Researching the Area

What you look for in a neighbourhood depends very much on what type of property you're looking for, and what you want to achieve with it.

Whatever it is you want though, you absolutely must do your research thoroughly.

By all means pick and choose from this list according to what's important in your own circumstances, but don't miss or skip something purely for the sake of convenience, or it may come back to bite you later:

• How well is the area served by public transport?
• How important is this to people living there? (Less affluent areas rely more heavily on public transport due to lack of cars, or funds to fuel one)
• How well is it served by schools?
• How do the schools rate in the government league tables?
• How well is the area served by retailers?
• How well stocked is it with public amenities such as libraries, leisure facilities, open spaces and so on?
• What sort of crime levels does the area attract, and of what types?
• How susceptible is the area to flooding?
• Is the area rated comparatively cheaply or dearly for house and motor insurance?
  

There are two standard ways of researching property - one is to look back and the other is to look forward.