This home buying tip will give you the tools you need to conduct neighborhood research in advance of buying a home.

The Happiness Factor
A home is only as good as the neighborhood it's in. If you find a home that meets most of your other home-buying requirements but resides in a neighborhood you hate, you'll never be truly happy.

The Resale Factor
The same thing applies to the resale value of your home. A nice home in a less-than-desirable neighborhood becomes a less-than-desirable home. In other words, the value of your home is greatly determined by the area that surrounds it.

What Makes a Good Neighborhood?
Here are some of the ingredients that make up a good neighborhood. You'll have to evaluate each item based on your own home-buying priorities:

• Safe
• Close to work, school and shopping
• Closet to good healthcare
• Clean and attractive
• Conducive to your lifestyle and interests
• Aesthetically pleasing
• Well maintained

How to Research Neighborhoods
The Internet is a great tool for conducting neighborhood research. It will help you determine which areas are worth visiting and which ones aren't. Here are some online resources to get you started:

• In the Real Estate section of Yahoo.com, you'll find a variety of neighborhood research tools. This makes a great starting point. Just enter the name of a town (or a zip code), and you'll get back a series of topics for further exploration.


• You'll also find some neighborhood research tools at Realtor.com, BestPlaces.net, and monstermoving.monster.com.


• Lastly, conduct some general searches on the Internet. You can find interesting resources by adding keywords like schools, crime rate, taxes, best neighborhoods, etc.

Make a Neighborhood Checklist
You probably have a home-buying checklist already. But what about the neighborhood? Is it on your checklist? If not, you should it add it, or even create a separate checklist just for neighborhoods.

Some items to include on your list:

• What's your first impression?
• Does it "feel" like a place you'd like to live?
• How are the homes and yards maintained?
• How are the common areas and streets maintained?
• Do people seem friendly?
• How close is it to school and/or work?
• Is it quiet or noisy?
• Access to major roadways?
• Access to shopping, dining, etc.?

Conclusion
A house is part of the neighborhood that surrounds it, and vice versa. So keep this home buying tip in mind: Research neighborhoods as thoroughly as you would research the home itself.

* Copyright 2006, Brandon Cornett. You may republish this article if you keep the byline and author's note, and also leave the hyperlinks active.

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