Unless you're buying a custom home on a rural lot, you're not just buying a house but the neighborhood that surrounds it. In many respects, the identity of a neighborhood is as important to the value of a property as individual properties themselves.

In a planned community, strictly controlled architecture governs a carefully crafted identity block after block. In a rural town, tree-lined streets and an old-fashioned town square preserves a disappearing way of life. In a large city, an older neighborhood's ethnic history has shaped its character and is driving its rejuvenation.

It's important to know where a neighborhood has been --and where it is going--before you decide to buy there.

Here are some places to start:

Head for the statistics: Between FBI crime statistics, school scores now available from several national companies and demographic information culled from U.S. Bureau of the Census and other sources, it's now possible to break out a lot of valuable numbers about a community, much of it on line. This means that you as a buyer are no longer dependent on anecdotal information only about school quality or crime levels. You can see for yourself.

Go to city hall or planning & zoning: The last thing you want to find out about the neighborhood of your dreams is that there is a huge discount-tire store due to be built on the big empty lot right across the street from your quaint Craftsman bungalow. Your town or county's zoning and/or planning authorities are good sources for any kind of planning document for the town. If you want to be sure that the rural hideaway you just bought stays that way, check with these officials. Large projects like major road construction is planned years out from the actual start date.

Check out community: Want to know what's really happening in a neighborhood? Ask the local barber. It may sound like a cliché, but nobody knows a neighborhood like the people who work there day in and day out. For your part, visit the neighborhood on your own at different times of day and night. Talk to neighbors. Visit nearby schools and shops. Subscribe to the local paper. Small local papers can be chockfull of information you can use in scoping out a neighborhood or community. If you depend on public transportation, find out what is available and how accessible it is. Drive to and from the house from several different directions, not just the most scenic route that your agent used when showing you the home.

Think 'resale': It's difficult to think about reselling the dream house you're about to buy, but the quality of a neighborhood will play a big role, whether you are living in least or most expensive house on the block. Get a list of homes for sale in the neighborhood from your agent to de

termine how many days they've been on the market. If properties haven't been selling quickly, you'll want to find out whether it's just the market (slow) or whether there are any neighborhood issues that may make resale difficult.

Find the "hot" spots: A good place to start looking for tomorrow's hot neighborhoods is right on the edge of the most desirable, well-established neighborhoods. These tangential neighborhoods frequently are next in line to experience a run-up in prices. Other signs of a neighborhood heating up in popularity: · Multiple-offer home sales · An increase in the number of out-of-area buyers moving in · An increase in local residents trading up within the neighborhood · A decrease in the percentage of renters · Signs of remodeling

A desirable neighborhood may have more than one of these elements: · Close proximity to a thriving economic center · Good public schools · Nearby shopping, check out the stores! The type of retail and stores are good indication of the economic development in the area. ex: too many $1 stores/discount stores are a good sign of BAD economic development. · Good public facilities · Convenient commute options to a major metropolitan area · Well-maintained homes · Low crime · High percentage of owner-occupants

Before you buy: If you haven't had time to thoroughly check out a neighborhood, always ask your agent to do some research for you, most agents should offer this service without asking! Before you make an offer to buy there, include a broadly written inspection contingency in your purchase contract that includes the neighborhood and the house. Such a contingency might state that the offer is dependent upon the satisfactory inspection of both the property and neighborhood by the buyers. If you only want to buy the house if you can answer a very specific question about the neighborhood, then write this in as a specific contingency of the contract. For example, the contract might be contingent upon the buyer confirming that a deli cannot be built next door.

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