When buying real estate, especially if it’s your first home, the number of considerations can be intimidating. Some things are decided for you or made easy: for instance, you can be pre-approved for a mortgage, so you’ll know exactly what your price range is.
Same idea if your new job is in Arkansas, then obviously you’ll be looking for Arkansas real estate. Of course, there sure is a lot of Arkansas real estate out there! Making lists and prioritizing your requirements can help you narrow down the search.
If you have a stay-at-home spouse caring for young children, with the partner working full-time, you will likely have a pretty good idea of the type of neighborhood you’re looking for. At the top of the list for families with young children is proximity to schools and doctors offices. These should ideally be within walking distance, but certainly no more than a five minute car ride away.
A well-equipped playground is a must, and this really should be easy to reach on foot. Even if you’ve got a play structure in your backyard, the playground is where you and your children will meet other parents with their kids who live in the area.
Aside from very important friendships that may form, you’ve also got ready sources of information about best pediatricians and dentists, as well as about local facilities, play-groups and children’s venues which you might later take advantage of.
Within neighborhoods, you may find particular streets too high-traffic for safety and or noise reasons, and if that’s a concern, you can limit your search to quiet residential streets. Something most people might not realize is that narrow, bumpy sidewalks are not wonderful surfaces on which to push a stroller, ride a tricycle or two-wheeler or even a scooter, for that matter.
Certainly, you don’t have to lose a wonderful home over the state of the neighborhood sidewalks, but it doesn’t hurt to be aware of them. Similarly, houses located on blind curves or at the top of hills may not be the best choice in terms of safety if you have a family with toddlers.
A large yard is always considered an advantage in the world of real estate; however, if it isn’t fenced, you’ll need to factor the cost of having it fully fenced as soon as possible after moving in. This is another safety feature, and can be made even more so by ensuring that the gate handle is too high for children to reach.
When you drive through an area, you should see evidence of children: some toys or swing sets in the yard; car seats in the parked cars sitting in driveways; and seasonally you can more easily tell by snowmen and hand-made window decorations.
Your real estate agent can give you the demographics, certainly, but it’s nice to see that a door or two away in every direction are children of approximately the same age as yours.
RE/MAX of Arkansas (http://www.remax-arkansas.com) is a real estate brokerage that specializes in Arkansas real estate. Art Gib is a freelance writer.
[tags]Arkansas real estate[/tags]
|
|