Homes that back up to a street
 

I've just read the thread about homes with a water view. Buying a house that backs up to a street is a less expensive option to get rear privacy. Could those of you who have a home that backs up to a street share your experiences: car noise, ambulances, people walking by while you are on your lanai, and (my biggest concern) any increased incidence of break-ins.

I've noticed that the houses that back up to large streets like Morse have deeper back yards. So if your house backs up to one of the smaller roads, where the houses are closer to the road, how does that affect noise, break-ins, etc?

I tried to do a search for info on homes that back up to a street but didn't find a thread that specifically covered that. So if this has already been covered, I apologize.

Thanks.

Thanks for posting this. I will be interested in the answers as we had the same thoughts when we had out 7 day lifestyle visit.

I don't back up to a street, but I've made the following observation.

If it's a fairly busy street and there really isn't all that much "back" yard (I'm thinking especially Belvedere), almost everyone has enclosed their lanai with windows. I'd guess they got too tired of the constant traffic noise.

It was one of my criteria when I bought - stay away from the main drags.

SWR
:beer3:

Privacy!!!
 

I don't think so. Maybe it depends on the location but on Odell Circle the back yard shares a sidewalk. with constant foot traffic 30 feet from your lanai. And then there is the constant noise of lawn mowers going by...I mean gas powered golf carts. Add to all that the auto traffic, yikes. Not for me. We have friends that have one of those lots and they are constantly needing to clean the lanai from road grime too. It reminds me of the people that build really nice homes overlooking expressways. I don't understand.

When we were looking two years ago those were actually premium lots. Go figure.

You aren't facing someone's lanai....
 

One pays more for a lot that backs up to a street than for an interior lot and many people want the privacy in the back of their home.

Every time I drive down Odell from the square, I marvel at how many people don't pull their blinds at night.

Not that I have ever seen anything...........interesting.;)

I really have never thought of a lot facing the street as a safety issue. You can't park on the street...

We do back up to O'Dell, our lanai is screened but not closed, we have a fairly good sized backyard although not huge, and do have a sidwalk at the edge of our property. We love to sit out on the lanai and even sometimes in the backyard and couldn't be happier with the location. A little landscaping helps deflect some of the line of sight traffic and noise but it's really been no problem.

As for the carts and walkers, many of our walking friends stop in to chat and the cart drivers often give us a friendly "hello" with their horn. Frankly, we'd be concerned if we weren't getting the friendly greetings. Ambulances and fire trucks are a concern but more because it means some of our friends and fellow Villagers may be in trouble.

We told our sales rep (Ron Delk, who is the best as I've noted in other threads) that we wanted privacy in the back and he found it for us. We knew the area and bought the house based on his digital pictures and, yes, there was a premium on this lot at the time. He made us completely aware that O'Dell was behind us and the potential for traffic, walkers, carts, etc. As I said previously, it hasn't been a problem.

Sorry but you can't have our place. We're here 'til we croak.

I guess everyone is different. Personally, I wouldn't like people looking in my windows from the street, and the sound of traffic and golf carts would be pretty annoying.

Sorry
 

I made that reference to expressway homes. Living anywhere in the TV is far from living along an x-way. I am sure it is pleasant to talk and interface with the foot traffic along your lanai after all this is Floridas Friendliest Home Town.

I still don't thnk I could tolerate those stinkin noisey gas carts. Maybe we should start a thread to outlaw gas carts!! Duck!!

Same here. We'd prefer more privacy and quiet and would be willing to pay a resonable premium for it.

Rented a home on Bailey Trl last May. We did that for the explicit reason of testing out a street lanai. It was directly across the street from the 1st/2nd hole on Cane. Beautiful view BUT way too noisy. And May is an OFF season. We couldn't even really watch a movie on the TV when we wanted to. During the day was OK but still there was a tremendous amount of foot traffic which provided no privacy either.

The first year we rented we had an interior lot with a 'kissing lanai'. NO GOOD.

Then we had the street lanai. NO GOOD.

This year we have a villa on a golf course. We are hoping this will help us make our decision.

Good luck with yours.

