[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by 2BNTV

B- man:

1. You need both VLS and MLS agents to see all the homes that are available.
Just tell the VLS you are only interested in resales, (preferably, the ones with the bonds paid off).
2. New homes is mostly a younger crowd. You will find you will meet people when you are out and about so I wouldn't be too concerned that your next door neighbor has to be your best friend.
3. Very few foreclosures but i wouldn't buy a home next to one, especially if it is owned by the bank, and not being taken care.

My advice is to study the map and see where you think you might want to live. Try to come down as many times as you can and rent, to see what areas are preferable to live. There is no bad area, but some areas are more perferable, depending on your likes and needs. Make a list of what is important to you and decide, based on that list. A lot of decisions are to be made, so it helps to keep focused on the list. The same goes for the type of house you want to buy. A list of "must haves", as opposed to, "would like to have", is important.

I have to disagree with you on two points:

There are probably more foreclosures than you realize. Just because a property is in foreclosure doesn't mean they all look abandoned. Many homes are in foreclosure and still occupied. If someone loves a house and floorplan and sees potential in it for making in their own, even if it's a foreclosure, they should go for it! A foreclosure is a temporary thing anyway.

Secondly, not necessarily true. We are in a new area. Our next door neighbors are 60ish and next to them the latter 60s as are our neighbors on the other side of us. A few houses away some of the couples are in their 70s. The friends and good acquaintences newcomers make probably won't be neighbors. New friends are generally made from joining various groups, from golf, etc.