Road behind house or not???

[angel222]

Hi Everyone......I hope I'm posting this in the right forum. I have found my dream house in the Village of Hadley (of course my place in NY is not yet officially sold so I might lose my dream place but I'm choosing to think positively). The lanai is facing the road as the backyard (Odell Circle). I was there today and watched all sorts of cars and golf carts drive by in addition to a few bike riders. I actually thought it was fun to watch but I would like to ask for opinions from all of you. Does anyone have a bad experience having a road behind you?? :shrug: The lanai's seem so close in this particular area when they're back to back but the road is definitely different. Any info you could share would be appreciated. Please keep your fingers crossed I can get this home!
Charlene

[Fourpar]

After staying in a cottage (Lifestyle Visit) that backed up to a road & cart path, we decided we did not need the noise of either one. Our master bedroom is at the back of the house and I can't imagine living on O'Dell & cart path. Do you know what time the "parade" starts in the morning, every morning? About 5:30AM...Think about it!:shrug:

[redwitch]

I'm with fourpar. If you can possibly avoid it, I would not live with the back of the house facing one of the major streets. You do get used to the traffic noise and lights but why do it if you don't have to?

[Mallory]

We back onto O'Dell near the Mallory gate and are very happy. We have put in landscaping to filter some of the traffic noise, etc. but it's fun to have friends stop in when the walk by, shout out when they drive by, etc. We've met numerous new friends who were just walking by and stopped in to chat. Not to mention that we prefer this to backing up to someone's lanai. We'll take the busy street any time. You should also know that we backed up to a busy street up north also so we've gotten used to it over the years.

PM me if you would like to stop over. We're always looking for new Villages friends.

[samhass]

I think they give you little extras in the homes that back onto roads because in terms of resale, a home backing on to a main road may not appreciate as much as one in another location. Worse yet IMHO would be a location where car headlights would shine into your home at night. I would never buy a home backing onto another road...but that's why they make chocolate and vanilla.
You may enjoy the hustle and bustle of people coming and going while someone else may need quiet and privacy.

[l2ridehd]

I have tracked property values and what impacts them for the past 3 years. I can tell you with a lot of data to back it up that homes that back to streets, homes under or close to the power lines and homes that abut retail space do not sell as well as ones that don't. Now 20 people will come back with an exception to that and I am sure there are some, but I have data on over 800 homes now and those stay on the market longer and sell for less. Sometimes by a significant amount. Have seen some that finally sell for as much as 30% less. I am sure there are some pro's to living on a street vs backing up to others, but a market assessment will not support it from a value perspective. Some streets are worse then others. I would not want to back to Morse, Buena Vista or a few others. Backing to a traffic circle I would think would also be an issue. Traffic is only going to get greater, not less. You should get more home for the $$$, just make sure you understand you will also have the negative impact of the sale by an equal or greater amount. And you will have the impact of the noise, lights and people while your there.

[CTgolfer]

We too saw the house of our dreams that backed up to Bonita Blvd. The road backs up to the lanai and the master bedroom. It was our major decision in not buying the house. You can do better. Don't rush. We found a pre-owned house in Sunset Pointe that has everything we want and with many upgrades. We will be closing mid-February and can't wait.

[novelchick]

well first congratulations on your decision to move here!! Your house decision will be difficult. For us it was easy but i understand some people want a road because there is no other lanai facing them. But then you have the noise of cars, etc.. and also my personal feeling is your more prone to be broken into then someone who faces another lanai. we are in between homes, a lanai behind us but we pushed out, added a pool, and i'll tell you best thing we ever did. It's so quiet out there i love it. no one even sits outside on lanai except us and i love the quiet so i can sit out there and read a book and just listen to waterfall. i also feel very safe being the homes are close. it's a personal preference. Only you can make the decision but Good Luck. Where are you coming from in NY??

[CJ]

We looked at many houses, one included a backyard to a street. Actually the realtor said it should be quieter as it was an entrance to a section so they would have to stop to show cards.

Maybe I am too sensitive...but when I opened the door to the lanai and heard the many cars and bikes passing, I felt like I was living IN THE STREET!
I couldn't breath. We decided to buy on a golf course and picked a quieter site. So glad we will have privacy and quieter environment when we sit on our lanai.

Keep looking...TV has tons of other possibilities. You don't need this on the long term
Good luck!

[angel222]

Thanks everyone so much...your responses have really given me insight. You're right that there are other houses and one will be for me. I like the Village of Hadley but I'm sure wherever I land it will be beautiful since it will be part of TV. I'm really going to give this some more thought - especially since the real estate agent said the street would probably ADD to a resale price if I ever wanted to sell (salesman talk I guess). They really don't give you much time to think things over so I relied on all the wonderful people on this site to help me - Thanks again, Charlene

[samhass]

I wish you would post the agents name so others would be forewarned about this person. He/she sounds either deceitful or ignorant about real estate.

