Congrats, you’re in the market for a new home! This means a big decision is coming your way…
you’re going to need to choose a neighborhood.
When it comes to a home, there are things you simply can and cannot do.
While you can freshen up the paint, change out the flooring, and design your dream kitchen…you cannot change location.
…so, without further ado, here are some things to think about as you’re picking your new ‘hood:
1 | Schools and School District
Given Conejo Valley’s reputation for top ranking CA schools, we’ll knock the topic of schools out of the way first.
Even if you don’t have school-aged kids, schools are still worth keeping in mind – it may affect your resale value. Future buyers will likely factor in nearby schools into their final decision.
We can go into the details of each district at another time, but there are a total of 3 School Districts in the Conejo Valley. Each neighborhood is pre-assigned to an elementary, middle, and high school. To help with your search, our neighborhood profiles list each neighborhood’s assigned schools with a link to its GreatSchools.org – where you can compare scores and weigh the pros and cons depending on what you look for most in a school (i.e. athletics, math vs. english, arts, etc.)
2 | Proximity
Whether you like to hike, bike, play golf, and/or catch the occasional happy hour, being close to whatever it is you call fun is an important part of loving where you live.
Maybe you’re like me and like to be in the the center of town where all the action is. Or, maybe you’re the opposite, and would rather sub the word proximity with distance – where you find yourself peacefully tucked away on a quiet street.
We put together a questionnaire so you have a space to tell us what you want the most in your neighborhood, and in return we’ll send you a list of al the neighborhoods that match up.
Take the questionnaire, here
3 | Commute
If you work from home or an office in the Conejo Valley this likely won’t apply to you. But for those that work in the city or for Amgen, you may consider factoring in the daily commute. We see a lot of you that work in the TV/Cinema industry settle their roots in Agoura Hills or Southern side of Westlake Village. There are many neighborhoods in the TO area that could easily add 30 minutes to your commute not including the LA traffic.
Amgen is actually a local office building, but we find that there are certain neighborhoods that remain popular with Amgen employees. If you work for Amgen, take a look at this.
4 | Affordability
There are hundreds of neighborhoods across the Conejo Valley, each with their own set of perks, leaving a broad range in pricing.
There are two parts to factoring in price when shopping for homes in the Conejo Valley. Of course, the first being budget. The second is this, affordability is relative to what you’re looking for.
For the same amount of money, you could buy a townhome on Westlake Lake, or, a single family home in Thousand Oaks with a yard large enough to house a horse, literally.
In other words, your dollar goes further in some neighborhoods than others. It all depends on the environment you want.
5 | Age of the Neighborhood
As you might expect, older neighborhoods are often outdated in style while newer neighborhoods are, well, newer. It’s not uncommon for homes to be gutted and remodeled, but there’s just an equal chance the cabinetry will all be original. This is neither good nor bad of course, but it is something to keep in mind – and it ties in with the topic of affordability.
Let’s say your favorite neighborhood has 2 homes for sale. On the same street with an identical floor plan.
House A | $1,000,000
-
- Fully upgraded kitchen and bathrooms
- Hardwood flooring
- Brand new appliances, etc.
- New roof, A/C, and windows
House B | $800,000
-
- All original
The obvious thing here is the $200,000 difference. But is there a real difference if House B needs $200,000 worth of work? If you have a million dollar budget you might go for House B for the opportunity to upgrade to your exact style. You might go for House B, throw a fresh coat of paint on the walls and embrace the shag carpets for a few years (chalk it up to character) and make it your own over time. Or, you could take your search to another neighborhood. Where you might find a house that is more your style for a more comfortable price.
The truth is, there is no wrong answer. It just goes back to weighing the options.
Part of Conejo Valley’s charm is there’s a little bit of everything, it’s all about knowing where to look. If you haven’t taken it yet, I’ll throw in another link to our questionnaire for you. Just tell us what you’re looking for in your neighborhood and we’ll point you in the right direction!
