BiggerPockets

All of those are important factors. I would add proximity to work and the big one for me: the land--preferably wooded acreage with some fields/meadows.

Taxes - both property and local earned income.

Parking - urban areas might only have on-street parking. In suburbs, guests visiting will need to be able to park somewhere.

Is there an HOA / condo assoc?

How much time for the commute to work?

Hope that helps to get others thinking.

I can't help factoring in good potential resale or future rental.

It's just in my blood.

Ummm....keeping my wife happy :)

Since I am looking forward to retiring from my 11-7 job and using my RE endeavors to finance that "retirement" I will be working from my home.

Therefore the home must be in a decent area with easy directions for my clients to follow to get there.

I do like the country setting, but it cant be so counrty that people cant find it easily!!

Everything is an investment to me! I've always been a square footage buyer. For me to buy, it has to be a GREAT deal, and gated community. I won't let emotions get in the way of my decision making. I want to make sure that the price I'm paying per square foot is way less than what I could build it for.
The previous lists are really good. However, for me many of the items don't pertain. I don't go to a place of employment, kids are grown and out, schools don't matter AND my wife is always happy. Rich

This might be a dumb question, but How do you find out information on neighborhood qualification??
I used google earth and zillow.com
but how do you find out the other stuff????

If you're talking about stuff like crime stats, population and and other demographic data, you can find this type of info on the Census Bureau along with city-data
You should also read the local paper online to see what's going on if you are looking out of area

The more specific you are with your questions the better answers you will get...

Forget the competition for the natural resources!! How about the competition for food? Corn, wheat etc that we can't keep up with now.

Judith Scott said it, "Location", so let me say it MY way.

LOCATION
LOCATION
LOCATION

For instance, where I live, MANY homes have no water, no sewer, no phone, no natural gas and no paved roads. By 'many', I mean thousands of homes. And some of these homes are literally mansions whiles others are dumps.

When I bought in the area, I demanded these things. I could have bought one more mile north and would be one of those homes. I am one of the furthest houses from the city water plant so I have to have a water pump under my house to add enough pressure so I can take a shower. But I am on all city utilities.

As for rentals, I have one rental that uses trucked in Propane and I will never buy another one, it adds several hundred dollars a year to my expenses. All my rentals will have all main city utilities.

In addition to location, the house needs to be built to handle the area it is in. Single paned windows in a cold climate are not good. Stucco in cold climate is also not good. I have seen a three year old house in the Rocky Mountains start losing its stucco from the freeze/thaw cycle and in six years have to be re-stuccoed. In hot areas, a good roof, good AC and good ventilation are necessary. I have seen cheap, asphalt shingles get destroyed by hear in just a few years. When I was a Realtor, we used to joke about "toilet paper covered in Elmers glue and sand" being the quality of roofing used by some builders, especially out in Moreno Valley, California.

A good location, quality craftsmanship and a fair price. What else do you need?