When looking for a home to buy, it's very important that you find one in a good neighborhood; it's going to affect the value of your home in a big way in the future. When you buy a home, you should understand that you're as good as stuck with it for several years until you either sell it or it gets foreclosed. The neighborhood where you bought your real estate property in will help determine whether you will have an easy time reselling the property or not. You can have a beautiful house in a bad neighborhood and the value will still be affected adversely.

One way of making sure that your home is within a good neighborhood is to make sure that you recognize what you can call a "good neighborhood". Different people (at different points in their life) have different needs and preferences for the neighborhood that they will want to live in. You should learn to recognize this and let it affect your decision to buy a home.

Learning to recognize your personal preferences and how it will affect your happiness over your purchase will take you closer to finding the right neighborhood and the right home. Here are a few suggestions to help you figure this out:

Identify the non-negotiables.

Every person has a preference that he or she will not be willing to compromise. Identify what things you can consider as negotiable and non-negotiable when talking about the neighborhood you want your house to be in. Ask yourself some specific questions which will require specific answers. Are you comfortable moving in a neighborhood near a college area where there could be plenty of college students partying til late at night? If that's your scene, then that's fine, but if that bothers you, then you may want to consider this a deal breaker. Would you find it hard to commute to work every day if you lived in the suburbs or do you prefer the long drive to and from work? It's all really a matter of preference, so sometimes one cannot make clear-cut recommendations. The best person to identify the non-negotiables is you, and sitting down, taking the time to figure this out will be important in finding the right home that's for you and your family.

Maybe you already know where you want it to be.

Sometimes you already have an idea of what area you want your home to be, but you just have to narrow it down to a few communities. Look closer to what you already know and work from there. If you can't find what you're looking for near you, widen your circle to include familiar places.

See for yourself.

Don't be contented with listening to what your real estate agent says or what you read on the internet. Go out and drive to the neighborhood you are considering and see for yourself what kind of neighbors you'll be living with, if they keep their homes well-maintained, if the neighborhood is clean and graffitti-free. Things like that matter a lot and tell you what direction the neighborhood is going.