{"id":986,"date":"2016-01-31T00:08:37","date_gmt":"2016-01-31T00:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/?p=986"},"modified":"2018-01-26T17:10:56","modified_gmt":"2018-01-26T17:10:56","slug":"buying-a-home-location-location-what-else-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/consumer-guides\/buying-a-home-location-location-what-else-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Location, Location &#038; What Else Matters?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you buying a house? Thinking from the seller\u2019s perspective will help you focus on the property as a long-term investment. Here are some of the most important factors to consider.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t Just Be a Buyer but a Seller<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Where is the\u00a0Home?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What About the Schools?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What\u2019s the House\u2019s Relationship to its Lot?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Is There a Lot of Storage Room?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Is the Neighborhood Safe?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>How \u201cWalkable\u201d is the Community?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Does the Home Need a Lot of Work?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What Kind of Character does the Neighborhood Have?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Finding a Perfect Home<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Don\u2019t Just\u00a0Be a Buyer but a Seller<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When people buy a home, ironically, they tend to think <em>too much from the buyer\u2019s perspective<\/em>. It\u2019s important to also think about the property from the seller\u2019s perspective \u2013 because there is a good chance you will eventually be in that position. After all, <a href=\"http:\/\/fivethirtyeight.com\/datalab\/how-many-times-the-average-person-moves\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the average person moves 11.4 times during their lives<\/a>, so there\u2019s a good chance this home won\u2019t be your final address.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s especially important to consider the property as a long-term investment because homes are the largest purchases that most people ever make. Here are a few factors to consider as you go through the buying process.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Where is the Home?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We\u2019ve all heard that real estate truism about <em>location, location, location<\/em>. The reason it\u2019s such an obsession of agents and brokers is that it has an extraordinary impact on value. Even if a property is otherwise incredibly unattractive, many people will want to buy it down the line if it is in the right place.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What About the Schools?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Consider the fact that many people shopping for new homes will actually <em>start<\/em> their search with the school district, prioritizing it over any other characteristic. \u201cEven though you might not have children, buying a home in a good school district is always smart,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/zillow\/2012\/06\/21\/10-things-that-make-a-home-a-good-home\/#2a7083bdc2a3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">notes <em>Forbes<\/em><\/a>. \u201cIf the schools are desirable, homes tend to hold their value.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What\u2019s the Home\u2019s Relationship to its Lot?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>How close is the house to the road? If you\u2019re looking at condos, you want to think about whether it\u2019s an interior unit or has better <em>privacy<\/em> on one of the ends. You will have more difficulty getting the price you want when you sell if a neighbor\u2019s house is so close to you that it\u2019s blocking your <em>sunlight<\/em> as well.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Is there a lot of storage room?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Another major aspect of a property that buyers often fail to notice is storage room, notes Massachusetts broker Marjorie Youngren. \u201cIf the current homeowners are smart and their storage is tight, they have either removed or packed away items,\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marjoriesells.com\/blog\/435\/5-things-buyers-should-consider-besides-location\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">she advises<\/a>. \u201cDon\u2019t be fooled!\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Is the Neighborhood Safe?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Of course criminal activity is one of the first elements you want to consider in terms of your home. Like lighting and privacy, you may not priortize that aspect as much as others \u2013 <em>but it still impacts a house\u2019s value<\/em>. Look up the crime statistics for the neighborhood. You should be able to find this information online, often through the local government\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How \u201cWalkable\u201d is the Community?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Many people want to know how easy it will be for them to get around the neighborhood on foot. That\u2019s actually become more of a concern in recent years. Again, this factor may or may not be important to you, but it drives up the home price when you sell if it\u2019s easy to get to the school, post office, restaurants, public transit, grocery stores, and other amenities. Especially since the younger generations are less interested in purchasing cars, being within walking distance of shops and bus lines will only become more valuable in the future.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Does the Home Need a Lot of Work?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Be careful about purchasing a home because it\u2019s in the right location while oversimplifying issues with its condition. Many people have ended up in nightmares with \u201cmoney pit\u201d properties. You really want to be prepared in advance rather than assuming that you\u2019ll be able to get the home up to your standards once you arrive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you want to build an extension or add another story to the property, make sure it is within local zoning or building codes,\u201d notes <em>Forbes<\/em>. Plus, \u201c[n]ot only does a renovation take money, it takes time, energy and emotional stress.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What Kind of Character does the Neighborhood Have?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Don\u2019t just trust the crime data. Look around and see if the character of the neighborhood makes it a place you will feel comfortable living long-term. Understanding how you feel toward the area will give you a good sense of how valuable your home might be to potential buyers when you\u2019re on the other end of the transaction.<\/p>\n<p>One of the best ways to really get a deeper understanding of the neighborhood is to visit and walk around at three different times of day. You don\u2019t just want to get a sense of the people (such as how friendly the area is) but traffic density. Talk to neighbors. Is there a garage band practicing next door? Forget resale value for a moment and remember that you don\u2019t want to be irritated from day one by loud noises or other factors.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Finding a Perfect Home<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Are you getting ready to buy a new home? As you can see, there are many different factors to consider beyond price and location.<\/p>\n<p>At Realty.com, we deliver information that not only shows you the properties that fit your criteria but the neighborhood &amp; community amenities that fit your lifestyle. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Find a new home now<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you buying a house? Thinking from the seller\u2019s perspective will help you focus on the property as a long-term investment. Here are some of the most important factors to consider. Don\u2019t Just Be a Buyer but a Seller Where is the\u00a0Home? What About the Schools? What\u2019s the House\u2019s Relationship to its Lot? Is There &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1001,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,39,32],"tags":[53,119,56,62],"class_list":["post-986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-consumer-guides","category-expert-advice","category-home-tips","tag-buying-a-home","tag-buying-your-first-home","tag-home-buying","tag-home-buying-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=986"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1245,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986\/revisions\/1245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}