how big of a deal is highway traffic/no yard? (sales, real estate)

[yep]

my husband and I are looking at a house that backs up to the parkway. there is an integral garage under the house, in conjunction with the basement, and the driveway drives around the side of the house and around the back to park underneath in the garage.. so because of this, there is no grassy yard to speak of, only a big of driveway. it's large enough that I could concieve of tearing out some of it and replacing with some grass, but...

also, because the back yard basically sits at the top of a slope that looks over the parkway, there is the traffic. I know highway noise is a turnoff to some buyers. it's not to us.. but we are concerned about selling the home in the next 7 or 10 years- it's not a "forever" house.

we really like everything else about it, other than wanting to replace the windows (the rear windows have already been updated, likely to reduce the noise inside. you can hear a faint hum in the rear bedrooms, but I suppose with a heavier drape over the window it would be minimal and to my mind, it really isnt too noticeable).

even in the back yard, it's not too bad- I wonder if you were to put up a tall wood fence, and perhaps break up some asphalt and replace with a patch of grass, it wouldn't be so bad..

is this going to seriously impede any kind of appreciation in value? I dont mind if it starts off at a lower value (easier for me to buy!) but I dont know how this works- will that prevent it from appreciating at, say, 2%, if that's what the surrounding neighborhood also appreciates at?

[vwscottie]

Originally Posted by yep

my husband and I are looking at a house that backs up to the parkway. there is an integral garage under the house, in conjunction with the basement, and the driveway drives around the side of the house and around the back to park underneath in the garage.. so because of this, there is no grassy yard to speak of, only a big of driveway. it's large enough that I could concieve of tearing out some of it and replacing with some grass, but...

also, because the back yard basically sits at the top of a slope that looks over the parkway, there is the traffic. I know highway noise is a turnoff to some buyers. it's not to us.. but we are concerned about selling the home in the next 7 or 10 years- it's not a "forever" house.

we really like everything else about it, other than wanting to replace the windows (the rear windows have already been updated, likely to reduce the noise inside. you can hear a faint hum in the rear bedrooms, but I suppose with a heavier drape over the window it would be minimal and to my mind, it really isnt too noticeable).

even in the back yard, it's not too bad- I wonder if you were to put up a tall wood fence, and perhaps break up some asphalt and replace with a patch of grass, it wouldn't be so bad..

is this going to seriously impede any kind of appreciation in value? I dont mind if it starts off at a lower value (easier for me to buy!) but I dont know how this works- will that prevent it from appreciating at, say, 2%, if that's what the surrounding neighborhood also appreciates at?

I can see a situation like that making it hard for you to get the price you really want when trying to sell.

[jhprentiss]

It would make a big difference to me. We definitely looked at houses like that, and rejected them because of no yard and lots of noise.

Selling a house is really hard, buy carefully! There's plenty out there to look at.

[yep]

..true.. but we have some pretty narrow constraints on where we are looking, both financially and economically, and this one falls pretty smack in the middle of perfect in every way, shape and form. this is one of those houses we would have made an offer on the minute we walked through it if it were even just across the street.

right now we're leaning towards going for it- we figure even if the investment itself doesnt produce as great a return as otherwise might be possible, we will be saving money on not having to make any major changes updates and could possibly invest that money elsewhere instead of relying on the market value to increase to accomodate our next move..

but you make good points.. and I'm seeing dreamhouse in my eyes. it's hard to stay detached. we walked away from another house after a poor inspection two weeks ago and didn't think we'd find another one, yet this one puts that one to shame. so.. who knows.

thanks for the input so far.

is there anyone who doesnt think it's that big a deal? I think this house was sold 5 years ago for about $100k and is now on the market for $120k. could we expect to ask $140 for it in another 5 years? (+ or - whatever gets negotiated..) that's the true question..

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by yep

..true.. but we have some pretty narrow constraints on where we are looking, both financially and economically, and this one falls pretty smack in the middle of perfect in every way, shape and form. this is one of those houses we would have made an offer on the minute we walked through it if it were even just across the street.

right now we're leaning towards going for it- we figure even if the investment itself doesnt produce as great a return as otherwise might be possible, we will be saving money on not having to make any major changes updates and could possibly invest that money elsewhere instead of relying on the market value to increase to accomodate our next move..

but you make good points.. and I'm seeing dreamhouse in my eyes. it's hard to stay detached. we walked away from another house after a poor inspection two weeks ago and didn't think we'd find another one, yet this one puts that one to shame. so.. who knows.

thanks for the input so far.

is there anyone who doesnt think it's that big a deal? I think this house was sold 5 years ago for about $100k and is now on the market for $120k. could we expect to ask $140 for it in another 5 years? (+ or - whatever gets negotiated..) that's the true question..

Take the emotion out of this. How old is the house? The reason I'm asking is because someone bought it from someone, and now they're selling it to you. If it's older than 20 years -- more than a few someones bought that house. So obviously the house is sellable.

