Is this a bad investment-opinions? Watchung? (real estate, big house, buyers)

[DebsPSU]

I found this gorgeous ridiculously big house in Watchung. House is about 3500 square feet, built in 1985 so fairly new. 1.4 acres of land. The kicker is that the backyard has woods, and then it backs to 78. I love the house, and the house backing to 78 doesn't bother us (we live right off 22 now). The bedrooms face the front of the house, so you can't really hear the highway. Am I being ignorant here?

[RUNYYfan]

I'd check into a few things before diving into this purchase.

1) Find out where the easement edge is for Route 78. While you may have woods now, that may be lost pretty quickly if there is a need for expansion of the road such as for additional lanes of travel or exit ramps.

2) Look carefully at the surrounding topography. Is the property sloping down from 78 toward the house? Are there any natural rivulets on the property? In my travels around the Watchung area, I recall a couple of homes adjacent to 78 that appeared to have proximal runoff from the roadway. While it may not be a huge issue now, going forward, those little rivulets may become something much more if they continue to run on a regular basis.

3) Look over the Town Master Plan carefully to make sure the area is seen as continuing residential for the foreseeable future. Given that we're 27 years removed from the house build, I'd say the potential for drastic changes in zoning or targeted use is minimal, but with 78 abutting the property, I'd still be careful of that.

Hope this helps.

[OysterCatcher]

I think it's a clear violation of the first three rules of real estate.

[Marc Paolella]

If you don't mind the noise, and can get a 10-20% discount off the market, and you realize you will have to give a 10-20% discount off the market when it's time to sell, then by all means, enjoy. The key is getting the home for the right price. Example: If other similar homes on quiet streets are selling for $900,000, you need to pay about $750,000. If you pay much more, you are making a bad investment.

It's easy to make a mistake here. Some buyers often will pay a slight discount because they are motivated and "love the house". But the discount needs to be large to offset the hit you will take when and if you have to sell. Backing to an Interstate highway is one of the biggies when it comes to poor location. While you may not have an aversion to the noise, most buyers do. There are few things that turn off the typical buyer more than noise. And forget the bedrooms, how is life on the back deck? That is where the compromise can be felt most acutely. If there is strong traffic noise in the back yard, it can make it very difficult to sell without offering that big discount.

Related to the noise is jake-braking. If you are close to a section of 78 that has a grade, trucks may use their engines to slow down rather than their brakes. This creates an awful racket and makes a bad problem worse. Pay attention to the character of the traffic noise very carefully for an hour or so in the back yard before making a decision. If there is jake-braking, I want a 20% discount.

But again, as long as you can objectively get the proper discount going in, then you should be fine. If it were me, I would want to pay at least 15% less than the price of similar recent 3,500+/- square foot homes built in the 1980's and on 1+ acre sites on quiet streets. Use CLOSED SALES, NOT LISTINGS.

[chennai01]

Be sure to visit the location at night, particularly on clear calm nights. We live a half mile away from an interstate highway with a forest between and the noise is terrible. Interstate highways have more trucks and more noise.

[PDD]

Originally Posted by OysterCatcher

I think it's a clear violation of the first three rules of real estate.

[icibiu]

I think you've gotten some great advice so far!

One more thing to think about is this your "forever" home or just something to hold you over for a few years before you upgrade or move cross country?

Plans change of course and no one knows for certain what tomorrow brings but I don't think you should consider this house if it's going to be something you know you are going to try and sell in just a few years. As Marc said buyers are going to want a discount on this property & houses with location issues always take longer to sell so if it may not be worth the hassle.

[sonofagunk]

If it is on MLS, then it is not a "deal". If it were, a pro would have snatched it up before you ever even saw it

[rodrigo1974]

my parents had a house in watchung that was built in 1966, when route 78 was non-existant! geez, if they had ever known what was going to happen! standing in the back yard was noisier than standing in front of my building in new york city! while easy access to the highway is paramount for many folks, residing next to 78 in a pastoral location like watchung simply defeats the whole purpose of living there, unless, of course, one is moving from an area such as jersey city, where the noise level is equally as intense!

[captne76]

Can't beat it, not with most any kind of a NnnNnnnvermind stick!