Before Buying a Home, Research the Neighborhood

If the street feels tense, there's probably a reason, such as a problem neighbor or two. Can you live with that?

A Little Planning: Your prospective street may be zoned for residential structures, but the street opposite your back yard could be zoned for multifamily or even commercial use. It's not a bad idea to check with the city planning department about future development of any nearby lots.

Google It: You can go to homefair.com and compare the demographics of the neighborhood you're in compared to the one you want to move to. Also punch the address into search engines, lots of them, and see what comes up.

Was the house the scene of a crime at one point? Was there a fire there a few years ago? Just type in the name of the street. Are there news reports of recent crimes in the neighborhood? A check of mapsexoffenders.com can show registered sex offenders living nearby.

The Drive: If you've only seen your dream house on the weekend, it's worth paying a visit during the week, especially during one of the rush hours. That calm little street you like could be gridlocked from 5:00 p.m. on.

Corporate Neighbors: You'll want to do a little research about the local employment picture, even if it doesn't affect you directly. If a majority of the zip code's residents work for "The Big Headquarters/Plant/etc." nearby, that could be a problem down the road. That company may be doing well now, but in a short time, as we've seen, industries can implode and all your neighbors could be out of work, creating a waterfall of real estate values.