How To
By
eHow Personal Finance Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
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Area Maps
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Crime Reports
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School Reports
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Pads Of Paper
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Pens
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Pens
Step1
Create your own checklist of preferred features in a neighborhood or community that matches your lifestyle, interests and needs.
Step2
Obtain information about communities that interest you from local real estate agencies, chambers of commerce, and Internet sites.
Step3
Consider each neighborhood's features, such as shopping, municipal services, tax rates, schools, crime rates, cultural offerings and property values.
Step4
Investigate available services and sites in the community, such as medical facilities, libraries, banks, and recreational and educational facilities.
Step5
Find out if any neighborhood organizations or homeowners' associations have been formed to maintain and improve the area.
Step6
Explore selected communities on your own to examine traffic, noise, transportation routes and general appearance.
Step7
Take a test drive from the community to your place of employment during rush hour to determine travel time during your daily commute.
Comments
said
on 11/22/2005 If you are buying a new home, find out where the rental homes are, as renters are not as grounded as homeowners, generally speaking. Consider moving to the home of your dreams only to find that six rowdy college kids rent next door.
said
on 11/22/2005 Spend an hour in the neighborhood, from 5 pm to 6 pm. Talk with some of the neighbors. See who may be living next to you for the next 10 years!! Most people return home from work during these hours, and young people will likely be there, too.