Anticipate your future neighborhood

It may feel like guesswork, especially in the case of a newhome community that currently may consist of little more than piles of dirt or a welcome center with videos and albums of artists’ renderings.

Those renderings likely include images of the community plan that has been approved by the city and county. Often, they’ll include “aerial” images that demonstrate, to scale, all of the courts, streets, throughways, parks and other common areas, along with points of interest outside the community.

In some cases, renderings may include images of future schools or even a future firehouse, police department, city theater or more. Most will also include existing main roads in the city or county that lead to the new community.

But what is the best way to imagine living

somewhere that doesn’t exist yet? One way is to visit other parts of the city, including shopping areas, parks, civic centers and adjacent neighborhoods, some of which may even be on the newer side.

And as far as the aesthetics of the streets and homes, a new-home buyer can always ask the builder for a list of its communities currently under construction or finished in recent years. While it’s true that many builders offer a variety of newhome community types, the integrity from community to community typically remains consistent.

This can even be true of builders that offer communities on both ends of the pricing spectrum.

But what about surrounding areas and the amenities?

“In the inner-core Bay Area, it’s not difficult to imagine what your community will look like because land is at such a premium,” said Colleen Edwards, marketing director for River Islands, the master-planned community in Lathrop. “You know what your boundaries are going to be and the plan from the developer and builders will probably show if there will be a tot lot or a bike path or community barbecues.”

Out in the next level of suburbs, however, buyers

might consider asking a new set of questions.

“There’s more land at stake and, while they may have a good idea, the builder doesn’t always know for certain what’s going to happen with the land surrounding the community,” Edwards said.

Learning this detail on your own, she said, might involve a call or a visit to the city planning office to research the zoning and other plans for surrounding areas.

“Even the name of a street in the neighborhood can tell you a lot,” she said. “A builder can’t think up a darling little name for what looks like a dead-end street to make it feel like it

will remain a cul-de-sac. Those street names are filed with the county and they are not marketing names; they’re approved so that EMTS and other public services can get to you.”

It’s safe to say, therefore, that if a road called Oak Drive appears to be a dead end, it may still one day become a throughway to another road or community. A similar looking road called Oak Court, with a house at its end, is more likely a cul-de-sac that will not be extended at a later date.

Start by asking your builder and developer these questions, but don’t be shy about taking a trip to the city planner’s

office in the city where the community is planned or under construction.

The same goes for that vacant warehouse on what looks like a large, unused eyesore in an urban-infill area or an inner-ring suburb. Ask the builder. Call the city. Learn how the property is currently zoned and keep in mind that rezoning can take a while.

The city planner may tell you that they hope to one day have a large sports complex there, that it’s zoned for retail or that they’ve submitted an application to rezone it for mixed use including additional residential.

“Likewise, if you’re buying an age-restricted condo with vacant space

at the end of the road, it’s wise to ask what eventually will go on that land,” said Edwards. Sometimes, if the land belongs to the developer, you may learn that you will eventually be up the street from luxury, single-family homes, a park, a community center or even a school.

Finally, it’s wise for newhome buyers to decide not only what amenities they want to have in and around their community, but to know what they don’t want. Research and exploring the city — and neighboring cities in the same county — will provide insight into the impact and value that different amenities bring to a community over time.