Home backing on to major street

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PURPLEHAZE_IHB

PURPLEHAZE_IHB

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Ok so here is the situation. The home's backyard (small one) is backing on to a street with regular flow of cars. What are the repurcussions in terms of future saleability (is it really a deal breaker or is the inside of the house still more important) and what are the repurcussions on living conditions?

Thank you for your informed opinions and statement of facts.

Regards

PH
 
What are the repurcussions in terms of future saleability (is it really a deal breaker or is the inside of the house still more important) and what are the repurcussions on living conditions?
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Personally, I wouldn't even consider a house backing to a major street - especially at these prices. I wouldn't want to live there and I'm sure it will hurt future resale. One would have to deal with noise, air pollution, etc. It's not worth it IMO.
 
For a case study, check out the home on Granada, that's now a short sale... Beautiful home, and beautiful yard, but nobody will touch it since it backs to Jamboree.
 
skek, I liked your comment. Noise tolerance is also an important issue. People who cannot sleep with a leaking tap sound obviously cannot deal with street noise.
 
I told my wife a long time ago that houses backing on to a major street is a deal breaker for me. We run into great deals from time to time and each time she knew that she wouldn't be able to convince me to reconsider. It's not just the noise but also pollution. One of the best things about living in SoCal is able to open your windows to let in fresh cool air. Living by a major street just invite pollutant to come into your home by opening up the windows. Even at $200 a square foot, I would not touch it.
 
Every property has pluses and minuses. The more minuses it has, the more it will drop in a price decline. In a buyers market, there is always a flight to quality. It is one of the reasons Irvine has declined less than many homes in the surrounding areas. Backing on to a major arterial is a big minus in my opinion, and it should carry a steep discount. Of course, if you are trying to time the market, undesirable properties can make huge profits because in a rally, there are no undesirable properties. Those properties that bottomed out at a very low price may actually see a great percentage gain if there is another bubble.
 
I was looking at a place that backed on to jamboree and with the windows shut the tire noise was pretty noticeable even at a slow time span... I couldnt imagine a busy night
 
I lived in an apartment that backed to the 405. Could never open my windows because of it. I also lived at an apartment that was at the corner of a busy intersection - MacArthur & Bear - things were pretty quiet most of the time, but never all the time. Then I lived at an apartment nested within a serene complex; I could actually hear the birds chirping every morning. So no, I would hate to BUY a home with traffic noise. I have a friend who lives in one now. When looking for a new home, that's one of his first concern. Buy hey, you can always sell the home to a buyer who isn't aware of that annoyance.
 
PURPLEHAZE said:
Ok so here is the situation. The home's backyard (small one) is backing on to a street with regular flow of cars. What are the repurcussions in terms of future saleability (is it really a deal breaker or is the inside of the house still more important) and what are the repurcussions on living conditions?

Thank you for your informed opinions and statement of facts.

Regards

PH
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All I can say is that our appraiser took of $10,000 for backing minor streets. And another $5,000 for "degradation" on the side of our home.

And sadly, you can barely even hear the noise.

So, think about that. Maybe take off $15k for the street if you like it that much. But realize, if you need that $15k later, to refi or something, it's not going to be there. We learned the hard way.
 
This is an interesting question. Thank you, kelela, for the impact of backing to a street on the appraisal. I'm curious if anyone can speak to what sort of offsetting $$ premium might be attached to the larger lots often found backing to major streets? Is it a dollar for dollar offset in value?

It seems in Irvine that you must back to a main artery in order to get a really premium lot where your neighbors can't watch you flipping burgers from their bedroom windows. We are struggling with this question of whether a larger yard and privacy is worth the noise.
 
CK said:
This is an interesting question. Thank you, kelela, for the impact of backing to a street on the appraisal. I'm curious if anyone can speak to what sort of offsetting $$ premium might be attached to the larger lots often found backing to major streets? Is it a dollar for dollar offset in value?

It seems in Irvine that you must back to a main artery in order to get a really premium lot where your neighbors can't watch you flipping burgers from their bedroom windows. We are struggling with this question of whether a larger yard and privacy is worth the noise.
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For myself, we took our location, because you don't see neighbors when you look out your window, nor do they see. The street is way above us and most sound seems to go over us, so we rarely hear much, even with the windows open.

however, privacy and all that, didn't make one bit of difference to the appraiser. It was an automatic deduction because we lived too close to the street. Even those that backed smaller streets, lost the same amount (our comps). The only ones that didn't lose it, were those that were smack dab in the middle of everyone (aka absolutely no privacy and windows are about 6ft from one another, LOOKING in on one another).

So, IMHO, you'll get privacy, but it'll cost you on an appraisal. I think the amount of sound would make a difference to me. Like I said, I am below a bigger street, we have more privacy, but on a refi, we lost $15k total. But I'm happy with our location because of the privacy.
 
CK,

In Irvine, I have noticed that backing on to an arterial road is relatively ineffective in getting a price cut unless the home has other drawbacks like being a fixer upper. IMHO, you have to be more careful while evaluating Irvine home prices because, the 'Irvine' premium can be deceitful. Why would you want to deal with a smaller home size or a home backing on to a street even if it is Irvine? Pause and think for a second.

I have decided that I will not consider home that backs on to a major street, in the long run I will be happier living in quiet. You got to imagine how you will deal with the noise on one of your bad work days when you get back home and sit there on your couch hearing the drone of vehicles.

Cheers,

PH
 
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