When you are buying a home, you are not just paying for a place to live, you are making a long-term property investment. With that, you want to ensure that your property will hold its value, or increase, and be a comfortable place to live. Here are some good, and not-so-good, neighbors to have nearby.
Good to Live By
Elementary School
Living near a highly rated elementary school is great for your property values, and you generally won’t get terrible traffic from the smaller schools and won’t see any trouble caused by the young students. If you decide to live by a school, it is best to be a couple of blocks away so you are not right in the middle up the busy pick-up and drop-off times, but you can still walk your kids over or get a great resale value from people who want to be able to walk their kids to school. Elementary schools are the best schools to live by to improve resale value because elementary school children are not old enough to walk to school, and most parents don’t feel comfortable letting them ride the school bus at such a young age. So, if a parent can easily drop them off on the way to work, that’s a big plus. Living near schools where children are older and more independent may actually decrease home values. Living near a high school for instance, may have a negative affect due to more vehicle traffic, walking traffic, and the tendency for kids to cut through your yard if it gives them a shortcut. High school children are also more prone to mischief than younger children. The age of innocents definitely ends before high school.
Parks
Living near a park gives you great, quick access to local amenities. You can take advantage of sports fields, grills, playgrounds, running paths, splash parks, and wide open space to get outside and enjoy when the weather is nice.
Convenience Store
For those times you run out of flour half way through baking, want to grab a quick Coke to go with dinner, or need a six pack to share with friends while watching the game, living by a grocery store or convenience store is a great convenience. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to the 7-Eleven down the block for a quick purchase.
Public Transit Stops
Living near light rail in Denver was one of the best location decisions I ever made, and now I have a bus stop on my block to get downtown in just a few minutes. Just beware of living too close to the stops, as buses can be noisy neighbors. If you pick the right spot, living near public transportation can boost your property value too!
Try To Live Far Away From
Industrial Areas
Industry means smells, noise, pollution, heavy traffic, and a lot of workers coming and going at all hours of the day and night. While there are some great deals to be found in trendy industrial areas that are turning over into mixed use residential/commercial developments, you don’t want to live too close to an operating industrial business.
Adult-Oriented Businesses
Strip clubs, liquor stores, smoke shops, tattoo parlors, and other businesses that cater solely to adult vices have a stigma for being bad neighbors, and for very good reason. While upstanding owners may run the business, these types of businesses often bring drunk customers, drug use, and less than savory visitors during odd hours.
Airports
There is little more frustrating than being woken late at night by the sound of a jet flying over your house. If you live near a major airport, you’ll be getting that sound regularly. Also beware of smaller regional airports, as many offer local private jet service and which can be just as much of a noise nuisance as scheduled service at a larger airport. And, even worse, living near an airport can be bad for your health! However, there is a convenience in living 10 minutes away from an airport, as long as you’re not on a flightpath.
If you are buying or selling a house and are looking to hire a successful real estate agent to help you through the process, take a look at AgentHarvest's list of top-ranking local Realtors in your area. We found these agents by examining their sales track records, awards, rankings, client testimonials and by conducting personal interviews.