When it comes to choosing where you live, make sure you do your research.

I almost bought a delightful house in a village on the Yarra until I went there on the weekend and saw how its rural peace was disrupted by day-trippers. On Saturdays and Sundays the main street was gridlocked with traffic and all the side streets were lined with cars.

My fantasy about enjoying indolent breakfasts at the heritage bakery was also shattered. In reality, it was crowded and noisy, service was slow and the bread queue long. Still, the house was so attractive I was in danger of setting aside that first real estate principle of location, location, location. But a drive past at night brought me to my senses.

It turned out that the beige building over the road was the RSL. The car park was full, the music loud and the drinkers spilled out onto the street.

I passed on the house disappointing but a blessing in the long run. By spending time in the area, I discovered that I didn’t want to live there. When it comes to home hunting, there is simply no substitute for a sound knowledge of the locality, because not all real estate nightmares come from rising damp, termites or rotting stumps. I recently heard a story about a couple who bought into a sedate, leafy inner suburb only to be awakened one morning by an invasive pong. The local dim sim factory was having one of its regular cook-ups. Good to eat but not ideal as a home fragrance.

There are always risks in real estate but ignorance only increases a buyer’s vulnerability. If you’re serious about finding a home where you’ll feel happy and secure, take the time to do your pre-purchase research but not just on local sales and property values. Look beyond the house and garden.

Buyers seeking quiet and privacy will want to avoid any location with high-volume traffic vehicular or pedestrian. You can see that your potential new home abuts a rail-line or major road but what if it’s under a regular flight path? How intrusive is the noise?

To find out what goes on in a suburb positive and negative visit the council website and read through back issues of the local papers at the library. Look out for articles about development-related disputes. All over Melbourne residents are up in arms about everything from a new church or school likely to create traffic and noise, to a kennel planning to double in size and bark-power. Take note if locals are worried about the crime rate, or bothered by dirt-bike riders invading trails intended for quieter pursuits.

If you don’t have the time to do thorough research, consider using a buyer’s advocate. Unlike real estate agents, a buyer’s advocate acts exclusively for the buyer, finding various properties and bidding or negotiating on their behalf.

David Morrell is the founding director of Morrell & Koren, Australia’s first buyer’s advocates, who specialise in higher-end properties.

“A high purchase price doesn’t always guarantee a high quality of life,” he says. “We say lose the Melway, walk around the streets and touch and feel the neighbourhood. Don’t be afraid to talk to the neighbour next door. They’ll tell you about the house and the street.

“Always visit in peak hour and see whether people are cutting through the streets. You won’t see that on Saturday. And think how the kids will get to school. Is there transport and is it reliable? Three kilometres can take 40 minutes in parts of Melbourne at peak time. Traffic is a big issue. It gets back to livability.

“People look in the Melway and see parks but you must touch and feel them to know if they’re good. Visit the local cafes and test the coffee.”

Morrell & Koren will charge 1 or 2 per cent of the purchase price for their services, depending on their level of involvement. If you don’t buy, there’s no fee.

“The prudent purchaser does their research and ends up buying better and staying longer. It’s good due diligence, particularly when you’re spending one or two million. You get no surprises. I’ve seen people go into nightmares having trouble trying to get in and out of their own environment. Some residents are even affected by football.”

One such resident is Toby Weatherby but he couldn’t be happier with the apartment he and fiancee Jessica Loucas bought last year, opposite the MCG. The couple researched the area thoroughly.

“We were big on picking an area before a house or apartment,” says Mr Weatherby, “We wanted to live close to the CBD for work reasons but without being too far away from family and friends. We checked out apartments from Hawthorn to Maribyrnong. When we went to inspect the place we would also spend a fair amount of time inspecting the area.

“We thought we could have put up with living in a more industrial area if it meant larger capital gains in the end but after a drive around one neighbourhood and a walk through the local shopping district, we felt quite uncomfortable and changed our minds. Then we looked at an apartment in East Melbourne. We didn’t like it but the area won us over.”

Mr Weatherby, an ardent footy fan, loved the idea of living so close to the MCG.

“Obviously I’d been in the area often, going to the ‘G; however, on closer inspection we found it to be exactly what we were after. We went for a walk through Fitzroy Gardens, which were lovely, then had lunch at a small cafe. After that, we only looked in East Melbourne.”

The couple finally bought an apartment on Wellington Parade with, for football and cricket fans, knee-weakening views over Melbourne’s great football colosseum.

“We’re absolutely loving the whole area; the gardens, restaurants and cafes, and the old-fashioned general stores. I can walk to and from work and stroll through a park to either Bridge Road or the CBD, so we’re always close to the action.

“Sure there are moments when the area has faults. Street parking can be a nightmare when there are matches on at the ‘G; plus you do get idiots, often drunk or worse, coming home from a game or from a big night in the city. But generally speaking there are no major problems.

“We’re quite close to Jolimont station, plus the trams, but we’re high enough to not be too bothered by this, especially with the window closed. The fact that the MCG is across the road is a massive benefit.”

So Mr Weatherby will be perfectly positioned when his beloved Collingwood finally wins that premiership.