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AIBU?

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Original poster

Buying a house. How do I know if the area is ok?

28 replies

radiateforme · 25/05/2021 09:47

I'm looking to buy a house. Have had to massively reduce my budget and may end up with a bit of a doer upper. I found somewhere that I really like, but my family aren't sure. It's surrounded by social housing which I couldn't care less about but my snobby aunt seems to think this is a problem. Crime levels are high ish but I live in a city, they're high everywhere. I checked Crime levels for where I live now and they're actually higher and I've never had a problem. Sometimes when people play devil's advocate it doesn't help, it just confuses you. I thought I loved this flat and now I'm questioning myself. Help?!

OP posts:
bravotango · 25/05/2021 10:08

The only thing you can do if you've already checked the stats is visit at different times of day/week, and speak to the neighbours. Is it close to a high street?

Original poster
radiateforme · 25/05/2021 10:16

@bravotango

The only thing you can do if you've already checked the stats is visit at different times of day/week, and speak to the neighbours. Is it close to a high street?
Not close to a high street no.
OP posts:
CarryCamping21 · 25/05/2021 10:41

If you are in UK, you can put in the postcode into the Police crime statistics & it will show you the amount of reported crimes in that area per month, per year

I would also advise visiting at different times of day & night

SisterAgatha · 25/05/2021 10:43

Check the crime map as it pinpoints where the crimes took place and what they were. So you may realise a close or a particular road is pushing up the figures but the rest is quiet. Also shows you problem areas for drug activities etc.

Drive round at night.

Walk around in the day and get a sense of the atmosphere.

Is there a school nearby? Check out the bus stops at kicking out time.

SisterAgatha · 25/05/2021 10:44

Just to say that a crime map will also show a high % of burglaries in a good area too, so check out exactly what the crimes were.

thepeopleversuswork · 25/05/2021 10:45

Honestly it sounds like you've been swayed by your family's judgement. You can't ever be 100% sure on these things, beyond doing reasonable due diligence, and you will never find an area that's totally crime free.

Having lived in "high crime" areas for most of my adult life and never having been burgled or been a victim of a crime, I think the risks tend to be overstated unless you are living slap bang in the middle of a really dodgy estate. Having social housing around you doesn't automatically translate into high crime.

It sounds like your instincts are telling you to go for it: as long as you've taken reasonable steps to ensure this isn't a really bad area I think you should trust your own judgement.

skirk64 · 25/05/2021 10:46

If there is social housing around you will find a lot more antisocial behaviour going on that is often not reported to the police or recorded as a crime. The social housing tenants don't report because they don't trust the police and any private homeowners around don't report because they will have to declare it if they move.

Shortbreadbrokemytooth · 25/05/2021 10:47

Which area is it in? Can you give us some idea of which region or county?

orinocosfavoritecake · 25/05/2021 10:47

Um. For what it’s worth I used to live surrounded by social housing. It was fine.

Flowerclock · 25/05/2021 10:50

If it helps OP, my parents life in a leafy, well to do suburb, where the houses are very expensive and everyone has two four by fours. They also live round the corner from one of the areas biggest drug dealers. His house was taxed a few years ago and his wife was tied up and beaten during the incident. My parents neighbours have been burgled twice in ten years by people trying to steal their 4x4s.

On the other hand, I have lived in a shit hole for ten years. I've gone to bed with the doors unlocked by mistake and never been burgled. DH left the keys in the door of my car by mistake for two days, but the car and keys were never stolen.

Tal45 · 25/05/2021 10:53

I would be wary, it sounds like it might be cheaper because it's in a bad area. You can change the decor but you can't change the area so I'd always go for a better area and do the place up.

billy1966 · 25/05/2021 11:18

@Tal45

I would be wary, it sounds like it might be cheaper because it's in a bad area. You can change the decor but you can't change the area so I'd always go for a better area and do the place up.
This.

Worst house, best area is the safest way to secure your investment.

No matter what money you spend on a house in a rough area, it will never increase in the way it will in a sought after area.

Much better return for the effort of renovations.

