For real estate, “Location. Location. Location. ” it is the number one rule when buying a property. No matter how beautiful a house is or how perfect a project, once located on a plot of land in an improper area, this reality can no longer be modified. They can be renovated, expanded, reduced, but not moved. They can also be sold, but the investment can never be restored, no matter how well-executed that house is. Why? Simple! Because of the location !!!
What factors, in fact, determine this location and how does it influence the future of your investment and the subsequent life of your family?
1. The location of your house and the distance to the main points of daily interest (kindergarten, school, work place, supermarket, hospital, etc.)
Any family that has children is interested in having kindergartens and schools near the house, so that the time spent in traffic to take and bring children home is as short as possible. The proximity of these institutions even offers the privilege of direct movement of children to school, without the need to be accompanied by an adult.
From the opposite perspective, the great distance between the place where you live and the children’s school will generate serious inconveniences related to the management of time and the daily program. Equally important is the distance or proximity to your places of work, to a supermarket from which you can make your daily supplies or any other points of general interest for you and the whole family, because in this case is all about time and schedule. Thus, the influence that this aspect has on the increase or decrease of the value of a property is evident, only in the light of the existence of this comfort generating facility for your family.
2. The location of the house and the crossing of urban agglomeration nodes during peak hours
If we have always referred to moving from home in different directions, we cannot necessarily omit another aspect, just as important as the distance from the objectives of interest: the urban agglomeration knots at peak hours. In each city are known the intersections that can not be passed at certain times of the day, the super crowded streets and, especially, the neighborhoods where access is almost blocked, invariably, in the morning and in the afternoon.
Also, at the other pole are the easily accessible areas at any time of the day, which have openings to multiple directions, strategically located in front of the points of interest brought to the attention of point 1, which we could say that they meet the criterion “Location. Location. Location. ” from all points of view: access, facilities, guaranteed conservation of the investment, even with the possibility of growth over time.
3. The location of your house with respect to the neighborhood and the environment
Who would love to live in a very polluted or noisy area, located near a factory or near railway lines, for example, in a neighborhood with quarrelsome neighbors, who like to listen music in the street, at maximum volume, or just next to an animal farm, which in the summer provides you with a very clean air? Does it still make sense to stress the importance of the location at this time.
I think we can move on to the next point …
4. Location and access (means of transport and infrastructure)
Another important aspect related to the location of your home is how to access it. Is there a paved road, with sidewalks for pedestrian traffic and bus or tram stops nearby? Can your children safely arrive home from school, if one day you cannot bring them? In winter, will your street be easily cleared of the City Hall’s machinery or should you equip yourself with all the necessary in this regard, to ensure your access at any time of year?
Such questions are vital to your and your family’s well-being before making a decision based solely on emotional considerations. Just a nice house will not help you get to work or school children faster, feel safe driving without a car or your wife being able to get out of the yard into your shoes and not into rubber boots.
5. The location of the land you decided to build your dream home and the influence it has on the investment made – plus or minus value?
And, if you have not already concluded alone, now is the time to emphasize that yes, the location of your house can have such influences on the price of the property, regardless of the value of the initial investment. How? By accumulating all the information provided at the previous points, it is obvious that, in each city, there are neighborhoods strategically located relative to the points of interest for a young family, with children, as well as areas with difficult access to peak hours, are green areas, with parks and playgrounds, silence and fresh air, as well as there are and streets that we can not come to, unhealthy, with ruined homes and unpleasant appearance. Obviously the price of the land is different from one neighborhood to another influenced by these aspects related to access, neighbors, the environment, the existence of facilities nearby. Thus, a large investment made in an area with minuses generated by the location is possible to decrease in value as the city is crowded, with the development of new better placed neighborhoods, while a small investment made in a good location will be able to – increase its value only by simply increasing the price of the area.
At the end of the article we give you the concrete opportunity to think twice before saying yes, when you will choose your dream home.
We present two possible real estate scenarios, both at the same final purchase price:
- in the first one it is a house made after a superb project, with very good quality finishes, last generation equipments and generous courtyard completely arranged, but located at the end of the city, in a neighborhood not with the best reputation, located near the penitentiary or, worse, near the garbage dump of the city, without public transport infrastructure and unpaved streets, without schools nearby, supermarkets and other facilities
- in the second scenario we have a smaller house, cute and attractive, but that is far from being “in vogue” in appearance, finishes and technology, not new, but well maintained, with a much less generous yard than in the first version , however, located in a very quiet area, with lots of vegetation, just 10 minutes from the city center, with several kindergartens, two schools, a high school nearby, with a hospital, market and a megamarket no 5 minutes away, to which we can add easy access, public transportation and quiet neighbors.
So, if you had to choose between the two houses and you were a person with a young, active and always on the road family, honestly, why would you still have to think at an equal price? We don’t 😉.