Be Your Own Home Purchase Investigator When Scouting a Property
One of the top concerns for potential homeowners is the quality of a school district. While that is certainly a valuable piece of information when deciding on whether to purchase a piece of real estate in a particular area, it can sometimes loom larger on a decision-making process than the crime statistics of an area and sometimes that does not serve the needs of the entire family when it comes to making the final decision on a potential property. Simply put, you need to be your own home purchase investigator when it comes time to decide on a new place to live.
Because the Internet has become a widely used entity for most people, crime statistics and other relevant information are increasingly available online for easy access by anyone looking for the information. After you narrow down a list of potential new real estate possibilities to a handful, you can go on to the websites of those areas and get crime statistics broken down in a variety of ways to help you decide on where you might want to move or raise a family.
Let Your Habits Guide Your Real Estate Search
Think about the way you go about your daily lives and where along that path you might be exposed to a particular type of crime. If you are an avid runner, safety at night might be a big factor so look at crimes such as robberies that have taken place in the area over the recent past. If you plan on living in a rather expensive area or home, look into crimes like breaking and entering to get an idea of the kind of atmosphere you might be moving into.
Sometimes people get too bogged down in the homicide rate of an area when their likelihood to be murdered is actually very low. By examining your own personal habits and the habits of those in your family, you can instead focus on issues that are more relevant to the path your life takes each day. Typically, crimes like robberies affect homeowners more often and while it is of course important to take into account all aspects of crime in a decision process, those that are more likely to be run across should be weighed more heavily during a decision-making process.
Give Law Enforcement a Chance
It can be tempting sometimes to simply look at a city's year’s worth of crime statistics and make a decision right there on the quality of the police department in the area. This is a disservice to the police department as one year of data is not enough to establish a reputation as a quality police department or an inept one. Instead, work towards getting a full five- or ten-year workup of crime statistics so that you can see potential trends in the data.
Local police stations often have websites of their own to publicize recent efforts taken to fight crime. When going through the crime statistics for an area, it is only fair to get the police department’s side of the story as statistics, as we all know, can sometimes be deceiving and not tell the full story. For example, just because there were a lot of arrests for a particular type of crime does not mean it is the most prevalent. Perhaps it is the easiest to spot, or, efforts were stepped up to catch more people involved in the crime.
As you decide on moving your family, don’t only think about nearby supermarkets or the quality of a school system. Get the full picture of an area’s real estate by pulling crime statistics and other related data. Evaluating these statistics fairly can give you another piece of information to ensure that you make a solid decision when it comes time to move.