Red Flags To Avoid With The Location As A Home Buyer

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If you’re looking to buy a home, you must Google Map this!

Location, location, location—location?

The reason why location is so important is that, first, I have said it four times now. Second, it is the single and most important factor you cannot change in a home. In this video, I am not going to be talking about the city you should be living in. No, I am talking about something a lot of buyers miss because they just don’t know to look for these red flags.

See, in a hot seller market, any home will, of course, sell. But you can’t assume that the market will stay like this forever, right? I’ve seen homes with these hidden red flags stay on the market even in a hot market, and the only way to sell is by reducing the price. It’s like buying a car with a salvage title, and you didn’t think to check for it.

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What are the red flags?

1. Proximity to Arterials

An arterial is basically a road with a lot of traffic. Why do you not want to live next to one? Because semi trucks exist, Harley Davidsons exist, and fast and furious wannabe speeders exist. Being near a busy road could not only have negative health implications, but it will also affect desirability in resale because noise-sensitive buyers, which are the majority of buyers, don’t want to be woken up by loud noises at night or want to hear that loud white noise constantly in and outside of the house.

2. Proximity to Power lines

If you see a home that is too good to be true, check for power lines. Although there are no actual scientific studies around the negative health effects of being around high-energy emitting towers, if you just google it, the very fear of the possibility of it can deter a lot of knowing buyers from moving forward. According to some studies, you want to be at least 500 to 700 feet away from a metal tower power line.

3. Proximity to Cemeteries

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, homes struggle to sell near cemeteries due to the superstitious nature of being near one.

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How do you look for the red flags?

Easy. Google maps. Thank God for technology because Google Maps shows you a birds-eye view of your prospective home and what is surrounding it.

1. Check for Arterials

For major roads, there isn’t a great foot measurement as every location is different, but if you are within close proximity of a freeway, a highway, or any major road, I would pass.

2. Check for Power lines

For power lines, you generally have to look for a parallel break in the trees or the neighborhood. If you’re not sure, just drop that little guy on the corner of your Google Maps screen and see if there are metal towers around or not.

3. Check for Cemeteries

For cemeteries, most of the time, it'll look like a park, but they usually label a name. It’ll say something like the John Deere Memorial. They don’t usually label it a cemetery or gravesite. So anytime you see the word "memorial", try to stay away from it.

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Conclusion

I hope this helps, and trust me, even though it seems to be the perfect home, you will regret it later if you don’t catch these red flags.

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