We knew it wasn’t a great neighbourhood. We weren’t happy with the school ranking. But the house was so great, head and shoulders above anything else we had seen. We decided to put in an offer.
That’s when the police arrived. It was our second time through the house that day. That’s normal; it was happening fast, but that’s normal too. We had been sitting in the kitchen discussing the clauses in the Schedule A. We decided that we’d been in the house too long and as the buyers were first time home buyers we thought it best to go back to the office and finish up there.
Not one cop car, but four arrived. Much like TV, they pulled up in quick succession. The first car found the guy hiding between the houses. He started away at a quick walk, but then broke into a not so athletic drug addled run. He only got three houses away before he gave up surrounded by cops, he surrendered.
We had all the paperwork but the offer signed. Of course there is no way we can go ahead with this deal. We’ll take this whole neighborhood off our search.
According to recent reports in the newspaper crime in Waterloo Region is down overall (though robberies are up). There were 163 fewer violent crimes committed in 2011 and 1,117 fewer property crimes committed.
Waterloo Region carries a middle ranking among the nation’s 33 largest cities for the severity of its crime. It’s ranked 11 for overall severity and 14 for the severity of violent crime.
Furthermore, according to Statistics Canada the number of reported crimes in Canada is the lowest since 1972. However, the crimes committed are worse; homicides, sexual offences against children, impaired driving, and drug offences are all up.
In Kitchener Waterloo, like every other city in Canada, there are certain streets and neighborhoods that should be avoided as a general rule and especially when buying a house. The story above also reveals that it is easy to get caught up in the moment when you see a great house.
It’s better to buy a bad house in a good neighborhood than a good house in a bad neighborhood.
