What Do You Think About Buying A House Near The Freeway? (Chino: cul-de-sac, real estate)

[AppleTree1]

My Husband And I Found A House That We Like In Chino Hills, California But It Is Near A Freeway. The House Is In A Cul De Sac But And At The End Of The Cul De Sac Is A Wall With The 71 Freeway On The Other Side. The House Is Approximately 4-5 Houses From The End Of This Cul De Sac.

I am Worried If We Ever Decide To Sell, We Might Have A More Difficult Time. Plus I Read It Is Bad For The Health Of Children. We Don't Have Any Yet But I Don't Want To Move Once We Do Have Them. The 71 Freeway Is A 2 Lane Freeway In Both Directions. It Is Not A Large And Busy Freeway Like The 405 Freeway Or The 10 Freeway. I Don't Know If That Matters.

We Didn't Hear The Freeway At All When We Went To See The House It Was Acutally Pretty Quiet. What Should We Do? Do You Think It Will Affect The Resale Value And/Or The Health Of Our Future Children?

[EscapeCalifornia]

I would worry that they might expand the freeway some day and you could wind up a lot closer to it. What time of day did you see the house? I'd go back at various times of day and night. Traffic levels tend to get worse over time so even if its not bad today, the noise could be worse in 5-10 years.

[sonarrat]

I've seen multimillion dollar designer homes that directly faced busy freeways like the 280 without even so much as a sound wall. If the area is desirable, it doesn't matter, and it seems like that area is desirable.

Pollution, yes, that can be an issue. It may be setting your kids up for health problems in the future.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

Go back during rush hour and see if you find the same situations.

I personally would not but I am hypersensetive to sound. I would HATE the sound of traffic.

[kturbe]

One of the most important aspects of selling a house is Location, Location, Location. If this home has been on the market a long time, you can bet one of the reason's is the location.

However, if you are planning on staying for the long haul and making it your home then your comfort is the most important aspect to consider.

[Sassberto]

That is a never for me.

- not near freeway
- not on a street with a double-yellow line
- no apartments nearby
- interior to the neighborhood
- interior to the block
- no backing of lot to commercial or busy alleys

You will find that in the desirable areas anything that is below 600k will have one or many of these things in play.

[dbaMommy]

Originally Posted by kturbe

One of the most important aspects of selling a house is Location, Location, Location. If this home has been on the market a long time, you can bet one of the reason's is the location.

The top three things to know about California real estate are: Location, location, location.

Having a lending background I can tell you that the value of a home is definitely impacted by freeway proximity and high traffic streets. Appraisals routinely take into account this factor and adjust property values downward if comping the property to equally matched properties in other features/amenities which do not have traffic/freeway factors.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

That is a never for me.

- not near freeway
- not on a street with a double-yellow line
- no apartments nearby
- preferred: interior to the neighborhood
- preferred: interior to the block
- no backing of lot to commercial or busy alleys

You will find that in the desirable areas anything that is below 600k will have one or many of these things in play.

This is interesting. What's the opposite of these items? I understand that "not near a freeway" means "far from a freeway," but how would you characterize the opposite of "interior to the neighborhood"? Wouldn't this put you at the exterior, and potentially near "a street with a double-yellow line"? Similarly, is the opposite of "interior to the block" a corner lot? I like the thought process of elimination, but would like to read more.

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by cre8

This is interesting. What's the opposite of these items? I understand that "not near a freeway" means "far from a freeway," but how would you characterize the opposite of "interior to the neighborhood"? Wouldn't this put you at the exterior, and potentially near "a street with a double-yellow line"? Similarly, is the opposite of "interior to the block" a corner lot? I like the thought process of elimination, but would like to read more.

Sorry, I mean "don't buy a house on the exterior of the neighborhood"

The exterior of the neighborhood would be the homes on or within a few houses from the main street. So if your neighborhood sits adjacent to a main road, you do not want any house on the main road, or within say, 5 houses of the connecting street to the main road. Best is to be on a street with no direct connection to the main road at all, i.e. a cul-de-sac, dead-end street, etc.

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Sorry, I mean "don't buy a house on the exterior of the neighborhood"

The exterior of the neighborhood would be the homes on or within a few houses from the main street. So if your neighborhood sits adjacent to a main road, you do not want any house on the main road, or within say, 5 houses of the connecting street to the main road. Best is to be on a street with no direct connection to the main road at all, i.e. a cul-de-sac, dead-end street, etc.

Ok, I see. What about interior of a neighborhood mid-block? Good or not?