New home purchase - house backs onto road

[Fobulous]

My wife and I are thinking of putting an offer on a new home down here in Houston. The home is in a great neighborhood with good schools but the only downfall is that the house itself backs onto a busy road. The road is only 2 lanes and has no public transit route planned on it but there can be some traffic on it. The house does have a 8 ft brick fence and also has about 50 ft of green space between the fence and the road.

The house is priced really well so we are thinking of putting an offer on the home but I am somewhat concerned with the fact that it is backing onto a road.

Does anyone have a home on a similar busy road? Any thoughts on how it has worked out for you? Any realtors that can provide some feedback on how resales usually go when homes back onto roads?

Thanks in advance!

-FoB

[Rerun]

My advice is look somewhere else. I once lived on a fairly busy residential street and the traffic noise was extremely annoying.... particularly when you're trying to sleep with the windows open.

Now I live on a cul-de-sac. Its heaven!

Edit: Forget what I just said. Didn't read the whole post. You should be fine with the fence and 50 ft of green space..

[4X4]

Depends how good you are at adapting. I went from living on a quiet street in Southwood to living in an apartment that overlooked one of the busiest downtown roads in Rome. Honking, honking, more honking, ambulances galore because the hospital was just down the street, police sirens, drunk people, more honking... And you can't keep your windows closed when you have no AC. And I learned to sleep through that. Alcohol may have helped though. /coolstorybro

[Fobulous]

Originally Posted by fotze

Post the link do we can marvel at how much house you get in Houston.

I don't have a link since it is a new build but it's crazy how much house you can buy here compared to Calgary. This place is 3500 sq ft with all the upgrades you can imagine for just over $300k.

[Sylvanfan]

Well keep in mind that real estate is not a liquid asset. If location is a red flag on the property, chances are you'll have to offer the place at a discount yourself if you are in a position that you want to sell it later on.

3500 square feet...that's a lot of space. I don't know your life situation, but if it's a significant upgrade from what you're currently getting by with, chances are you'll end up buying a bunch of stuff to fill it up. Also, think of the air conditioning bill!!

[Northendzone]

Seems like a very large house to me, but that being said, I am assuming all the houses in the neighborhood are of that size.

My thought, would be look for something smaller in the area. As an aside, the 8 foot bRick fence, while nice, would make the back yard seem like jail to me.

[You Need a Thneed]

I personally wouldn't have any problem with the noise at that house, it shouldn't be a problem.

[Rathji]

I live on a culdesac that backs onto 22x. I never notice the sound. I am pretty sure that it is more than 50ft though but the sound wall you have is pretty much duplicated by the berm here

I would consider it in your offer but wouldn't turn down an otherwise suitable property bases on it.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by fotze

Post the link do we can marvel at how much house you get in Houston.

Keep in mind that In the states they consider much further out to be part of the city than here.

Just take Washington DC, people there live in other states and say I live in Washington. Really they would be living in Airdrie or even Red Deer comparitivly.

Not sure if the poster lives in Houston proper. Regardless Calgary is atypical in that a city of its size would be several cities made into one. Giving a unintentional mislead on real estate prices.

[GoFlamesGo89]

We just moved to the states where the market is soft and looking at the houses for sale here I wouldnt do it unless you're planning to stay there long enough to sell with the possibility to deeply discount.. In this kind of market properties that have a red flag like this take a really long time to sell even at low price.

An example-- we looked at one house similar to what you're talking about-- big house, far from street, many upgrades etc. it started near 700k, and has now dropped to below 500k. We live in a highly desirable area with a top school district, and anything on a quiet street sells quickly. Pretty much anything on the market is on a busy street or train line.

Even though you might be able to live with it, the busy street will be an issue unless the market picks up in my opinion. I was pretty keen to put an offer in on that house I described when it was in the mid 500s, but my wife wisely warned me against it. In the end we found a great house on a quiet street for a lot less, so I think if you have some time it's worth waiting.

[Old Yeller]

I used to live close to Deerfoot and even with the giant sound wall the traffic noise was continuous... it got so I didn't even notice it.

Then I moved far far away from Deerfoot (for other reasons that had nothing to do with traffic noise) and it seriously took me a while to get used to the quiet.

My point is, as long as semi-trailers aren't driving directly through your backyard, you'll adapt.

[Table 5]

Keep in ming that if it's an issue you notice, so will others. And if it's something you will get a better price for now, you will also have to discount for when you go sell.

Having said that, it doesn't seem like that terrible of a situation. When you're in your backyard, can you relax? If not, I'd skip it. If it's only barely noticeable, Id consider it.

If you do buy it, the first thing I would is start planting trees. Not only do they look awesome (new neighborhoods are always bald-ass ugly), but they are great for sound insulation too.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

I used to live close to Deerfoot and even with the giant sound wall the traffic noise was continuous... it got so I didn't even notice it.

Back when I was a kid we used to live right by Deerfoot, about 200 feet from the train tracks, and right underneath the airport landing zone (you could see the airport/tower from our house). It took a couple of months, but it was barely noticeable after that. It was far from ideal, but your ears adapt.

[Ice]

Put a water feature in your backyard. Even a fountain from Home Depot will work. The sound of the water blends with the sound of the traffic and you'll just hear running water. If you have dual pane windows you shouldn't be bothered by traffic noises inside. You have enough distance from the road that with a couple of easy fixes, you shouldn't have any problems with noise.

[ricosuave]

In Houston, you'll never have an open window
Lol

[Mike Vernon]

Which part of Houston or area?

[Coys1882]

Our old house in Copperfield backed onto McIvor Road and it fataing sucked!! We moved because of it and will never take lot location that lightly again.

[Buff]

I just recently moved and we looked at about 40 houses here in Lethbridge. Two of them I distinctly remember because they backed onto a busy road. They don't have an 8ft high brick fence but the houses were both far from the busy road. However, they both had that constant noise of busy traffic and at one place we had a hard time hearing each other when we were on the back deck. That can get annoying when you're trying to entertain people, or have small kids and trying to call them into the house, etc. Not to mention sleeping with a window open for fresh air. If you have time to go get a 2nd look at the house, sit on the deck and chat and see how the noise of traffic affects your conversation.

[Sr. Mints]

I totally thought this thread was about purchasing a motor home.

. . . And if that were the case, I'd have equally as little to contribute.

[nfotiu]

I I

Originally Posted by OldDutch

Keep in mind that In the states they consider much further out to be part of the city than here.

Just take Washington DC, people there live in other states and say I live in Washington. Really they would be living in Airdrie or even Red Deer comparitivly.

Not sure if the poster lives in Houston proper. Regardless Calgary is atypical in that a city of its size would be several cities made into one. Giving a unintentional mislead on real estate prices.

That doesn't make much sense. You can live in Virginia or Maryland and be a 5 minute walk to downtown Washington.

I live about as far as red deer from dc, and I can definitely tell you no one says they live in dc.

If anything Calgary can be a bit misleading, because you can live in Calgary, bit still be an hour from downtown.

House prices are definitely way cheaper than Calgary where I live by at least half. And it is a city of a million people with a fairly strong economy.