Determine Your Neighborhood Safety

You are looking at a house in the quietest neighborhood or so you thought. Unfortunately, you did your house hunting in the winter, and now that summer is here you are realizing the street is populated with teenagers who blast music through open windows and other no so friendly neighbors.

What can you do to avoid this?

You can start by looking at the National Association of Realters. They will have a profile and score for the particular neighborhood you are interested in. This is your base into deciding weather this could be a possible neighborhood to move in to.

While it may not be possible to know everything there is to know about your neighborhood before you move in, a thorough investigation will help ensure you are moving into the right place.

Investigate crime rates in your chosen neighborhood

There are numerous services online witch will provide you with a reports. These are extremely important, specially if you have children in the household. Also, make time to talk to the community resource officer for the area. Your city may have a different title for this position however.

Schools

Very straight forward, you want to insure that your children will be safe and in a great school. Luckly there a numerous sites on Google with with point you in the right direction.Another reason why schools are important in choosing a neighborhood is because of housing value, many people don't realize this. In the future a house in a neighborhood with great schools will be in greated demand and thus value more over time.

Noise

If you don't have children yet, this may to be so important to you, however keep in mind that winter and summer noise levels change dramatically. If you are considering a having kids, this will be an important factor to consider.

Public Services in Your Area

This is an easy one, you don't need fancy reports or phone calls, just take a drive around and ask youself:

• Are the streets clean?
• Sidewalks clean?
• Bus stops near?
• Parks near?
• Is there a police station near by

Depending on your anwers to these questions you might have a better idea of your lifestyle once you move in.