THE INS AND OUTS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE MOVING INTO A NEW NEIGHBOURHOOD

At Jawitz Properties, we know the ‘ins and outs’ of every neighbourhood. When buying a property, partner with us for real advice. Below are some key ‘ins and outs’ to consider before moving into a new neighbourhood.

COMPARATIVE MARKET ANALYSIS
Ask your estate agent to perform a real Competitive Market Analysis (CMA). This information will include all recent transfers / sales in the area and surrounding areas, as well as other properties currently on the market. It is important to understand the pricing trends of the area you are interested in.

In today’s market it is crucial to look at other competing properties to ensure that a property is priced correctly for the area.

This will assist you in making an informed decision on your buying or selling journey.

AMENITIES
The estate agent you are working with should be a real expert in their area, which means they should also be able to offer you knowledge around all of the amenities in the area, this includes; feeder schools, shopping centres, hospitals, places of worship and highway access.

However, it is always recommended to do your own research to understand the convenience of relocating to an area. This would include traffic levels at different times of the day and how long will it take to get to work?

ANY FUTURE DEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR THE AREA
Ask your expert estate agent about any future developments happening in the area. You wouldn’t want to buy your dream home only to find that in a few months a high-rise building is being developed next door.

PROFILE OF RESIDENTS
Get clued up on the real neighbourhood trends. Your estate agent should be able to guide you in understanding the profile of residents in the area. This could be to differentiate whether a specific area is best suited for family-living or bachelor-living.

If you are looking at investing in a sectional title property to rent out, it may be worthwhile establishing if the apartment block is highly sought after by potential clients looking to rent.

SECURITY AND NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
The question of general safety and security in an area is always relevant.  Understand if the Homeowners associations (for houses and clusters) and Body Corporates (for apartments) take care of these aspects.

In cases where you need to make provision for security your estate agent should know if the residences association is running some form of neighbourhood watch or if specific security companies are affiliated to the area.