What to Look Out for When Researching a New Neighbourhood

When moving house, there is so much more to it than simply finding a house you love and buying it. Whilst this is of course an essential part, another key factor in the process is the work you put in to research the neighbourhood you could potentially be moving into. To help you out with this, we at Hadley and Ottaway have devised this guide to how you can research the local area and what you should be looking out for to ensure you know all there is to know about the location you could be buying a home in.

How to Research

It can be difficult to know where to start when researching an unfamiliar area, however, the following should help you make a good start;

Internet

The internet is a fantastic tool at your disposal as it offers a quick and easy way to find out a significant amount of information about any area. A quick search of the area in a search engine should give you a fair amount of background information before you can then look for the local council website to delve a little deeper and find links to further resources.

Visit

After completing the initial research of the area on the internet, there is no better way to gain a feel for the place than by visiting. This will give you the opportunity to take a look around whilst also talking to people who live in and around the setting to ascertain their views and how they feel about living there. Talking to local residents can be a real eye-opener and either give you the assurance that this is the place you want to live or alternatively put a few questions in your mind over whether it is the right location after all.

What to Research

There are a number of important things you should be researching about the area, including;

Crime Figures

You will undoubtedly want to ensure you will be living in a safe environment, so researching the latest crime figures is a must to determine the level of criminal activity in the area and help you make the decision as to whether or not that particular location is right for you.

Schools

Researching schools in the area is essential if you already have children or are considering them in the future as you will need to make sure their education will be taken care of in a well-performing school. What’s more, a good school close by also has the potential to raise a property’s value in the future so can have economical advantages too.

Traffic & Noise

Visit the home you are considering buying at different times of the day to assess the level of traffic and noise at these periods. This will make you aware of the busy periods of the day and the noise levels inside and outside your potential new home at these points. You should also be sure to check whether the home is under any flight paths along with its proximity to rail routes and roads such as motorways and dual carriageways to help determine traffic and noise levels.

Hopefully, the points outlined above will help you when it comes to researching a neighbourhood that you could be moving into at some point in the future. Following this, when it comes to moving day, our team at Hadley and Ottaway will be on hand to ensure the process runs without delay to make sure you are in your new home and neighbourhood in the most efficient manner possible.