Thinking about buying a house near railroad tracks in Austin?? (Angus: power lines, selling a house)

[mko32]

My husband and I live in a great location in NW Austin but our house is a fixer upper. There was a small plot of land about 5 blocks from us that a developer is now building on. Here is my dilema. The new houses are spacious with all the great amenities however, the lots are tiny. The best lot out there is directly across the street from the railroad tracks (you can't see the tracks as they are hidden by about 5 feet of trees-but you can hear it! especially the whistles). We consider the house an investment and would stay there for years, just not sure about appreciation on a home right next to the tracks. Anyone out there have any experience on buying/selling a house across from rr tracks?

[Trainwreck20]

IS this off the tracks near Duval? That is the MoPac, and is quite busy, but it did not really bother me after a month or two. I think I have a fairly long reply on that particular train track somewhere on this forum.....

[mko32]

Thats the one. I know it runs about 20 times a day.

[Trainwreck20]

This thread has a map of the area that I lived in right of the MoPac RR tracks:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/austi...ed#post2547684

The area due west and across the tracks from the black 'A' near the middle of the map was where they were building some new houses a few years ago (if is pretty much the only open area along the tracks). Is that the area? There is another post on here somewhere about it, but you need to know where you are relative to the intersection of the roads and the tracks. If you are too near, the whistle will blow while facing your house, and that is DEAFENING! If you are just a few feet 'up track' from the whistle-blowing location (and they are very consistent), then it is almost unhearable.

[mko32]

No, it's on the other side of the tracks from Angus Valley. This is the new subdivision being built behind milwood. The only nice size lot is directly across from Dorsett. So the house would be facing the trees that sit right in front of the tracks ( the house would face the Angus Valley area). There is also a house in AV that has a private drive off of Dorsett that crosses over the tracks. This drive is at the beginning of the new subdivision...which means the trains blow the whistle 3 times when they get close to it. So not just the sound of a train, but also a whistle right in front of the house

[Trainwreck20]

I lived right around the 'A' in 'Black Angus Dr.', with the back of my house to the tracks. The train blew its whistle (when heading south) probably right about the middle of the word 'Dorsett' (estimating, since I never really checked ). I could barely hear it, but on the rare occasion (once or twice a year) that it blew the whistle early (before passing my house), it was ear-splitting.

Are you talking about a development in the triangle between Duval/Dorsett/RR tracks? I didn't know there were any roads over the tracks there, but the train shouldn't have to blow its whistle for a private road. It does blow it twice in a row (IIRC) as it approaches Duval. Also, the closer you are to Duval, the loader you will be able to hear the whistle as the train appoached from the South heading North.

[MJinAustin]

I'd be worried about resale, and as a result wouldn't buy it.

[Trainwreck20]

I'd be worried about resale, and as a result wouldn't buy it.

On the other hand, selling it cheaper is not a big deal if you buy it cheaper...my house was one of the least expensive when I bought it AND when I sold it, but it appreciated ~70% in 5 years.....

[MJinAustin]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

On the other hand, selling it cheaper is not a big deal if you buy it cheaper...my house was one of the least expensive when I bought it AND when I sold it, but it appreciated ~70% in 5 years.....

I'm not really thinking about price necessarily...I'm thinking that you might be limiting the number of future buyers right off the bat based on where it's located. I personally stay away from homes that back up to power lines, water towers, railroads, highways, etc. because I think I would have a harder time selling. Now, if you're planning on staying in the house forever, and those things don't bother you, then go for it. But if you're planning on selling (I think OP said they would be in a few years), I'd try to stay as close as I could to meeting the criteria that the general majority of people like.

[Trainwreck20]

The smaller pool of buyers and the price are really pretty much the same thing in this case. I essentially go 10% off the price from the otherwise comparable houses in the are when I bought it, and knocked 10% of the same when I sold it, and it moved very quickly. I think the issues come when someone buys the house cheap then wants to sell it for the same price as non-impacted properties in the area. The bigger trick is to get it for the appropriate reduction at the beginning instead of trying to get a buyer to overpay like you did when you bought it. There will always be people looking to buy into certain areas that stretch their budget, too, so if you manage to get noticeably below the average house price, you might end up with a pretty hot property.....