# How to assess the safety of the new neighborhood?

Buying a home is the biggest decision that you will make in your life. The need of every person to buy a home varies. Some want to buy a big home, or some want a better facility in the neighborhood. Whatever is your reason, it is important to assess the neighborhood situation before finalizing a home.

Buying a home is a big investment as the Zillow home value index reveals that $200,000 is the average cost of buying a home in the US. When you are ready to invest in a home, you need to ensure that the place you are shifting to is safe. You can take the help of a real estate broker to assess the situation as they possess every information of various areas. For instance, if you are a [1st time home buyer in Alexander County](https://www.samdavisproperties.com/featured-searches/single-family/), a realtor can help you assess the neighborhood's safety. These pointers can tell you how a realtor can help you-

1. They provide you data on the number of vacant homes

The number of vacant homes is an indication that the area is not safe as there is a potential risk of crime such as robbery, theft, drugs. Usually, people don't reside in a place with a high crime rate; the possibility of vacant homes is high in such areas. Your realtor can provide the data on several homes in the area that helps you examine safety.

2. Neighborhood tour

Sometimes a well-populated area can also be unsafe. A residential area is one where people properly maintain their houses and take care of people residing near them. When you are on tour to the area where you want to buy a home, you can observe broken windows, overgrown yards, and other loopholes. You can further enquire from your property dealer about the condition of the residential area.

More points to consider

You can make an informed decision based on real information that you can get from [davis real estate market](https://www.samdavisproperties.com/aboutme/). With the help of that information and the following points, you can take a wise decision of buying a home-

• Use crime mapping report
• Talk to people residing in the area

Along with safety, you can also determine accessibility to the area's goods, services and aesthetics.