Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thanks again everyone. I'm a little less scared now. It's good to hear this because I can't visit the area again until next week. To answer one of the questions, I think there are about 5 houses on each block, with each house having 1/4 to 1/2 acre each. The 3 houses are all near each other-- the 1 I like is about 50 yards from the other 2 across the street. The area is pretty quiet, with a small shopping town being built a few blocks away. The more I think of it, maybe these people are trying to get away from this new shopping town... which I don't understand completely because it is actually the reason why I like it! To each his own, I suppose.
If I do consider this place, I'll make sure inspection looks into whether or not the house has "good bones". If it does, then all the better for me. Heck, I might as well check out all 3. I believe they are all in the same price range.
I could be just a coincidence. But I recommend you check and check again. Years ago, I purchased a home in Utah across the street from a lovely corn field. Several homes on the street were for sale and I asked my realtor multiple times if there was any development planned for the area. Each time, I was told NO.
I bought the home and a couple months later they began construction on an apartment complex, park, and widened the street. Stupid me!
i'm not sure about your town, but in my town, i can call up the local police (not using 911!) and ask if there have been any police reports if i give them the actual address, e.g. i will give him 1000 1st st, and he can look up the records between 400-1500 1st st for the past year to see what kind of reports they have. there was one house that had 35 pages of reports...
One other possibility. My neighborhood is older (built late 50s) and most of the people here have lived here for many, many years.(Great neighborhood, great neighbors, extremely convenient location, very low turnover). Now, we're all aging. Several of the neighbors have lost one partner, or had one go into a nursing home. Several homes have come on the market because the surviving owner is moving to be closer to children or whatever. I;ve seen it happen in other areas as well.
I just want to say that all your posts have helped to calm my fears. I can now see why people would sell around the same time. I now think it is the small shopping area being built a couple of blocks away that is driving people away. To me, this was actually a positive element, but I can understand why people who've lived there for years would find this negative. It looks like they are building little coffee shops and boutiques... not a mall though.
My husband and I tried to imagine those living in that neighborhood for 10+ years, enjoying the quiet town, then worrying about what a new shopping area would bring: traffic, noise, and people from other areas coming into the neighborhood day into night. For us, we would love to have a shopping area within walking distance, so we didn't give it much thought. As another perspective, a friend of ours just told us he is selling his house because they are building a mall nearby. A short cut to the mall is on his street!
I will still do as suggested here though... visiting and asking people in the area, calling the police, and perhaps calling the township again to see what the plans are for the area, not just the house.
I just want to say that all your posts have helped to calm my fears. I can now see why people would sell around the same time. I now think it is the small shopping area being built a couple of blocks away that is driving people away. To me, this was actually a positive element, but I can understand why people who've lived there for years would find this negative. It looks like they are building little coffee shops and boutiques... not a mall though.
My husband and I tried to imagine those living in that neighborhood for 10+ years, enjoying the quiet town, then worrying about what a new shopping area would bring: traffic, noise, and people from other areas coming into the neighborhood day into night. For us, we would love to have a shopping area within walking distance, so we didn't give it much thought. As another perspective, a friend of ours just told us he is selling his house because they are building a mall nearby. A short cut to the mall is on his street!
I will still do as suggested here though... visiting and asking people in the area, calling the police, and perhaps calling the township again to see what the plans are for the area, not just the house.
Thanks again!!!
6 houses at one time raises red flags for me. Try to find out who moved into the last house that was sold on the block. Are they a source of contention on the block? Check the property assessor's office. Is a new assessment being done which will raise property taxes exponentially?
I would not just rely on the word of the realtor. His/her job is to sell the house for the SELLER.
We have the same situation in our neighborhood. Dead end street of about 18 houses, 7 were for sale/sold in the last year. 2 of those homes had been vacant for 5+ years and the rest were occupied. I am thinking that the current housing bubble is a great influence. I too have considered selling, raking in the cash (my home value has increased by 60% after owning for only 6 years) and buying something bigger. The equity would enable me to buy bigger after dropping a nice down payment thus an affordable decent mortgage on larger/nicer home. There are no other factors like developments/traffic/etc that have influenced our area. As a previous poster mentioned, ask around. There is ALWAYS someone on the block who loves to talk and knows EVERYONE'S business
Hopefully, to protect yourself, you have hired a buyers agent, (real estate specialist) who will be looking out for your best interest in this huge lifetime investment.
If you have one, ask that person what is going on. If they say they don't know, ask them to find out.
Generally, agents know exactly what is going on, and usually employment, marital status, schools, retirement or development top the list of reasons clients move.
One neighbor where I lived, sold their home after owning it for one and a half years and made close to 100K in profit. That year on my street alone, in a subdivision with about 300 homes, over a fourth turned hands. By year four, more than half in the neighborhood had new owners. It was market driven. People were selling and moving down the street to get a bigger house for their growing families. This is how people create wealth through real estate.
Luckyducky, what ever happened? Did you move to the neighborhood or ask someone?
I've always thought that families with children tend to look for the same neighborhood and once the kids are grown, they sell and look for a smaller place with lower taxes.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
