Most important considerations in real estate

I know it's commonly stated the three most important things to consider when buying a home is "location, location, location", but in my personal opinion there is a bit more to consider. The school system while technically a part of location is an important factor. Even if you do not have children or plan to have children if you plan on ever selling the home you are buying that's going to be a consideration others may look at. Let's say you were looking at Atlanta apartments, location would be important, schools would be important but access to things such as entertainment and public transportation would also be something to consider. Property taxes and assessments is also something many people forget to consider. Even if you are renting if you are living in an area that has a higher property tax or assessment base those costs will be a factor in how much rent you pay.

Look at your prospective neighborhood carefully. That neighbor that parks all of his cars in front of your home will most likely continue to do so. That barking dog that appears to never go inside the home may be a minor thing now but once in could be a problem. Our last apartment we made a huge mistake because we did not realize how close the train tracks were to the bedroom windows. You could not sleep with the windows open and even with the windows shut the trains blowing their warning that they were approaching a crossing was pretty irritating at 2:00 a.m.