Our home backs up to a street, Rio Grand. I was a little concerned at 1st but now enjoy it, You do see all kinds of folks driving there carts and cars but believe it or not its enjoyable, If we don't want to see then we close our curtains. Some of our neighbors plant hedges, The best thing is that you are not looking into a back yard or lanai of your neighbor at all. If you want an addition there is no problem at all either because you have plenty of land to add one. And the best thing is that you can't hear your back door neighbor talking to his or her company and no body can hear you. We have been here for going on eight years now and love it here in our location Also you cant smell the gas from any vehicles at all


Thanks.[/QUOTE]

Driving down O'Dell on Saturday, we saw people out sunbathing in their "backyard". I, for one, would hate that lack of privacy. Then again, I wasn't that pretty young thing in the bikini!:cry:

That don't fit TV profile!:icon_wink:

homes that back up to a street
 

We have a house that backs to Odell, and the noise factor during the day has improved now that the bulk of new construction has ended. At night there's virtually no noise. The big plus to this location is the view from the lanai of the palms and the golf course directly across the street. When we were shopping, we looked at a house on an interior lot, and got scared off because the house directly behind had a telescope on his lanai. No thank you!

I have only spent 7 days in the Villages but I don't remember any "stinkin" gas smells. The cart we had was gas and I didn't smell it in the garage or anywhere else. Is it perhaps the old carts that smell?

Was that "old carts, or old farts"?

It's good that you are doing your homework on this subject now rather than after you buy. Some people at the end of our street bought a house that is on the corner of Odell and our street. They were in it for only a couple of months before putting it on the market to be sold - they couldn't tolerate the road noise.

As you can tell, the road noise does not bother some people and for others it is a deal breaker. I think the strategy that Russ Boston used is a good one - rent in various locations until you find the right trade-off of cost versus location. It seems that the pecking order of costs ranges from lots on championship golf courses down to executive courses to lots that back up to streets to interior lots, with a lot of options in between these broad categories.

The amazing thing to us was the huge variance that exists between some lots that are virtually identical. For example, our next door neighbor's lot has essentially the same view of a golf course as ours and is only marginally larger (perhaps 2 feet wider). Yet, their lot premium was $50K more than ours. To this day I can't figure out why this was the case. The moral of the story is that there are some unexplained bargains out there so when you get ready to buy, find an agent who is patient and willing to help you find them.

Our home in Sunset Pointe backs up to a busy street, but we love the view and feel that it is worth the sometimes noisy conditions. Also, during the day, we find it interesting to see all kinds of people pass by in their golf carts, sometimes filled with interesting looking kids and dogs. In my business (communications/public relations), the adage has always been that a picture of a building without a person in it has no life. When things calm down in the late evening, our view is spectacular, and the lanai offers a very special place in which to sip a glass of wine -- with apologies to Longfellow, it becomes a "pause in the days occupations known as" our family's hour. Oh, and after nearly five years of ownership, no break-ins that I know of in this neighborhood.

If a private lanai is a priority, one option might be to consider a neighborhood on the northside. We have a private (backyard) lanai thanks in part to mature landscaping and a deep corner lot on a quite interior street.

Not everyone would want this, to be sure. I bring that up because it disheartens me when posters seem to deride other peoples' home choices. Some people love the "buz" of the 'hood, others prefer more privacy. For some, money is no object and compromise is unnecessary. For some, cost is more of a consideration and tradeoffs make sense.

Can't we just explain our own preferences without stepping on our neighbors' toes?

Good for you Pturner. With all those homes that I seen with kissing lanai's, I was wondering when somebody was going to say something.

What are we saying here. Are you saying that using the term 'kissing lanai' is stepping on someone's toes? It's just a term to indicate that a lanai backs up to another. Some people like that and some people don't care because they don't spend much time on their lanai. Nothing wrong with it and nothing wrong with the term in my opinion. If that's not the beef then what's the issue?

This has been a good thread (and a few others lately about lanais) about the pros/cons of lanai location. I don't read anything negative in 99% of the comments.

Please elaborate.

find a courtyard villa that has golf view or wide open space and a low fence and you will have a private area, no one right in your backyard., There are some 0good buys with no other homes close to you I just got one with a pond view and no houses in sight. do your homework

drd

Help me out here Russ. On a subsequent post you said you don't see anything negative on 90 percent of the post on this subject... are you counting your own above post?

Well said, P.:beer3:

***HIJACK ALERT***

Hey Gracie...did you notice that your member status is now "SAGE" (as in wisdom, not the spice). Looks like admins have been messing with the titles again.

Sage for More than 2500 posts

Soaring Eagle (RussBoston) for 2000-2500

Platinum for 1500-2000

Gold for 1000-1500

and on and on.

We now return to our regular programming....

Views, lot premiums, house styles....something for everybody's taste and budget. To each his/her own!!!

The shoe fits!

