Would you consider buying a house... ODD UPDATE #39

[WatchingThemGrow]

at the intersection of another street? There is a street that drives straight toward a house that may be of interest to us. The headlights may go into the living room, but I'm not sure because the windows are not super-low. It's a 4BR ranch, maybe 3.5 BA, 1car detached garage, 2140 sf, and in the neighborhood we want to move to.

Our priorities are:
more convenient side of town (yes)
4BR - (yes)
ability to walk to school (yes)
ability to walk to pool (yes)
playable yard (front yes, back maybe....but not very big)
playable street ( a couple houses up, yes, but not right in front of the house)
a guest space on the main floor (yes)
other families with same age kids in the area (yes! our good friends live diagonally from this place)

It is one of the more plain/older homes before they become a little bit nicer/bigger with better lots. But...those seem to never go up for sale (like we've been looking for 3 years) and they may be out of our price range. So, I guess it comes down to - a more affordable home without a touch more traffic vs. waiting longer for something that may stretch us more financially but be on a slightly more playable street. (There aren't many cul-de-sacs, and houses on those seem to NEVER turn over.) Oh, it was built in 1965 vs the next few on the street were built in 1970+. It is right on the dividing line of the old neighborhood vs. the older/uglier part of the neighborhood. Thoughts?

eta: The house is set back from the street, situated on the back part of the lot with some landscaping. I'm not sure if there is a formal LR at the front of the house with more of the common areas toward the back of the house, but that's how the other (newer) houses on the street are set up.

[mezzona]

probably not. it would give me a constant feeling of anxiety, seeing a car come towards my house.

[bnme]

It really depends. How busy is the street? Is it head on, or is the house on a slight angel (this could make a big difference in the lights). My gut would say "no", but I would really consider and look into all factors if I really liked the house.

[Kindra178]

I certainly would. It's really hard finding EVERYTHING you want, and it seems like this has everything you want. If the front yard is plenty big, and you have nearby neighbors with kids you like, that's an added bonus. Having a good friend as a neighbor is HUGE. Is the street very busy? An intermittent car passing by won't be such a burden, especially if you put the right kind of shades/shutters/window treatments.

[TwinFoxes]

No. Headlights alone would drive me bonkers. And I'm not especially paranoid, but I'd have visions of drunk drivers dancing in my head.

[WolfpackMom]

Well, knowing how long you have been looking and how hard it is in that particular area to find a home with all of the features you want at the right price point, I would seriously consider the house as a viable option!

[fivi2]

No. Headlights alone would drive me bonkers. And I'm not especially paranoid, but I'd have visions of drunk drivers dancing in my head.

I'd be less woried about headlights than about someone driving into my living room! But if there is a tree or something blocking it, or it isn't straight on, I'd consider it.

eta: I will also say that a playable backyard is important to me. We do play in the front, but I'd never leave them alone out there even for a minute (for now). But with the fenced backyard, I am okay running in and out. ymmv!

[BabbyO]

No. Headlights alone would drive me bonkers. And I'm not especially paranoid, but I'd have visions of drunk drivers dancing in my head.

I'd evaluate what your needs are and how busy the road is. If you can, talk to the current owners (or neighbors) regarding lights and road traffic.

I did construction in an intersection like you are describing. The homeowner at the "T" in the road told me his house was hit 3 times by drunk drivers. He was being sued because he put a large rock in his yard to prevent cars from going into his living room. The 3rd time it happened the car hit the rock and the driver (drunk) was injured. The driver sued the guy because of the injuries caused by the rock. How dumb is that!

[AnnieW625]

I certainly would. It's really hard finding EVERYTHING you want, and it seems like this has everything you want. If the front yard is plenty big, and you have nearby neighbors with kids you like, that's an added bonus. Having a good friend as a neighbor is HUGE. Is the street very busy? An intermittent car passing by won't be such a burden, especially if you put the right kind of shades/shutters/window treatments.

:yeahthat: Not sure what the values are there, but here in CA corner lots sell for more.

[pomegranate]

No way. Besides the lights, it's very bad feng shui.

[HonoluluMom]

Maybe not.

As far as the headlights - Can you ask the former homeowner or the realtor if the lights go into the living room? Better yet, can you tour the house at night so you can see for yourself.

As far as cars heading to the house - I agree with PP it depends how large the yard is and if there are trees or anything else that would act as an effective barrier. If there isn't anything, you can perhaps put something in.

Otherwise, I'd consider it if it has everything I'm looking for.

[LMPC]

My first reaction was no, but then Wolfpackmom has a very valid point about your home searching....I like Honolulumom's suggestion of doing a night showing and seeing just how much of a pain the lights are going to be. It might turn out to be a non-issue once you see it for yourself.

