[Saratoga] Is it always very noisy on Quito road? (Los Gatos: appointed, how much)

[saratoganwannabe]

Hi!

We're considering moving to a house on Quito road (near McCoy Ave). Everything seems perfect except the noise. We could hear the roaring cars even when every door and window was shut, and it was Sunday afternoon. It seems that Quito is a very busy street, but I heard that on the morning it would be less noisy because cars move slower. Is it true? Is it always bad, even in the evening?

Thanks!

[spicydreamt]

Some houses in that area still have single-pane windows. Near the SJ airport and next to Lawrence Expw, recent constructions now have triple-pane windows. That's be the first thing to check..

[saratoganwannabe]

This house has double-pane windows.

I actually came back to that corner of McCoy Ave and Quito Rd at 10 PM last night, and there were one or two cars every other minute. I also heard some faint background noise which I suppose generated by cars on the nearby 85, which is actually more intimidating than the noise on Quito Rd. I couldn't tell if I could still hear that noise in door though.

Is it a bad idea to buy a house in this area? Is there anybody living there that could give me some insights on how annoying the noise could become? How about resale value? I could see that this house won't sell too quickly, even though it's a nice house in a pretty good school district.

Hope to hear some advice from the experts.

Thanks

[Wintermomma]

I used to back an (unexpectedly) busy street. I really wouldn't do that again. The noise was unpleasant, though we led into a canyon so we had horribly loud motorcycles all weekend long. Also b/c I have children and pets I'd never front one for fear the latter would get out and run into the road.

As for resale, how much cheaper is the house you are looking at than comparables in the neighborhood which are NOT on the busy road, and that's your answer.

[sonarrat]

Quito is one of the main arterials through that area, along with Saratoga Ave. If you're sensitive to noise, it's not going to get any quieter with time. But as I'm sure you're aware, the only comparable in the area at the moment is up against the 85 sound wall. Or you can pay $300K more to be next to the train tracks. Just saying, though.. as someone who was actually born and raised here I wish I had the problem of deciding between homes in Saratoga, busy street or not.

[Local123]

This is one of the reasons we scrapped Saratoga and Los Gatos. All of the affordable (1.5-2 mil) houses were in the crappiest of all locals in terms of being right near the freeway or major road. It's just not worth all of the sacrifices (home size, noise etc.) to live in those areas IMO (and my husband and I grew up in those areas).

[saratoganwannabe]

Local123: if you don't mind could you share where you're living now? My budget is $1.1MM, and I agree that it's so hard to find a decent house in Saratoga.

The house that I'm considering is good though. The lot is 10,000 square feet, and the house itself is beautiful. I actually felt in love with it at first sight, just to be disappointed with the location.

[imcurious]

I love the Quito Rd. area. It's too bad you can't handle the noise, because it's very charming.

[cid01]

I rehab'd that house 20 years ago. Put in the two wall fence and double pane sound barrier andersen windows. My wife hated the noise and vibration from day one.
I tried adding insulation, nothing really worked, so I sold it, long ago.
If you hate road noise it wears on you and becomes more annoying over time.