· Obvious signs of neighbors fixing up their properties (painting, landscaping, etc.)

· Active neighborhood association

· Property values have been steadily rising

· Increasing amount of homeowners vs. renters

· New schools or parks constructed nearby

· Improvements in sidewalks, bike lanes, and crosswalks

· Nearby businesses are prospering

· Increased access to mass-transit

· City beautification projects

· Homes sell quickly

Negative Factors That Affect a Neighborhood

· Pollution
.
· Crime
.
· Heavy automobile traffic. Lack of crosswalks and traffic lights
.
· Nearby sources of odors such as meat plants and smelters
.
· Lack of public transportation
.
· Lack of sidewalks
.
· Lack of bike lanes.

· Close proximity to adult entertainment establishments
.
· Rapidly decreasing property values
.
· Rapidly increasing property values.

· High ratio of renters to homeowners. Undergraduate student housing.

· Crowding
.
· Road expansion.

Cautionary Tales for Prospective Home Buyers

· The "like new" roof.

· The otherwise quiet neighborhood with the barking dog owned by the head of the neighborhood association.

· Hills on what was used to be flat farmland before development. Find out what those hills are made of. See if the topsoil is still there
.
· Unless you are actually on the lake, don't assume you'll always have a view of the lake
.
· Check the area for paper mills, smelters, foundries, and meat plants. What's upwind one day can be downwind the next.

· The cute little neighborhood that became everybody else's shortcut to work.

· A house you can afford in a neighborhood that's going downhill. You can fix up a house, but you can't fix up a neighborhood on your own.
Top
Back

Ron McDougall

1st London Real Estate Services
1069 Wellington Road South
London, Ontario N6E 2H6
(519) 685-4190 * Fax (519) 660-1813
ronmcdougall@rogers.com
www.ronmcdougall.com

 real estate search | for the buyer | for the seller | mortgage information | services directory
about london | schools | home maintenance | today's market | meet ron
home page | contact me