Location Location Location

Location Location Location

A location location location criteria for home buyers is that the city should have a stable economy.  Five, ten, or even fifteen years from now – when you want to sell your home, you must have a reasonable expectation that your city will continue to be a desirable place to live.

In addition to good schools and desirable residential neighborhoods, there should be a balanced mix of commercial, office and industrial employers.  A good mix of businesses is ideal rather than businesses focused on a single industry.  If the city has primarily one type of businesses, a down cycle in that primary industry or downsizing at a major employer will have a serious effect on the economic stability of the city.  Additionally, the businesses should be tax paying entities.  These businesses will not only provide jobs to the city and local residents, but also add an income source that the city can use to upgrade and maintain city services.

In bedroom communities,  the bulk of the burden falls on the city’s residents as taxpayers.  These communities may  perennially struggle to keep afloat and are not ideally desirable for a home purchase.  The most conspicuous feature of these communities may be potholed streets that need resurfacing or reconstruction but are left alone because the municipality cannot afford to fix them.