[cckwmh]

No - I know 2 people who live at a T shaped intersection, so the houses are across from the stop sign. one is on a somewhat busy street and the other family is a tiny, tiny side street. Both have had drunk drivers go into their yards and hit their homes. The one on the busy street had a fence and the house was set back and the car hit the corner of the house - no real damage. the other home on the tiny street had a small front yard and the car went through the house into the basement playroom while their kids were playing (the drunk driving accident happened after lunch - middle of the day).

I know that this is not the norm, but it is enough to make me steer clear.

[rlu]

Where does the T street line up? We live at a T. If one were to forget to turn and went straight, they would crash into our cars in the driveway and then into our garage. We have lived there 6 years and no-one has yet (knocking on wood). On the other hand, the house where DH grew up was two houses down a T street and both his car and his folks motorhome (parked on the street) were sideswiped twice by people losing control after making the turn too quick.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Yep, I'd just buy some good window treatments.

Beth

[sste]

Can you landscape to block the cars and lights - - I am thinking some kind of evergreen hedge or cypress (?) tree set up??

[Percycat]

We have a house like this, kinda. The street in question is directly across from our driveway to our attached house. Most of the traffic on the street turns away from our house at the intersection; the living areas of our house are closer to two courts. The streets are interior subdivision streets and have most traffic in the morning and evening when people are going to and returning from work.

I seldom notice the cars. The front rooms of our house are the dining room and the music room (den?) and are not regularly used except during piano practice time.

It is not an ideal feature, but if everything else is great, it would not be a deal breaker.

One plus to our location is that the school bus stops at the intersection. My kids stay inside and wait in the foyer until the bus arrives. I sit at my dining room table and watch for the bus to arrive when it is time to meet them at the end of the day ---- very convenient.

angela

[Melanie]

I live in a house like this, I like not staring straight out at another house, but It's up a bit of a incline so the lights do not go straight into the house, rather just the front of the yard.

I think lights or the ability for a car to drive straight into the house would bother me. Sorry.

[mommylamb]

He was being sued because he put a large rock in his yard to prevent cars from going into his living room. The 3rd time it happened the car hit the rock and the driver (drunk) was injured. The driver sued the guy because of the injuries caused by the rock. How dumb is that!
:47:

I would still consider a house on a T. Friends of mine, who do not live at the intersection of a T ha a garbage truck hit their house, so it can happen regardless.

[mackmama]

I would definitely consider it. My main concern would be the noise level. Is there a streetlight or stop sign near the intersection? If so, you might hear cars start/stop. I would spend plenty of time in the home to just listen to the traffic noise to see if it bothers you. In terms of headlights shining into the house, would you all spend a lot of time in the LR? I'd ask the realtor if you could see the house at night and just spend some time in the LR to gut-check whether the lights will bother you. Finally - how busy is the intersection in terms of feeling safe re your kids playing nearby?

[infocrazy]

Personally, when we were looking DH didn't care but I wouldn't consider any houses who did. I don't like the lights, the need to keep the blinds closed or have people see right in, and the risk of a car in the yard.

For me, just the fact that so many people just in this thread wouldn't would make me think about resale.

[scriptkitten]

we owned a house like this in florida.

the neighborhood wasn't very busy, so it really wasn't a problem.. of course, the only room with windows that opened up to face the intersection was the living room, so its not like lights were coming in the bedroom.

we loved that house and miss it.

[WatchingThemGrow]

The house isn't listed yet, so the only agent is the one who has been showing us places for a few years, lol. She hasn't seen it or anything. We popped over after dinner (it's a mile away) and walked with our friends across the street, talked with the next door neighbor who has lived there since the early 80's.

The traffic tonight seemed light, but there were some cars here/there. My friend thought I was crazy to consider the T part of the street being an issue. It's at the back of the neighborhood and there's another way for the 20ish houses to get out, but this would be the most convenient way, probably. I did see a huge flat screen TV facing the road in the front room tonight. I'll have to check it out and keep these things in mind. We can go over at night and watch to see where headlights hit it. I can ask our community watch police if there have historically been drunk driver things there. We've had one here, so I know all about that. A guy flipped his XTerra into a utility pole in our side yard at 3am, then continued to live down the street as a full-time pedestrian for the next 3 years.

[Nyfeara]

We live in a house like this. The formal living room & dining room are in the front of the house & we never really notice the lights at all. We're usually in the family room or kitchen which are behind the front two rooms. We've been here for 8 yrs or so.

We checked with the local police to see how often, if at all, anyone had ever wound up in the front yard, they looked at us like we were nuts. Since we've been here, we have had people hit the curb between our house & the neighbor's during icy/slick weather. We have a pretty substantial curb out front so it provides a decent buffer too. The intersection is really used by locals and is busiest during rush hour. I'm not one for leaving all my blinds up at night anyway, so keeping them down at night is not an issue.

