Your home should be in a place that is peaceful and safe.
This is something that should always be no. 1 on your list of priorities when looking for a new home.
The first thing that you should ask yourself is this: Is this home safe?
Answering such questions can be simple to some. It can however be tricky for a few. It can even be tricky for you.
If you’re having a hard time figuring out if a home is safe for you and your family, you should zoom out and check on the neighbourhood.
To give you an idea of how to do this, we will enlist 11 things that you could do to check and ensure the safety of a neighbourhood. Read on, learn, and duly apply!
Contents
- 1 1. Chat With Locals.
- 2 2. Look for Nearby Establishments and Offices.
- 3 3. Research on the Presence of Neighbourhood Watch.
- 4 4. Use Crime Mapping Services.
- 5 5. Observe the Upkeep of the Community.
- 6 6. Evaluate From the Inside and Outside of a House.
- 7 7. Take Note of Homes for Sale and Rental Properties.
- 8 8. Research on Future Developments.
- 9 9. Have Access to a Sex Offenders List.
- 10 10. Check on Security Cameras.
- 11 11. Contact a Professional.
1. Chat With Locals.
The easiest way to figure out if a neighborhood is safe for you and your family is to chat with the locals.
Locals already know something that you don’t know.
Talk to ones that have lived in the neighborhood for years already. You can do this casually by visiting a cafe in the area.
2. Look for Nearby Establishments and Offices.
You should zone in on your neighborhood of preference and see if it is near the following establishments and offices:
- parks
- schools
- shopping malls
- restaurants
- churches
- supermarkets
- fire stations
- hospitals
- police stations
Proximity to such offices and establishments will ensure that you’d always get immediate help and aid if ever you’d need one.
It’s all the better if your neighborhood is near government offices.
3. Research on the Presence of Neighbourhood Watch.
A community that has a settled and organized neighborhood watch is ideal.
With one, you can be sure that structures are already in place when it comes to securing the safety and welfare of all members of the community.
A community with a neighborhood watch is determined in maintaining a peaceful and orderly neighborhood.
4. Use Crime Mapping Services.
Crime mapping services are nifty because they can easily clue you in on communities that are considered crime hotspots.
Knowing such will effectively help you in avoiding such spaces. This is done with the use of data that records criminal incidents.
Crime mapping services use trends and patterns to help users in pinpointing exact crime hotspots.
5. Observe the Upkeep of the Community.
This is something that you could easily do on a casual drive-through or during house-hunting in the area.
Do this by closely observing the houses in the neighborhood. Are the streets well-lit? Are they well-maintained?
Are there heavily forested areas where burglars can easily hide? Are there signs that
home security system installers have frequented the area? Apart from security, you should also check on sanitary aspects.
Filthy neighborhoods with scattered garbage are not sanitary.
6. Evaluate From the Inside and Outside of a House.
You should observe the safety of a home from two perspectives: from the inside and from the outside.
Visualize yourself staying in the space. Do you see yourself comfortably staying in it?
Is it a safe unit that you can see yourself going home to every single day? Does it make you feel relaxed and protected?
From the outside, you should check if a home is an easy target for malicious individuals.
You should see if it looks secured and protected to prevent and avoid any incident of burglary.
From the inside: see if the house has enough privacy against prying eyes.
7. Take Note of Homes for Sale and Rental Properties.
Consider it a red flag if you see that many homes in an area are up for sale or for rent.
This could mean that something about the neighborhood is so off that people are preferring to altogether leave.
You should closely check on this as the presence of many homes up for sale or for rent could also mean that the community is up and coming.
8. Research on Future Developments.
You should research the future of a neighbourhood. This can be had if you’d inquire about future projects that are to be developed in the area.
Will there be highways, bridges, or airport runways in the near future?
You should avoid such then as that will expose your family to excessive gasoline vapours that can cause headache, dizziness, or nausea.
9. Have Access to a Sex Offenders List.
You should ensure that you and your children are only surrounded by good people.
You can ask for this list from local law enforcers. Some communities make this list available online.
10. Check on Security Cameras.
Closely observe all the houses in a neighborhood. Do they come with security cameras?
Neighbourhoods with houses equipped with security cameras are safer.
This is because people in the area know that they should always be on their best behavior as almost all of their actions are recorded on cam.
11. Contact a Professional.
If you’re still having a hard time figuring out if a community is safe or not, you can consult with private agents.
Private security agents already have existing data on the safety of a community and they can easily help you come up with a final decision.
They can also do specific investigations for your desired space.
They can gather unique data to help you come up with the safest area to settle down.
