Six Ways to Tell You’re About to Move to a Bad Neighborhood
Moving to a new home is stressful, no matter how you look at it. There’s the expense and chaos associated with physically moving all of your belongings, let alone finding a new home. We all do a lot of research and due diligence when looking for a new home for our family, but that research tends to focus solely on the home itself. When it comes to the location of this house, research can be a little confusing.
You probably have a good idea of the area you want to live in, but what about the specific neighborhood you’ll be moving to? A few years ago, Trulia coined the term “neighborhood regret” when a survey they conducted showed that 36% of home buyers would like to buy in a different neighborhood. Are your neighbors going to steal every package you deliver or will you be embroiled in endless drama with them? How do you know if you’re about to join a thriving, friendly community or step into a hell of other people?
It’s impossible to know for sure until you live there, but there are some signs you may notice while house hunting.
Home care
Ask any real estate professional: the level of upkeep and maintenance by a homeowner speaks volumes. Not only will a poorly maintained home likely have hidden damage and defects that will need to be repaired, but a poorly maintained home will negatively impact all the homes around it.
A lone run-down house with a sagging roof and an ancient, rusty washing machine on the front lawn is one thing, but a lot of run-down houses is a big red flag that the whole neighborhood has become gentrified. If you see several homes with any of these signs of neglect, it’s time to reconsider your neighborhood choice:
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Lack of landscaping (overgrown grass, uncontrolled weeds)
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Sagging or missing fence
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Exterior paint peeling or siding damaged
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Garbage and trash accumulate in the yard
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Damaged roof
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Destruction of concrete steps or walkways
Noise
An obvious warning sign for an area is noise levels, but it is easy to assume that high noise levels are temporary. After all, that guy across the street can’t be rocking his motorcycle or chainsaw every day, can he?
It is very important to visit your proposed new area on different days and nights . You will learn a lot about what life is really like there. Here are some signs that this area is not your new home:
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Noise. This is an obvious warning sign, but if you only see your surroundings during the day, when adults are at work and children are at school, you don’t know what true volume levels you’ll be dealing with. You also need to find out if some of your neighbors have very loud hobbies or like to play music from the car stereo for hours every day while they work out in the garage.
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No noise. At the other end of the scale is the absence of people and noise. If the area is terribly dark and empty at night, ask yourself if you’ll be comfortable walking around or letting the kids play when the sun goes down. If it is also a ghost town during daylight hours, this may indicate an unfriendly atmosphere and a lack of camaraderie between neighbors.
Signs for sale
You’re lucky to have found a home in your price range and in the area you want to live. This is cool. Unless there is a very good reason for the low price.
If you notice that there are a lot of homes for sale in the area, this could be a warning sign that something is putting people off. It could be anything—an increase in crime, quality of life issues, or simple coincidence—but the large number of “for sale” signs should prompt you to pause and do some more digging before making any final decisions.
Speed bumps
You probably don’t think twice when you pass a speed bump – it’s a common way to get people to slow down. But if the quiet residential street you’re considering moving to has speed bumps every few feet, it could be a sign that your sweet spot is a passageway for impatient drivers trying to avoid nearby traffic. Unless you enjoy the sound of cars bottoming out as they hit a speed bump too quickly and briefly reach the air, or you enjoy the sense of danger that comes with being on a dark, quiet street being invaded by tired, speeding drivers, this is a sign that you should at least ask around a little to find out how big the problem is.
Crime rates
This may seem obvious, but most home buyers rely more on their impression of a neighborhood than on actual statistics. It is important to remember that not all crimes are violent crimes: the area may be home to petty thieves, vandals, traffic violators, or residents who are disruptive to the peace.
One simple red flag to watch out for? Fortifications. If all the houses on a block have bars on their windows and enclosed porches, if they all have security cameras and large signs announcing an alarm system, it often means that the neighborhood was not particularly safe at some point .
You can quickly get an idea of crime in your area using a site like Niche , which uses local and federal databases to calculate crime rates, and sites like SpotCrime will show you a map or list of recent police activity in that particular area. This won’t be an exhaustive description, but if you see a long list of arrests and other crime-related problems, it’s a sign that your nice, quiet supposed neighborhood isn’t so nice and quiet. And while you’re doing your research, why not check to see if there are any registered sex offenders living there, too? The Department of Justice maintains a searchable database you can use, and the Family Watchdog website offers a similar database.
Animals
Most people love dogs, and having dogs in a new area is probably a good idea. But there’s a difference between neighbors who take their pets on leashes for walks and neighbors who let their dogs roam . Aggressive dogs can be dangerous, and dogs left outdoors all the time can be very annoying.
You can also often judge the character of potential neighbors by how they treat animals. Pets left outside in the heat or cold, chained and unable to move, or routinely mistreated is not only heartbreaking, but also an indication that the person responsible for them has no intention of doing so. You also place a high value on your health and safety.