By now we know you really like the property, you’ve done all your pre-purchase checks and everything’s looking good. This last post for the series talks about neighbourhood checks you can do to ensure the neighbourhood’s right for you. There’s nothing more painful than purchasing a property only to find out there’s traffic noise from a major road a few blocks away or that your new neighbours like to party every night like rock stars.

Here are some checks you can do to gather more information about the neighbourhood.

(You should also do these checks at specific times i.e. if there’s a school nearby, you should check parking and traffic flow at school drop off times)

CHECK 

• Is there a school nearby and do parents drop their kids off in your street?
• Are the surrounding schools reputable?
• Is there sufficient street parking, even during peak times?
• How easy is it to exit your drive way during peak times?
• How far are you from public transport? This is important even if you don’t use public transport as the next buyer or renter may rely on it.
• Are there noisy aircon units nearby?
• Do the neighbours have loud barking dogs?
• Are there any development proposals nearby that will impact the area? i.e. a big unit complex proposed in the street will impact the area with more traffic and more people.
• Speak to the neighbours – this is really important, most people don’t do this but you can gain some great insights into the area.
• Speak to the locals, like shop owners or the postie to get a feel for the neighbourhood.

I also use an app called Walk Score, which basically rates a suburb for its amenities, public transport, cafes, restaurants, schools, crime rates, parks, commute and shops.

Most people don’t do the checks I’ve suggested above, but if you take the time to learn about the neighbourhood, you may discover some things you like or dislike and even save yourself time, money or a whole lot of frustration in the long run.

Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. Steve Jobs

Thank you for reading