FrenchieFromGrease · 25/05/2021 11:24

The number of crimes in the city will be high because there are thousands of people passing through every day. There might only be a couple of hundred people in the suburbs.

Let's say there are 20 crimes a month in the city. In the suburb you're moving to perhaps there are 15 crimes a month. This is obviously fewer total crimes than the city, but these crimes aren't spread over thousands of city people, but only spread over hundreds of suburbian people, so your chance of being the victim of a crime is much higher in the suburbs.

Example
City
20 crimes / 5000 people = 0.4% risk of being the victim of a crime

Suburbs
15 crimes / 500 people = 3% risk of being the victim of a crime

The suburb risk is almost 8x higher.

Do you know anybody who lives in the area who could advise you? This might be the best way to figure out if it's a safe place to live. Some of the best places I've lived have been little oases of peace in the middle of high crime areas so local knowledge really helps.

Willdoitlater · 25/05/2021 11:28

The price of the property, and its neighbours is a pretty good indicator.

magicstar1 · 25/05/2021 11:30

I was on the verge of buying a house years ago...the estate agent told me the lady selling had got a new job and was moving away.

A neighbour came out to me and told me that the woman was driven out by anti social behaviour and that the area had big problems. I then visited the local police station where an officer told me he wouldn't buy there at all. So I'd recommend speaking to both police and neighbours. Drive around at different times too to see what's going on in the evenings etc.

Sh05 · 25/05/2021 16:11

Definitely drive around in the evening, park up and take a walk, even try walking around the couple of blocks during the day on a weekend. You might get a chance to speak to some of the neighbours if the weather's good and they're outside

Sh05 · 25/05/2021 16:13

You can check the crime rate based on the postcode so you'll get a clearer picture. Just Google 'crime rate in my area'.

LtJudyHopps · 25/05/2021 16:16

Go on Facebook and search Spotted Areaname and see what kind of posts there are. Or see if there are any local groups.
If you searched my area you’d find a lot of petitions for people trying to stop the council building flats every which way you turn. A lot of local people are concerned as they want to make the hospital smaller and build flats on part of it. Makes total sense, reducing local services while increasing the population!!
But as long as you like it and you’d feel safe living ignore your snobby aunt.

Finals1234 · 25/05/2021 16:18

@Tal45

I would be wary, it sounds like it might be cheaper because it's in a bad area. You can change the decor but you can't change the area so I'd always go for a better area and do the place up.
Totally agree. Look elsewhere.
JamMakingWannaBe · 25/05/2021 16:45

Put the postcode in for a home insurance quote. Compare that to the same size property where you are now.

SchrodingersImmigrant · 25/05/2021 16:48

We visited in different times including what would be a possible party time. Checked crimes and rode a bus around. It all gives you a good feel.
We are part of undesirable postcode next to another undesirable postcode. Bah. Quiet family area, barely any crime in this part and going by the property market, many people stopped being snobs about it.

Tossblanket · 25/05/2021 16:56

Speak to a cop.

Sh05 · 29/05/2021 15:53

The pp who mentioned home insurance quotes is spot on. When we bought our house our car insurance was coming to an end so when whilst looking for renewal quotes we tried the new postcode to see what difference it would make.
The quote for the new area was £120 cheaper!

mybrainhertz · 29/05/2021 17:30

It's antisocial behaviour that causes most problems rather than out and out crime.

Have a good look around at the nearby housing. Badly kept gardens, litter everywhere, machinery and furniture in the front gardens are useful indicators of what the inhabitants behaviour is like. We have social housing near us, but it's fine. The same can't be said of the estate over the road though as it's dead rough and there's always problems.

You have to be careful about people who might make a lot of noise and who have no consideration for the people around them. This can happen anywhere, but you do get very loud, selfish and uncouth people on social housing estates.

colouringcrayons · 29/05/2021 17:36

Last time I was looking at a house, there was a serious crime blip near by. I was really worried about this. We knocked on a few doors and asked people. They explained the stats and why they were nothing to worry about for my property.

Local knowledge is really valuable - I recommend asking neighbours or shopkeepers - don't imply the area is problematic - just ask them how it is to live there.

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