Buying a house alongside an alley (Chicago: apartment, buying a home, living)

[chicagonewb20]

Hello everyone, recently arrived in Chicago and am looking at buying a house in Lakeview. One option that my partner and I like is alongside an alley. The front of the house still faces the main street, but the alley runs alongside the long lefthand side of the house. There is another alley that runs parallel to the house behind it, the alley alongside I'm referring to is to get access to that main alley (with garage access for all the homes on the street), if that makes sense. There isn't another house on the other side of this "access" alley, it is a small apartment building.

Wondering if this type of placement is viewed as good for property value or bad? We like it as there is more light on that side of the house than if it was right next to another structure. And there is an opaque fence around the house so no issues from exposed windows to the alley. However, it could be viewed as not as appealing to be on an alley, right? Also I assume that we wouldn't get the benefits of being close to another building when it comes to heating, but I don't know if that really matters.

Thanks for your help and thoughts on this!

[kettlepot]

I live in an entirely different climate zone, so I can't comment about the heating, but generally speaking living along an alley lessens property values a little bit. However, while you take a haircut when you sell, you're getting a discount as you buy.

Alley issues include more sides of the house which are exposed to traffic noise, and people walking by that you may not want to have and can't control because it's public right-of-way. Alleys are often used as venue for collecting trash or distributing it back to the homeless, so often alleys have litter problems, but streets can have that issue too.

These cautions being said, I think its location next to an apartment building would be more significant than the alley, but as I said above, the discount buying in and the haircut selling out are a two-way street. Same for the apartment building. Make sure you comps reflect these two issues (Alley/Apartment).

[dtcbnd03]

I think it's likely more good than bad for property value because you have more natural light coming into the building. The downside of living along an alley is sometimes cars honk when they drive out to exit the alley to warn pedestrians and you hear the garbage trucks on collection day. So you're either staring at a brick wall next to you or open air with an alley...I'll take the natural light with the alley. I've looked at a couple of properties along alleys and have heard more positives than negatives to that aspect. The buildings you want to avoid are landlocked buildings with no alley or parking access in back.

I saw one building in Logan Square that had an alley on BOTH long sides of the building with garage parking in back. Gets TONS of natural light and is in a great spot. I would buy it in a heartbeat.

[Vlajos]

We have owned and lived in two places with an alley along the side of the building and of course in back. We loved it due to the extra light. We sold both with no problem and made money of them too.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by chicagonewb20

Hello everyone, recently arrived in Chicago and am looking at buying a house in Lakeview. One option that my partner and I like is alongside an alley. The front of the house still faces the main street, but the alley runs alongside the long lefthand side of the house. There is another alley that runs parallel to the house behind it, the alley alongside I'm referring to is to get access to that main alley (with garage access for all the homes on the street), if that makes sense. There isn't another house on the other side of this "access" alley, it is a small apartment building.

Wondering if this type of placement is viewed as good for property value or bad? We like it as there is more light on that side of the house than if it was right next to another structure. And there is an opaque fence around the house so no issues from exposed windows to the alley. However, it could be viewed as not as appealing to be on an alley, right? Also I assume that we wouldn't get the benefits of being close to another building when it comes to heating, but I don't know if that really matters.

Thanks for your help and thoughts on this!

It doesn't impact the value of the home in most cases. In fact, in Lake View, most buyers appreciate the additional light that comes with not having another home just 5 feet away.

[chicagonewb20]

Thank you everyone for your input, I feel much better about it!

[ChicagoMeO]

you might not like the smell of the garbage trucks passing by your bedroom window.

[MadameMerle]

Also, the honking can be wild. I hear a lot of it around here (just North of Lakeview) and I think that would put me off buying a home alongside an alley.

[Vosges]

It’s not for me.

[Dport7674]

You seem to like the property, stands to reason that someone else will too when it's time to sell.