Under the Hood of the Neighborhood

Helping clients decide on a neighborhood has become a block-by-block assessment in 2022. Some things haven’t gone away: Distance from grocery stores, the public school system if children are involved, and of course zoning issues for remodels or rebuilds. (Or the relatively new residential roadblock, “air rights.”)

The pandemic brought a number of other elements into the forefront that can truly change how a neighborhood functions. There are a couple things your clients might not be thinking about where you can add exponential value with a little exploration. One of the most important assessments is technology.

It’s easy to check and see if a house is in a mobile provider’s dead zone. As much as everyone is excited about 5G and the opportunities, both in big cities and remote areas alike, dead zones still exist. Have your client place a call as well as asking the current owner of any known connection problems. It’s also helpful to check the options for internet service providers. Now that most of us are working from a home office, a car office and an actual work office, connectivity is critical.

The other important thing the pandemic changed drastically in some places is transportation. Public transportation in some areas was eliminated in the pandemic without a plan to replace it. There are occasionally areas outside rideshare zones, as well, and neighborhood restrictions around bikes and scooters your client may have become accustomed to using that might not be permitted at the new place. And of course, parking. Some city neighborhoods overhauled their public parking with new time restrictions or even dropped patios into public parking places in front of restaurants with no signs of pulling them back. Getting A to B everyday may not be a deciding factor, but it is something clients should consider when budgeting.

We’re always looking for tips and tricks for our members to put in this blog space. If you have something you’d like to share with other entrepreneurial agents, send a suggestion to Tongo here and we’ll follow up.