House Security: How To Research Before Buying A House

The article below describes various issues that you can address to improve security and reduce threats and risks for house / property, you are considering for buying or renting.

The first part of your survey for the house, one you are thinking of buying, is to do some research. Try to find out about the area, look for information about crime rates, threats and risks in the area. Look for anything that could adversely affect the security of a property or the people living there. When buying a house most people will check to see if a motorway is planned to run through the garden, or if the local airport management is planning to build a new runway past the greenhouse, but few people check on the security aspects of a house! We have listed a number of sources of information that are available to you to start you off.

Real Estate agents

The local estate agents could be worth talking to. It is their business to know the area and people, know the properties and to be familiar with the status of an area, which will affect the price no matter what the property is like. Of course, it is their job to sell properties so you have to find one you can believe! Try an open question such as I’m thinking of buying a house in the area - what's the Forest Park area of Colony like?' (Or whatever area of your Society / Colony you are interested in.) They should answer even if it is in estate agent talk. For example they could describe Forest Park in estate agent speak where the English translation is as listed below:

• up and coming = shabby and run down
• basic accommodation = a mud hut with an outside toilet
• scope for improvement = a dump that needs a fortune spent on it
• middle class = overpriced small houses
• new development = no character or a noisy building site
• student area = loads of noisy parties
• stockbroker belt = you can't afford it.

Try talking to two or three estate agents. If all of their replies make you feel that it would be safer to move to a war zone, look elsewhere.

Neighbors

Ask around the area, carefully. Local shopkeepers are good sources of information in more ways than one. If you find that the local newsagent shop is reinforced as though they were expecting an armed assault, remember that they did that for a reason! If they have CCTV cameras, steel shutters, serious alarm systems and bullet-proof glass at the counter, you don't have to be Einstein to guess why they invested so much money in their security measures.

You could get chatting to older residents, as long as you remember that they often appreciate the company and may keep you talking for some time! The objective is to get chatting and listen to what comes out. Don't ask leading questions. If you say something like 'Is there a lot of crime around here?' they will say yes. If you say something more neutral such as 'It seems to be a nice quiet area around here', you will tend to get a more balanced response. For example they may say Yes it used to be, until that night club opened. We haven't had a decent night's sleep in nearly two years!'

Remember, what the local people say is only one element in the evidence that you are gathering to build up a full picture of the crime levels in the area.

Insurance Companies

Talk to the insurance companies; they are in business to make a profit. It is therefore in their interests to know which areas have a higher crime rate, as they charge higher rates in high crime areas than they do in low crime areas. It is worth talking to your insurance company or insurance agent and asking them for a quote to insure a house of a similar size and value to your current house but in the area you are interested in. If where you live now your detached three bedrooms Rs. 10 Miliion house costs 30 thousand to insure for building and contents each year, and a similar house in the new area will cost 90 thousand, there has to be a reason. If they charge three times the rate, it may be that there is three times the risk in that area.

Talk to them. They may give you inside information - it may be crime but it could just as easily be flood or subsidence from old mine workings. Ask why the difference, but be aware of other reasons for differences in quotes. They may have mistakenly quoted for a thatched house when yours has concrete tiles. They may not have allowed for an introductory discount, which you are getting from your existing company. They may have included uninsured loss cover, new for old and a host of other extras that can have a huge effect on the quote. Talk it through, and understand what they are quoting and why.

Local authority

The local authorities are worth talking to. They know what happens in each area - they have to repair damage caused by vandals. They know how many problem families they have in each province / Division / Sub Division and they know where they have to regularly send the teams of workers to clean up drug taking debris. Be honest and ask them outright. Ask if they have any reports describing crime rates and the cost of vandalism, etc. Some council managers are officious and obstructive, so if you don't get an answer out of them, talk to some of the council staff!

Local newspapers

Buy the local newspapers or even visit their offices or the local library and scan through back issues. Local newspapers carry local news, exactly the sort of information you need. Vandalism, muggings, robbery, burglary, arson, assaults and any other crime you care to mention.

Taking an hour or two to check through back issues of the local newspaper will not only tell you what vulnerabilities, threats and risks you would face if your moved there, it could also give you an idea of crime trends. For example, as the local criminals get older, over a couple of years you might see a reduction in vandalism and an increase in street robbery and burglary!

Schools

You could try to make contacts at the local school; they would be well aware of the youth crime trends because they deal with the youths responsible for those crimes on a daily basis. If you have children, you want to know what the schools in the area are like anyway, so while you are there extend your questioning to crime in the local community.

Local community police officer

It may be worth talking to the local community beat police officer. What you would like them to say is 'Don't move into that road - the whole family at House number 27 is criminals, Mr. ABC at number 16 has convictions for violent crime and there is a drug dealer living in number 34.' But of course, due to confidentiality issues they cannot tell you that. Apart from the legal issues, police forces generally will not allow their employees or officers to give advice about different areas.

However, if you were to say you were thinking of moving into a house in XYZ Road, then ask - as a friend - if the police officer would be happy to live there, I doubt if anyone would object to that. If they then replied that personally 'I would never buy a house in Badger Road', you can draw your own conclusions from that.

Environment Agency

In some areas, if not all, you should check with the Environment Agency to make sure that the house you are looking at is not subject to risk of flooding. On the Environment Agency website, you can type in a postcode and check flooding maps, which will give you a good idea of the risk of flooding for any given location and property (www.environment.gov.pk)

Internet sources

Various other Internet sources especially related to real estate in Pakistan, are available for you to make your checks as well. Some local authorities and other organizations hold information about crime rates and trends. For example https://www.osac.gov holds information about crimes rates of major cities of Pakistan.

Make a note of any relevant information that you find during your research. If you were thinking of moving into an area, the results of this survey may be all you need to decide to look elsewhere.

If the general crime levels are acceptable, there may be other areas that you will need to be aware of, for example because of increasing vandalism and petty theft.

Make a note of the problem areas and concerns and carry them forward to your house and possessions survey. You went to a great deal of trouble to find this information, use it!

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About Author

Ahmad A. Khan is a freelance writer who has written extensively on the subject of Real Estate for a number of sites. You can also find and follow him on Google +.