We were in a situation like you, we really liked the house and it had most of what we wanted compared to the 30+ others we had seen. We have a good size, usable backyard. One thing that definitely helps is that we do have a large driveway which is helpful if the road is somewhat busy. I would not want to back out into the road every day, but our neighbors do it without issue. I much prefer to have room in the driveway for guest parking, deliveries, service/utility trucks, etc.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Oh, yeah, the driveway is plenty long for our cars and our visitors. And the street itself is REALLY wide. Easily 4-5 cars wide. I'm going to go drive by right now, just to see, on my way to Target to pick up some swim trunks in the right size for DS1.

I think the road is really wide to one side of the house, not as wide on the other side. Maybe some cars park on the street on the "older" side of the street. Hmmm..

[KrisM]

I think if everything else was great, I'd do it.I hope the inside is wonderful for you!

[MMMommy]

A t-intersection house is a deal breaker for me. The lights flashing into the home and the possibility of a reckless driver careening into my living room would be unsettling to me.

[lil_acorn]

No, I would not buy that house. Aside from the lights, it's very bad feng shui.

[fauve01]

no we wouldn't have even looked inside a house in that T intersection situation.

[Tondi G]

any chance you could fence the yard and grow hedges to create more of a barrier and a more usable front yard that would be secure?

Hope the inside is what you are looking for!

[salsah]

nope, never. i wouldn't even bother going inside.

[citymama]

I think you need to figure this one for yourself. You know that, but I mean it seriously. I posted lots of "would you buy a house if..." questions on BBB and got lots of great, helpful feedback that I considered very seriously in each house decision. Fact is that I was the only one able to evaluate what living on a "busy main street" means in the town I'm now living in. I can see why people would abhor the idea, but one person's comfort level or idea of busy is different from another's. I think it's good to read all our responses, especially the BTDT ones. But most importantly, you need to spend time in this house/neighborhood, maybe even talk to people in the neighboring houses to find out more about what traffic is like on a daily/hourly basis. You need to figure out if you're going to be spending much of your time in that front room or actually more likely in the family room. Are you going to miss not having a bigger back yard? How infrequently do homes like this come on the market - and at this price?

We finally bought after almost 2 years of looking and it's not like the house we bought had 100% of everything we wanted, but it had the important ones, it worked with our budget (the upper end of it, unfortunately!), and we were willing to live with what it didn't have. Turns out, there are some pluses and minuses we didn't anticipate, but we're going to have to live with those as well! And I try not to look at the real estate listings any more and focus on making this home work for us.

[AnnieW625]

I think you need to figure this one for yourself. You know that, but I mean it seriously. I posted lots of "would you buy a house if..." questions on BBB and got lots of great, helpful feedback that I considered very seriously in each house decision. Fact is that I was the only one able to evaluate what living on a "busy main street" means in the town I'm now living in. I can see why people would abhor the idea, but one person's comfort level or idea of busy is different from another's. I think it's good to read all our responses, especially the BTDT ones. But most importantly, you need to spend time in this house/neighborhood, maybe even talk to people in the neighboring houses to find out more about what traffic is like on a daily/hourly basis. You need to figure out if you're going to be spending much of your time in that front room or actually more likely in the family room. Are you going to miss not having a bigger back yard? How infrequently do homes like this come on the market - and at this price?

We finally bought after almost 2 years of looking and it's not like the house we bought had 100% of everything we wanted, but it had the important ones, it worked with our budget (the upper end of it, unfortunately!), and we were willing to live with what it didn't have. Turns out, there are some pluses and minuses we didn't anticipate, but we're going to have to live with those as well! And I try not to look at the real estate listings any more and focus on making this home work for us.

I couldn't have said that any better myself. We looked for a while too first on one income where we could've bought a small 2 bed. condo, and then again with two incomes and while sometimes I think we rushed our decision a bit, we have been happy homeowners. I would've loved to have known someone on our street and I wish there were more kids, but sometimes I am just happy that the six home owners in my part of the block all watch out for each other (even my neighbors next door that park their cars on their lawn way too much:shake:). As long as you have a good relationship with your friends on the same block it seems like a no brainer to me as long as you like the house and it's within your budget.

[DebbieJ]

We lived at a T intersection before. It was not a problem.

[citymama]

I couldn't have said that any better myself. We looked for a while too first on one income where we could've bought a small 2 bed. condo, and then again with two incomes and while sometimes I think we rushed our decision a bit, we have been happy homeowners. I would've loved to have known someone on our street and I wish there were more kids, but sometimes I am just happy that the six home owners in my part of the block all watch out for each other (even my neighbors next door that park their cars on their lawn way too much:shake:). As long as you have a good relationship with your friends on the same block it seems like a no brainer to me as long as you like the house and it's within your budget.

