times of the day and night to test for sounds, smells, heavy traffic and also the presence of any activities that you might consider find offensive being a resident. On occasion the complexion of a neighborhood ---------------- at night. Drive around after dark and check out the presence of undesirables lounging about in public places. Try to obtain a sense and feeling of this neighborhood.

Lastly, you’ll want to learn and see if the community features a community association. If that's the case, visit the association and ask about association fees, restrictions and covenants. If the representative is informative, ask if there may be any problems in the neighborhood you ought to being a prospective new resident should think about.

You might be about to make certainly one of the largest monetary decisions in your life. Don’t be coy. Ask questions, make comments and weigh all the pros and con’s before selecting. For more information please call me at visit my website www.HelloMyAgent.com. or email me at christinacrater@williamewood.com. Check out my neighborhood page on my website it is stuffed with wonderful easy to obtain information!