I'm not saying to buy it, but if you like it, and are staying for 10 years it's not a bad thing. Do the improvements to make the inside quiet.

It may not make the appeciation the rest of the neighborhood -- check on zillow.com, if it's there, you may find some sales figures that can show the appreciation the house has experienced. But that doesn't make it a bad value.

Good luck!

[yep]

thanks for the input- the house is 50-60 years old. there's no data available on zillow or elsewhere earlier than the current owner who bought it in 2002.

what I do know is that aside from needing new windows (everywhere except the rear), there isnt much it needs- the wiring was updated in 87, roof, a/c and furnace in 2001/2, and the kitchen/bath situation is great. I'd make my first investment in new windows, then start figuring out how to do something nice to the back- put up a fence, maybe.. etc.

mostly, I dont worry about selling it- I know it'll sell at some point when I need to sell it. but I just have no good gauge for how much this matters to people in general and whether this is a "bad investment" (I grew up behind a freeway and have always found the sound actually somewhat relaxing.. but this kind of forum is one of the only ways I have of asking a large (?) number of people for an opinion on it.) I always figured I'd know a "bad investment" when I saw one- like when we discovered some issues in the inspection of the last house we bid on, or other things I have learned over hte years. I'm not a person who would buy a house next to a nuclear power plant no matter how nice it was. so to find myself considering a house above a highway has me kind of vexed. I just dont know where "high way/no back yard" falls in the real estate list of drawbacks.. related to things like school district, or being next to a bunch of high voltage power lines, or a dump, or a busy intersection, etc. why arent there easy answers?

as a seperate question- is there much you can do for this kind of concern other than install new windows, whcih was already done in the rear bedrooms? a fence might help at ground level, and I dont think planting more trees on the slope that leads down to the highway is possible- it already has some greenery but not very lush. wish they were evergreen..

[Katiana]

You might get an estimate for new windows before you make a committment. They are not cheap; we just did it last winter. Then you have to get all new window coverings. We just finished that up in time for winter.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by yep

thanks for the input- the house is 50-60 years old. there's no data available on zillow or elsewhere earlier than the current owner who bought it in 2002.

what I do know is that aside from needing new windows (everywhere except the rear), there isnt much it needs- the wiring was updated in 87, roof, a/c and furnace in 2001/2, and the kitchen/bath situation is great. I'd make my first investment in new windows, then start figuring out how to do something nice to the back- put up a fence, maybe.. etc.

mostly, I dont worry about selling it- I know it'll sell at some point when I need to sell it. but I just have no good gauge for how much this matters to people in general- I grew up behind a freeway and have always found the sound actually somewhat relaxing.. but this kind of forum is one of the only ways I have of asking a large (?) number of people for an opinion on it.

as a seperate question- is there much you can do for this kind of concern other than install new windows, whcih was already done in the rear bedrooms? a fence might help at ground level, and I dont think planting more trees on the slope that leads down to the highway is possible- it already has some greenery but not very lush. wish they were evergreen..

Are you talking about noise abatement? Fabric helps absorb noise, so carpeted floors are great, too. Heavier draperies you can close during peak driving time to help muffle more noise. I wouldn't get leather furniture... I just don't like leather furniture.

It's funny -- both my mother and grandmother had sheer curtains on their windows to let the light in, but as darkness fell, they both undid the heavier draperies and pulled them closed... I bet it was a sound thing....

Sometimes you can have sound walls put up near the roadway, but all it does is redirect the noise somewhere else -- so sound walls are a hard sell. And the whole neighborhood would have to agree.

[Maaz]

Would you mind me asking what general area the house is located in?
I don't have a yard but I wouldn't mind having one. The benefit of not having to mow the lawn is there, but if you have any kids or pets (I don't), then it could pose an issue.

Some people are more noise-sensitive than others. I had all the windows in my house replaced with energy efficient ones and put additional noise reduction windows in my bedroom. If you do anything to make your house more energy efficient, it should sell easier.

Most areas are okay as far as appreciation goes. I don't see any problem getting at least $20,000 more in 5 years unless the house is in a depressed area.

Maaz

[barneyg]

Originally Posted by yep

is this going to seriously impede any kind of appreciation in value? I dont mind if it starts off at a lower value (easier for me to buy!) but I dont know how this works- will that prevent it from appreciating at, say, 2%, if that's what the surrounding neighborhood also appreciates at?

I don't see why the house wouldn't benefit from the same appreciation as the surrounding neighborhood. Because the house is next to the Parkway, it's already cheaper than comparables in the neighborhood (say by $10,000), so if the neighborhood appreciates by some percentage, that house will too, but because it's worth less it will increase by less in absolute terms (and will then be worth, say, $11,000 less than comparables in the neighborhood). I'm not sure anyone can make a credible case that houses right by the Parkway will become relatively more unappealing in the next 10 years than they do now.