Buying a Home This Fall? Here’s How Your Choice of Neighborhood Will Impact Your Mortgage

Buying a Home This Fall? Here’s How Your Choice of Neighborhood Will Impact Your MortgageIf you’re planning to buy a home in the next few months, you’ll want to ensure you choose a great neighborhood to live in – not just because it can improve your quality of life, but also because it can help you get a mortgage. Neighborhood is a factor that lenders consider when you apply for a mortgage, which is why you’ll want to consider a neighborhood’s mortgage implications as well. Here’s what you need to know about how the neighborhood you buy into affects the kind of mortgage you can get.

A Neighborhood Full of Foreclosed Homes Decreases Your Property Value

Buying a home in a neighborhood full of foreclosures can seem like a great deal, as the owners may be willing to accept a lower price so that they can move into a better area. But buying in a foreclosure-fraught neighborhood brings with it a variety of complexities when it comes to getting a mortgage.

The biggest issue is that being surrounded by foreclosures significantly decreases a property’s value. Foreclosed homes tend to attract a criminal element and increase property taxes due to the need for more emergency services in the area. When it comes to getting a mortgage, this limits the amount you can borrow – no lender will give you more than what the property is worth, no matter what the property sells for.

Better Neighborhood Amenities Help You Get a Mortgage

Mortgage lenders look at a variety of factors when deciding whether to issue a mortgage, and one of them is the property’s saleability. Simply put, saleability refers to the likelihood that the lender will be able to sell the property in the event that the homeowner defaults on the mortgage.

If you take out a mortgage and then go into default, your lender will need to sell the property in order to recover its investment. Great amenities like parks, schools, and fitness centers make a neighborhood and the houses in it more desirable to buyers, which means the bank will have an easier time selling the home – and will be more likely to issue you a mortgage.

Buying into a good neighborhood can help you to get a great mortgage at a great rate. That’s why you’ll want to enlist the aid of a professional mortgage advisor to help you to determine the best neighborhoods for buyers. Call your local mortgage professional to learn more.

House Hunting in a New City? Three Ways to Determine Which Neighborhoods Are Up and Coming

House Hunting in a New City? Three Ways to Determine Which Neighborhoods Are 'Up and Coming'If you’re moving to a new city and you’re looking for an affordable home in a nice neighborhood, one great way to get a fantastic home without paying sky-high prices is by choosing a home in an up-and-coming neighborhood. Communities that are starting to gentrify make it easy to find an affordable home, especially if you buy before the prices start to rise.

So how can you spot a neighborhood that’s on the rise? Here’s what you need to know.

Look For Neighborhoods Popular With Artists & Young People

Young people, artists, musicians, performers, and other bohemians tend to lead the way when it comes to neighborhood revitalizations. These are the kinds of people who typically don’t have copious amounts of disposable income, so they’re looking for something affordable. But they also want to live in a hip, trendy part of town.

And as the area gains more and more creative types, it starts to take on its own creative personality. That makes it attractive to all manner of buyers, which starts driving more and more sales. So if you want to find an up-and-coming neighborhood, just follow the artists, musicians, and Gen Y buyers.

Track The Area’s Average Days On Market

One great way to find which neighborhoods are the most popular with buyers is to track the average number of days on market for properties in those neighborhoods. Your real estate agent can help you find this information. If you notice a slow decrease in days on market over time, it’s a good sign that the neighborhood is on the up and up.

Oftentimes, in an up and coming area, the days on market will decrease before prices start to rise – which will help you get a great deal.

Look Up Building Permits To See Where The Renovations Are

You can also tell if an area is up and coming if there’s a lot of renovation activity happening. Visit your municipal government office and see if you can find information on which neighborhoods are seeing more and more building and renovation permits. Lots of construction and renovation activity in an area indicates that it’s a great place to move to.

Finding a great neighborhood is critical to being satisfied with your home purchase. There are lots of things about your home that you can change, but the neighborhood isn’t one of them – so make sure you’re happy with the area before you buy. 

Buying a Home This Summer? Our Guide to Finding the Perfect New Neighborhood

Buying a Home This Summer? Our Guide to Finding the Perfect New Neighborhood Finding the perfect home to purchase is easier said than done, and savvy home buyers understand the importance of researching the neighborhood as well as the home. All home buyers have unique things that they are looking for in an ideal neighborhood, and these factors will play a major role in how enjoyable a homeowner’s living experience is. Those who are shopping for a new home this summer may focus on a few points to find the perfect neighborhood to live in before deciding which home to purchase in that community.

Get A Feel For The Ambience And Energy Of the Neighborhood

Some home buyers want to find a lovely home in a quiet, mature community. Others may be searching for an active community with kids playing freely in their yards and people taking walks of jogging in their free time. Home buyers can get a great feel for the ambiance and energy of the neighborhood by driving around at different times of the day during the week as well as on the weekend.

Look At Neighborhood Amenities

The amenities in the neighborhood are important for many home buyers, and you can easily research amenities by driving through the area. Look for everything from a fitness center and community swimming pool to parks and hike and bike trails. Home buyers may research this aspect of the neighborhood further online to determine if the neighborhood regularly hosts community events or special activities.

Focus On Security

Security is a top concern for home buyers, and it is possible to research crime rates online. However, home buyers can also gauge the general feeling of security that residents have by looking for home security features on various homes in the community and by paying attention to how many people are outdoors on nice weather days. Many will find comfort in selecting a neighborhood where the residents feel safe and secure on a daily basis.

A primary factor to take into consideration when buying a home is its location. While the area of town is important to consider, the neighborhood is a more localized environment that will have a greater impact on a homeowner’s living experience. Those who are in the market to purchase a new home can begin researching neighborhoods today.