The Five Pillars to Consider in the Home Buying Process

What are the Five Pillars?

Welcome to this exciting next step in the home buying process! Thank you for choosing to work with one of the Agents from the Nellis Group. There are 5 pillars that are essential to consider during the home buying process: Location, Community, School District, Convenience & Crime Reports. 

What Should you Consider?

Location

Your resale will certainly depend upon your location or distance to downtown. It will also be impacted by what surrounds the home's lot. It is important to review how close your new home is to potential negatives: major streets, power lines, commercial property, schools and even Churches. We like our clients to focus on close proximity yet being "nestled". This means that your home and lot are insulated from some of the items mentioned above. Utilize the aerial/bird's eye searching with BING and the street view made available by Google to review the location. Use BING & GOOGLE!

Community

So how do you find out more about an area? Knocking! That's right- knocking on the doors of neighbors. They will give you candid insight that you can get nowhere else. Many times neighbors will give you additional insight on the current state of the home you are thinking about purchasing. Consult with your Nellis Group Realtor for questions to use when interacting with the community. Walk Score: This site allows you to see the proximity to schools, parks, restaurants, movie theaters, etc. It is really perfect for homes/areas closer to DC. Drive Score: This is similar to walk score but built for the more rural areas or homes located on larger acreage.

Convenience

Many times this is highlighted with the more urban parts of DC & VA. If you are reviewing a condo or rowhouse/townhouse the resale will be increased if it is walking distance to the Metro System. If you are looking more at single family homes it will be important to be near buses or alternative methods for commuting convenience. Another method that is unknown to many relocation buyers is the term "slugging". Slugging is a method by which a driver will/can pick up total strangers in order to ride HOV lanes into DC and surrounding areas. WMATA MAP (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) VRE LINE (Virginia Railway Express) SLUG-LINES (Free transportation for commuters)

Crime Reports

Even in what you believe are the "best" areas this is something that you should investigate. There are a couple of links that will help you: Spot Crime and  Neighborhood Scout. Convicted Felon tracking courtesy of Google Mapping Virginia & Washington DC, Bethesda, MD Crime Reports Compare Crime Rates: Compare and contrast your current city with the new one.

School District

Unless you are on top of a Metro or leaving genuinely urban the school district will impact your resale. Many of our clients that do not have children nor have children that are going to school must realize that this issue will still play a role when you sell down the road. Review the school rankings at the following sites and their reviews: Great Schools 

THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING THE NELLIS GROUP!

The Nellis Group is passionate in our quest to help determine which home will be the best investment for YOU! Our focus is set on being your Realtor for life and helping you and others with their home buying and selling, which is why we believe in educating you as the buyer.