[mom2five]

When we were shopping for a house in TV we were told the same thing. In fact the houses that backed onto roads did seem to have a higher list price. I think this is a matter of personal taste and although it did not appeal to me many would agree with that agent.

[samhass]

I think they tend to put more pools, hot tubs, expanded lanais, something
to increase the curb appeal. The goodies may offset the negatives to some buyers. Again, personal preference reigns.

[Russ_Boston]

Yes but there seems to be a big difference between backing up to a neighborhood road and one of the major (Morse, BV etc.) or semi-major (Canal, Bonita etc.).

I can see how having the lanai/birdcage on a quiet interior neighborhood street would be more desirous than back to back lanais but not being on Morse or BV.

[ConeyIsBabe]

I know it's just me, but I'm security-conscious from having worked in a law enforcement environment 18 years; therefore, I personally would not want a busy road close to my lanai.

Whatever happened to that old real-estate 3-rule saying: location, location, location ? IMHO a noisy road that close is not a desirable location :yuck: With so much inventory to choose from, there must be something better.

[rshoffer]

Hi Everyone......I hope I'm posting this in the right forum. I have found my dream house in the Village of Hadley (of course my place in NY is not yet officially sold so I might lose my dream place but I'm choosing to think positively). The lanai is facing the road as the backyard (Odell Circle). I was there today and watched all sorts of cars and golf carts drive by in addition to a few bike riders. I actually thought it was fun to watch but I would like to ask for opinions from all of you. Does anyone have a bad experience having a road behind you?? :shrug: The lanai's seem so close in this particular area when they're back to back but the road is definitely different. Any info you could share would be appreciated. Please keep your fingers crossed I can get this home!
CharleneI just came back from a long walk tonite on Odell.... if you live on the road you better have your blinds close tight. I would never live on the road.

[Barefoot]

If you're used to living in a busy area with a lot of road noise, you may find it OK to back on a busy road.

Otherwise, I'd avoid it like the plague.

[MelZ]

MY CVY backs on Odell but I have alovely 6' wall between my lanai and the street. If I didn't have the wall I would make sure that my landscaping gave me privacy.

[SteveFromNY]

I have 2 comments here:
First, if you are even asking the question, chances are you should find a spot not on a road. If you are uncertain, and you decide to go ahead, you are very likely to regret it later. First motorcycle with loud pipes will likely make you change your mind, and say "We should have gone elsewhere". If you're not enthusiastically looking forward to the spot near the road, don't go there.
Second, if for some reason you do decide to go ahead and buy on a road, try to find a spot where the cars can't come into the house too easily! It may sound crazy, but in NY we had a car that sped up our street (a quiet street that became busy over the 25 years we lived there), took out a utility pole, crashed into a tree, spun around and landed on our lawn, 10' from the porch on fire! Nothing happened to the house, but it made me really paranoid about the possibility.
When I saw some to the new homes backing up onto Odell with a large drop into the yard (the roof is about the same height as the road) all I could think of was a car coming across the road, over the wall and into the roof of the house!
Scary to me!
After living for 25 years on what became a busy street we initially had trouble sleeping in our Village home as it was too quiet. That wore off quick!

[SABRMnLgs]

There are about 4-5 reasons why we decided on the house we wanted. Our old home in Oviedo was on a cul-de-sac (signs all over telling peope it was a dead end). The street leading to our street was also a dead end. What I miss the most, our 8 ft privacy fence, we had no nosey neighbors, did I mention the cul-de-sac? Our master bed room was also at the back of the house. Also our lanai was in the back of the house, so we could sit out any time of day or night in our "next-to-nothings" and have coffee, watch TV or just sit and chat. Basically, we were out of contact with other life forms of all shapes and sizes. Oh and we lived on a cul-de-sac.
It was simple when we moved. We wanted a house on a cul-de-sac with the street leading to our street also a dead end. A lanai and master bedroom in the back of the house, 8 ft privacy fence and no nosey neighbors. It took awhile but after 3 moves we got almost what we wanted.
Unfortunately we had to give up the fence (darn) but since the neighbors keep very much to themselves, it's not all that bad. We do have to put on something when we have coffee (darn again) but 80% is not bad when you are expecting less. Oh, and we live on a cul-de-sac.

I guess if you were or are a 9 to 5er it dosen't matter. But when you get sick or hurt and go the a hospital or wherever at 3 in the morning, the people who are there to assist you need also need a place to sleep, just not the same time as you. Hence the reason for the hermit lifestyle for the past 40+ years. Wouldn't live any other way.

[Donna]

Angel,

We are in Hadley, across from the Havana CC..I love it there, but I love the traffic..Guess it brings me back to the city with all the cars, and peeps walking by..

Once the clock strikes 9..everyone goes back to their PODS!! The road is extremely quiet except for a few cars now and then..

Did you buy the house?? Best of luck to you...

[Advogado]

As long as there are noisy gas golf carts in The Villages, I would not want a house backing up to a cart path or to a main road, but probably a lot of people would not care.