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Hello Folks.
I have been renting for 13 years since I came to US.
Now i get to the point where I and my family can purchase our first house.
The house we found is located in desirable area in NJ with good schools, same township we rented in.
This is a modular house which was built 6 years ago and it's to our satisfaction, big basement, big attic, open space main living area with nice kitchen.
Now this house has it's drawbacks. Even though it's located quite conveniently near middle school, downtown area, NJ Transit train station (10 mins walk) and township park with lake and the beach it is also located near the cemetery and backyard is behind NJ Transit tracks, which is all not a big deal for us.
Another issue is it has wetlands easement restrictions on the property which would not allow us to build any additional structures on it(no pool, no shed). The house already has big patio on the side already though.
Now my questions is even though we like this house a lot and made an offer on it, our friends who are a homeowners already tells us with all these factors we will have hard time to sell it in the future.
Would that be the case?
Thank you in advance for the suggestions.
Non-issue. In fact, I think it's pretty cool. The bright side - you will never need to make a noise complaint against those neighbors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by danamer
backyard is behind NJ Transit tracks
At first glance, this is concerning because of noise. I'm unfamiliar with NJ transit schedules, so if the train runs infrequently or is on a limited (commuting) schedule that would lessen my concern.
Additionally, safety for children. Is there a barrier between the property and the tracks to prevent a child from accessing them?
Quote:
Originally Posted by danamer
Another issue is it has wetlands easement restrictions on the property which would not allow us to build any additional structures on it(no pool, no shed)
Is the basement a walk-out that provides storage? Is there a garage that could be used for storing lawn equipment?
If the house itself has storage space, and an area to store lawn equipment out of the weather (and really, a lawnmower could be stored under a tarp) this would be a non-issue for me.
Editing to add: Just saw you posted the link. For me, this house provides plenty of storage since it has a two-bay garage, presumably an unfinished basement since there are no photos and it does appear to be a walk-out with a door on the side, and you could even store your lawn equipment under a tarp, under the back deck if needed.
So my primary concern would be noise from the train.
Non-issue. In fact, I think it's pretty cool. The bright side - you will never need to make a noise complaint against those neighbors.
At first glance, this is concerning because of noise. I'm unfamiliar with NJ transit schedules, so if the train runs infrequently or is on a limited (commuting) schedule that would lessen my concern.
Additionally, safety for children. Is there a barrier between the property and the tracks to prevent a child from accessing them?
Is the basement a walk-out that provides storage? Is there a garage that could be used for storing lawn equipment?
If the house itself has storage space, and an area to store lawn equipment out of the weather (and really, a lawnmower could be stored under a tarp) this would be a non-issue for me.
Editing to add: Just saw you posted the link. For me, this house provides plenty of storage since it has a two-bay garage, presumably an unfinished basement since there are no photos and it does appear to be a walk-out with a door on the side, and you could even store your lawn equipment under a tarp, under the back deck if needed.
So my primary concern would be noise from the train.
OP, how long do you intend to live in this house?
Thank you.
Train is not that frequent it's only one track, i think in noon it's once in a few hours, morning and evening every half hour.
Basement is unfinished but it's big and can be finished and it's a walk out basement, garage is big for 2 cars. We plan to stay until our son graduates school he is in 3d grade now, so around 10 years.
No fence in front of tracks but kids are quite big now, 14 and 10.
Your driveway is right at the entrance of the cemetery. Is it a historic cemetery, or are there still burials happening there? Because if so, you will could have funeral traffic going in and out fairly regularly. But if it doesn't bother you, there are much worse things you could live next to.
If you don't need to add on, the conservation easement should not be a problem. I would have your inspector double-check the drainage of water on the lot.
Your driveway is right at the entrance of the cemetery. Is it a historic cemetery, or are there still burials happening there? Because if so, you will could have funeral traffic going in and out fairly regularly. But if it doesn't bother you, there are much worse things you could live next to.
If you don't need to add on, the conservation easement should not be a problem. I would have your inspector double-check the drainage of water on the lot.
It is an active cemetery, but it's a small town, we are ok with some traffic occasionally.
The cemetery wouldn't bother me at all. It's just quiet space and seems to have a small green belt between it and the house. These places are usually well maintained.
The house already has a porch, deck and huge patio. No need to add any more of these. The basement/ garage will give you storage for lawn equipment. Or you could always buy a Rubbermaid plastic shed if you need more storage for lawn stuff and try to fit under the rear deck or next to the house. It's a non permanent structure.
The train tracks are totally a personal opinion. There are other homes on both sides of the tracks so others have chosen to live there too. You seem to be familiar with the train frequency so if it doesn't bother you then it will not bother a number of other buyers also.
Last edited by willow wind; 05-11-2017 at 08:59 AM..
Elm Street ,cemetery and train tracks.
That's quite a combo.
Overall its up to you,the circumstances might put off some people in the future(especially the ones that watch a lot of Horror movies)
but its a very nice house and judging from the maps online,a nice area.
Personal opinion only but to me the biggest issue is the utter lack of curb appeal. I kept looking at it thinking there must be another photo coming of the front of the house but there wasn't one.
And that's the reality, it all boils down to personal opinion. If the house suits you and you like it, and if it's a good price for the area, then it may ne a good house for you to buy. As for whether others will be interested when the time comes to sell? There's no such thing as an objectively perfect house, but sure, there are several factors that will cause some potential buyers to cross it off their list. Something I noticed was baseboard heating so presumably no ductwork and no central air. That would be an absolute dealbreaker for me. But you only need one buyer and chances are it will appeal to someone.
I would want to find out how many days its been on the market and how that compares to the norm for comparable homes in the area. If houses are selling in 10 days and this one has been listed for 3 months, then I'd worry that it's too limited of a potential pool of buyers, for whatever combination of reasons.
Personal opinion only but to me the biggest issue is the utter lack of curb appeal. I kept looking at it thinking there must be another photo coming of the front of the house but there wasn't one.
And that's the reality, it all boils down to personal opinion. If the house suits you and you like it, and if it's a good price for the area, then it may ne a good house for you to buy. As for whether others will be interested when the time comes to sell? There's no such thing as an objectively perfect house, but sure, there are several factors that will cause some potential buyers to cross it off their list. Something I noticed was baseboard heating so presumably no ductwork and no central air. That would be an absolute dealbreaker for me. But you only need one buyer and chances are it will appeal to someone.
I would want to find out how many days its been on the market and how that compares to the norm for comparable homes in the area. If houses are selling in 10 days and this one has been listed for 3 months, then I'd worry that it's too limited of a potential pool of buyers, for whatever combination of reasons.
Yes, you are right, no central air, but seller came down on the price for 20,000 because of that fact, not sure the it will cover installation of it but i think it's reasonable.
We do like the house though, it fits our needs, the only concern is that our friends say that we won't be able to sell it.
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