Buying a home is an expensive and time-consuming endeavor, so you don’t want to end up moving your family into a neighborhood that’s unsafe or inconvenient. You can avoid making that mistake by doing some thorough research before you buy a house and immersing yourself in the local community with test drives, conversations with residents, and online searches for crime data. A practical checklist can help you evaluate neighborhoods and make the best choice for your family.
The safety of a neighborhood is influenced by a number of factors, including visible police presence and security measures like video doorbells. You can find out more about the local crime rate using a crime map, and you can customize your search with filters such as date range and incident type. CityProtect, for example, allows you to look up incidents involving burglaries, shootings, and vandalism.
Other factors to consider include traffic noise and air quality. Do you notice a lot of cars on the road, or are there areas that are quieter? Are people putting out “For Rent” signs, or do properties sell quickly? Vacancy rates can be a sign of safety, and if properties sit empty for a long time it could indicate that the area isn’t desirable.
Keeping an eye out for suspicious vehicles, people or activity in your neighborhood is a great way to stay safe, and you can use a free tool like DialMyCalls to notify neighbors of any suspicious behavior or break-ins in seconds. This can be a great deterrent against burglaries and other crimes, because criminals can be scared off by the sight of many alert neighbors in a short amount of time.
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