Virginia Real Estate Settlement Services

The neighborhood you choose can have a big impact on your lifestyle—safety, available amenities, and convenience all play their part.

5. See if you’ll make money. Ask a local REALTOR or call the local REALTOR association to get information about price appreciation trends in the neighborhood. Although past performance is no guarantee of future results, this information may give you a sense of how good an investment your home will be. A REALTOR or the government planning agency also may be able to tell you about planned developments or other changes in the neighborhood—like a new school or highway—that might affect value.

The neighborhood you choose can have a big impact on your lifestyle—safety, available amenities, and convenience all play their part.

4. Determine if the neighborhood is economically stable. Check with your local city economic development office to see if income and property values in the neighborhood are stable or rising. What is the percentage of homes to apartments? Apartments don’t necessarily diminish value, but they do mean a more transient population. Do you see vacant businesses or homes that have been for sale for months?

The neighborhood you choose can have a big impact on your lifestyle—safety, available amenities, and convenience all play their part.

3. Find out if the neighborhood is safe. Ask the police department for neighborhood crime statistics. Consider not only the number of crimes but also the type—burglaries, armed robberies—and the trend of increasing or decreasing crime. Also, is crime centered in only one part of the neighborhood, such as near a retail area?

The neighborhood you choose can have a big impact on your lifestyle—safety, available amenities, and convenience all play their part.

2. Check out the school district. The Department of Education in your town can probably provide information on test scores, class size, percentage of students who attend college, and special enrichment programs. If you have school-age children, also consider paying a visit to schools in the neighborhoods you’re considering. Even if you don’t have children, a house in a good school district will be easier to sell in the future.

The neighborhood you choose can have a big impact on your lifestyle—safety, available amenities, and convenience all play their part.

1. Make a list of the activities—movies, health club, church—you engage in regularly and stores you visit frequently. See how far you would have to travel from each neighborhood you’re considering to engaging in your most common activities.

While your opinions on the type of home you want to own may change during the homebuying process, use this easy checklist to help you prioritize and make the shopping process less time consuming.

 How close do you need to be to: (a) public transportation _______ (b) schools _______
(c) airport _______ (d) expressway _______ (e) neighborhood shopping _______
(f) other_______?
 What neighborhoods would you prefer?
 What school systems do you want to be near?
 What architectural style(s) of homes do you prefer?
 Do you want a one-story or two-story house?
 How old a home would you consider?
 How much repair or renovation would you be willing to do?
 Do you have special facilities or needs that your home must meet?
 Do you require a fenced yard or other amenities for your pets?

Prioritize each of these options into Must have Would prefer
Yard (at least_________)
Garage (size________)
Patio/Deck
Pool
Bedrooms (number_________)
Bathrooms (number_________)
Family room
Formal living room
Formal dining room
Eat-in kitchen
Laundry room
Basement
Attic
Fireplace
Spa in bath
Air conditioning
Wall-to-wall carpet
Hardwood floors
View
Light (windows)
Shade

Credit scores range between 200 and 800. Scores above 620 are considered desirable for obtaining a mortgage. These factors will affect your score.

1. Your payment history. Whether you paid credit card obligations on time.

2. How much you owe. Owing a great deal of money on numerous accounts can indicate that you are overextended.

3. The length of your credit history. In general, the longer the better.

4. How much new credit you have. New credit, either installment payments or new credit cards, are considered more risky, even if you pay promptly.

5. The types of credit you use. Generally, it’s desirable to have more than one type of credit—installment loans, credit cards, and a mortgage, for example.

For more on evaluating and understanding your credit score, go to http://www.myfico.com

8. Avoid finance companies. Even if you pay the loan on time, the interest is high and it will probably be considered a sign of poor credit management.

7. Shop for mortgage rates all at once. Too many credit applications can lower your score, but multiple inquiries from the same type of lender are counted as one inquiry if submitted over a short period of time.

6. Don’t open new credit card accounts before applying for a mortgage. Having too much available credit can lower your score.