Moving house is a stressful business after finding your ideal home, can you be sure the area is for you? SARA NELSON looks at ways of checking out the neighbourhood ...

MOVING house is apparently one of the most stressful experiences of our lives right up there with marriage, divorce and death.

On top of solicitor's fees, balancing a property chain and removal costs, time and effort needs to be spent checking the area you are moving to for resources and facilities you and your family will need before taking the plunge.

For instance, how well are the schools performing? What are the shopping and transport facilities like? Is there a GP's surgery close by? Is there anywhere nice to walk the dogs?

When large sums of money are changing hands, supermarkets and library opening times can seem trivial but it is these things which can form the very essence of your home life.

A checklist of indicators which local authorities could use to determine the health of a neighbourhood was released by the Royal Instituition of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in January.

The report, entitled Spot the Grot, Stop the Rot recommended levels of graffitti and litter, anti-social behaviour orders, vacant properties, property prices and standards of health and education all should be measured and monitored to enable prospective homebuyers to make informed decisions about whether to move to a particular area.

Sadly, these checks are not foolproof and neighbourhoods can sometimes slide swiftly and unexpectedly into decline, so the message is to consider all angles and choose carefully.

Ken Dytor, RICS regeneration and CEO of Urban Catalyst spokesman said: "Decline does not begin across a neighbourhood instantaneously. It tends to start in pockets, then spreads."

Visiting the area is naturally one of the best ways to check these things out. Spending a few hours walking around the neighbourhood, looking at the shops and maybe even speaking to residents can give you a good feel for a place.

However, unless you have plenty of spare time, this will probably not even begin to scratch the surface of what it would be like to live there permanently.

Figures show people view their homes on average only three times before putting in an offer and it might be just your bad luck that next door's tuba enthusiast was away on holiday every time you visited.

A simple starting point to learning more about an area is to find out who the council is and how the area is represented.

Council websites are also good sources for general information and can include details such as plans for new developments as well as any existing sport or leisure facilities.

Another idea is to have a look at house prices in the area keeping an eye on estate agent windows and checking the Land Registry property price index at the website landreg.gov.uk/propertyprice will give you an idea of property prices and trends in town.

If you're able to spend some time in the area, a visit to the neighbourhood Job Centre could give you an idea of job prospects.

If you're concerned about the standard of schooling in the area, the Office for Standards in Education's (Ofsted) website provides information on all primary and secondary schools and reports on nurseries, pupil referral units, special schools, independent schools and post-16 education providers in England.

Crime, population, health and housing figures are available from the Office for National Statistics, at neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk Public transport routes and other information can be found at the website pti.org.uk or by calling Traveline on 0870 608 2608 The Highways Agency website highways.gov.uk gives further transport information and details of any planned roadworks.

You can find out environment information such as whether the area is a flood risk or if it is close to any landfill sites by visiting environment-agency.gov.uk A quick, general overview of prospective areas can also be found at the website Upmystreet.com which allows you to input a postcode and will bring up a list of schools, a neighbourhood profile and how crime figures measure up to the national average.

If you're feeling flush, an even more detailed report of life in a particular area can be provided by Areacheck UK for around £250.

Set up in July 2000, the company provides homebuyers with an independent, personally tailored survey of the area, based on a week of surveillance and a full report of the findings.

Among other things, the check delves into:

  • Noise pollution and traffic
  • Parking, garages and drive access
  • Bad credit records
  • Crime and police activity
  • Schools, further education and employment
  • Planning applications and flight paths
  • Public transport, maps and amenities
  • Environmental issues
  • Neighbourhood interviews Visit homepages.co.uk/exc/areacheck.html to learn more about this service.

Choosing a place to live is one of the most important decisions you will ever make, so it's worth getting it right.

Taking the time to find out if an area is really for you will pay off in the end and can make the difference between a happy home or hell on earth.