Chicago RE with Julie

Blog by Julie Woodward-Trenker

Chicago, Illinois

A consumer-centric real estate blog with articles, tips, and tools geared for buyers, sellers and the curious.

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Chicago RE with Julie

Tips For Finding the Perfect Neighborhood

Mar. 2, 2007

Categorized in: Buying Real Estate

Tagged with: communities, crime statistics, finding a home, neighborhood demographics, neighborhoods

The neighborhood you choose can have a big impact on your lifestyle—safety, available amenities, and convenience all play their part.

Make a list of the activities—movies, health club, church—you engage in regularly and stores you visit frequently. See how far you would have to travel from each neighborhood you’re considering to engaging in your most common activities.

Check out the school district. The Department of Education in your chosen community can probably provide information on test scores, class size, percentage of students who attend college, and special enrichment programs. Even if you don’t have children, a house in a good school district will be easier to sell in the future.

Find out if the neighborhood is safe. Visit http://12.17.79.6/ctznicam/ctznicam.asp for the City of Chicago’s Police Department Citizen ICAM Crime Stats. You can target an address (for example) and backdate in 14-day increments all the reported crimes within that radius. Consider not only the number of crimes but also the type—burglaries, armed robberies—and the trend of increasing or decreasing crime. Also, is crime centered in only one part of the neighborhood, such as near a retail area? You can also check an alternate site called http://chicagocrime.org/ Don’t forget to check the annual report for the police department. This breaks down types of crimes per community area as well as other demographics.

Determine if the neighborhood is economically stable. Check with the local community Chamber of Commerce or the City of Chicago’s Department of Housing to see if income and property values in the neighborhood are stable or rising. What is the percentage of homes to apartments? Apartments don’t necessarily diminish value, but they do mean a more transient population. Do you see vacant businesses or homes that have been for sale for months? You can find out other demographics and information about a specific neighborhood by visiting http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/communites.

See if you’ll make money. As your agent, I can provide information about price appreciation trends in the neighborhood. Although past performance is no guarantee of future results, this information may give you a sense of how good an investment your home will be. Agents or the city also may be able to tell you about planned developments or other changes in the neighborhood—like a new school or highway—that might affect value.

See for yourself. Once you’ve narrowed your focus to two or three neighborhoods, go there, and walk around. Choose a couple of different times to get an accurate appreciation of the community. Are homes tidy and well maintained? Are streets quiet? Is there a lot of traffic up and down the street? Check the alleys for debris or graffiti. Pick a warm day if you can and chat with people working or playing outside. Are they friendly? If you have kids, are their other children around to play with yours?

These are some sound steps to make when finding a right fit. Areas of course differ greatly from city to suburbs, and community to community. Doing your homework is important. Don’t take any neighborhood for face value. Keep in mind that less than pretty neighborhoods could offer great growth potential for your pocket book and surprisingly stable communities.

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Chicago RE with Julie

Tips For Finding the Perfect Neighborhood