That's a wonderful way at looking at things. I hope we are as fortunate as you are in terms of neighbors - they can make such a huge difference in one's happiness with a house. I miss my old neighbors - for a big city, it felt like we were in the bar at Cheers, living on the busy block where everybody knew our names and watched out for our kids!

[WatchingThemGrow]

Those are great points, citymama and anniew :) I would definitely feel love from the neighbors as there are at least 5-6 houses of people I've known for over 10 years living on the next street. The immediate next door neighbors (who told me about the place) have walked past our house daily and stopped to chat here and there each time I've been outside with a baby over the past 5 years. They're lovely. Former co-workers, single-girl party friends, friends' moms, MIL's friends, even my grad school professors would be turning in front of this house, lol. I'll go look up the number and call the owners today. It isn't on the MLS and may not actually ever be. Houses there usually turn over before they even get listed.

Oh, and there are some huge trees in the front yard, like 5 of them! I guess we could plant some bushes too that would make it a barrier...if we liked the inside.

[tribe pride]

Those are great points, citymama and anniew :) I would definitely feel love from the neighbors as there are at least 5-6 houses of people I've known for over 10 years living on the next street. The immediate next door neighbors (who told me about the place) have walked past our house daily and stopped to chat here and there each time I've been outside with a baby over the past 5 years. They're lovely. Former co-workers, single-girl party friends, friends' moms, MIL's friends, even my grad school professors would be turning in front of this house, lol. I'll go look up the number and call the owners today. It isn't on the MLS and may not actually ever be. Houses there usually turn over before they even get listed.

Oh, and there are some huge trees in the front yard, like 5 of them! I guess we could plant some bushes too that would make it a barrier...if we liked the inside.


This right here would make me jump at the chance to live in this house (assuming there are no major issues with it on the inside). For me, having good community close by is HUGE! I've lived in places with great community, and I think it can truly make up for a lot of other drawbacks to an area/house. Having friends living diagonally from this house, liking the next door neighbors, and having other acquaintances living the next street over within walking distance would be fabulous. Seriously, I think you and your family would love it. We have very little community where we live now, and it is one of the hardest things for me to deal with about our neighborhood/city. If and when we move again, the opportunity to live in a more walkable neighborhood and to live near people with whom we can develop good friendships is at the top of my list of requirements. Like they say, the three most important things in buying a house: Location, location, location.

Living at a T intersection would not be a problem for me at all, particularly if living in this house offered so many other benefits.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I think it really sounds great. It's not right on the street, that wouldn't be ideal. Having friends in the neighborhood and being the neighborhood you want just sounds really hard to pass up!

Beth

[WatchingThemGrow]

Ok, so..............interesting turn of events these past few days.....

1. Great friend's mom who lives 5-6 houses away has a stroke and may not be coming back home to live by herself. I wanted to be her neighbor.
and (you won't believe this!)
2. Grad school professor has some kind of seizure, his wife/daughter call 911 to get assistance, and during treatment, he runs out of the house, jumps in the ambulance, tears through the neighborhood at a high speed, swipes/crashes into 5 cars, through yards, hits a fire truck, and crashes the ambulance at a the OPPOSITE END of the street from this house we were looking at. He gets out of the vehicle and runs into the woods, barefoot and bloody-faced. When officers get him, he's totally compliant, lucid, etc. He's currently in the hospital undergoing evaluation. Seriously, this is nuts. He's the nicest, most normal 40yo guy. I saw him a couple months ago buying birthday gifts with his kids at our toy store, then riding bikes with his kids. He did not go into the yard of the house we were considering, but straight through some others.

[roobee]

That's a crazy story! I like when the universe speaks so clearly though.

[Tondi G]

WOW... thats nuts! Hope your friends mom is alright and that the guy is ok too. yeah maybe it's the universe telling you this isn't the one!

[Fairy]

WOW... thats nuts! Hope your friends mom is alright and that the guy is ok too. yeah maybe it's the universe telling you this isn't the one!

I agree! Listen to the universe! Also, I would not buy a house located as you describe.

[Globetrotter]

That is freaky!

[MelissaTC]

I saw that story on the news about the ambulance-crazy! I hope he is ok.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Yeah, I'm still totally curious as to how this could have happened to him. He was one of my 8 or so people listening to see if any neighbors were planning on moving, and he gave me ideas recently about getting my license renewal thing completed. Just. so. weird!

[SnuggleBuggles]

The ambulance incident sounds like an episode of CSI! I hope all are ok. I dont know, I'm still ok with the house....sounds like life would never be dull. ;)

Beth

[pinkmomagain]

While I am not a religious person at all, I do believe in the universe "telling" us things...I think it was shouting this time.

On another note, hope everyone turns out all right.

[brittone2]

yikes! What a wild sequence of events.