HIJACK OVER AND OUT

Yea, we don't want to get negative, do we Russ?
__________________

pturner, you are spot on (btw I back up to a lesser traveled street and love it, although i can see how you could live on a more traveled street and still mitigate the circumstances very easliy with landscape)...gn

Those aren't negative towards anyone. Those are MY feelings. In other words NO GOOD for me and my wife. As I mentioned some people like back to back lanais. Some like street lanais. Some like water lanais. Some like golf lanais. And some like villa fenced lanais. I'm just trying to find what we like. I didn't put anyone down. If you read a negative tone into my words then that's on you. If you read the majority of my 2000 posts you'll see I'm not a negative person. If you knew me you'd know that as well.

What bothers me more is that instead of helping the question that was asked about pros/cons of a lanai on a street you hijack the thread and say we're being negative. I did rent on a street and voiced what my findings were for me. My posts were not negative and I stand by that.

FWIW I didn't see any of your comments as being negative.

I don't live in TV so it might be a more sensitive issue to those that do. Just a thought.

Maybe it was just his feelings but people still read it and subconsciously it still sticks. I don't think Russ was trying to be negative. But when somebody reads it, they might take it that way. I apologize if I stepped over the line.

Actually, when I was agreeing with Pturner, I didn't even have you in mind. I have been reading these forums for months and I have seen negative connotations in a few threads. You were not singled out. Sorry you took it that way. Go back and read the posts. your name wasn't mentioned.

Let's get out eye back on the ball
 

A new member wants a questions answered. Let's continue to answer the question.

Here it is again, in case we forgot.



walkr
Junior Member

Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 14
Homes that back up to a street
I've just read the thread about homes with a water view. Buying a house that backs up to a street is a less expensive option to get rear privacy. Could those of you who have a home that backs up to a street share your experiences: car noise, ambulances, people walking by while you are on your lanai, and (my biggest concern) any increased incidence of break-ins.

I've noticed that the houses that back up to large streets like Morse have deeper back yards. So if your house backs up to one of the smaller roads, where the houses are closer to the road, how does that affect noise, break-ins, etc?

I tried to do a search for info on homes that back up to a street but didn't find a thread that specifically covered that. So if this has already been covered, I apologize.

Thanks.

To add another opinion to the mix, the kissing lanai's can be private too, if they are landscpaped properly. Sometimes people close in their lanai's with windows so if you are lucky enough to be behind one of those and you have good landscaping, you won't see or hear your neighbors. Just a thought. And smaller yard = less maintenance, lower taxes and less home lot premium when purchasing the home.

I've stayed in several different locations and types of homes in TV while dog sitting. I really don't like the kissing lanais. For me, that's just too much of a loss of privacy, even with good landscaping. I'm not a big fan of the idea of living off a golf course because of the golfers' conversations I've overheard while sitting on lanais. Courtyard villas are too closed IMHO -- you can truly go days or even weeks without seeing a neighbor. To me, street noises are really not that much of an issue. The best, though, is a water view. I'd even take that over a patio villa if it were in my budget.

There are two houses that I stay at that are street lots. One is off of Stillwater and the other off of Odell. I've found the noise and traffic really isn't that bothersome at either location. So, I figure if it doesn't bother me while staying in a strange place, it probably isn't that bad for most. The exception, to me, would be a corner lot on a busy street (Bailey Trail/St. Charles comes to mind). That is truly too noisy for my taste.

I really don't want to hear other people's conversations, whether they be sitting in their lanais, walking by, driving by in their golf carts. I've found that with good landscaping this can be avoided on street lots but not with kissing lanais.

So, my vote (if I could afford the choice) would be:

1. Water view
2. Patio villa
3. Street lot w/good landscaping
4. Golf course view
(Kissing lanais and courtyard villas could not be on my list, sorry.)

The good thing about TV is that there are choices. What bothers me is what thrills others. Give yourself time, be honest about what you like/need/can afford and you'll find the right place for you. If worse comes to worse, you can always sell and buy a new place after you move here -- many do.

Redwitch makes some good points. Everyone has different needs and what they like and don't like. Probably depends on where you grew up. If it was in the city with apartments and houses on every side, TV lots and close neighbors may not be an issue. If you grew up on a farm in the country then it will be a challenge to find what you want here. My list would be different from redwitch for different reasons.

1. Golf course lot. BUT, not close to a cart path and not where I could be hit by golf balls. So a very small percentage of lots. And this is what I bought in TV.
2. Preserve or water view, BUT one that did not lose it's water or get really low during a dry season. Very few meet this criteria.
3. Back to a street, BUT a very non busy street. Not a street that even is a feeder street in a neighborhood. And not a Morse, Buena Vista, Bailey Trail, Odell Circle, Canal street or any main street. These will get worse over time as the build out continues.
4. Cul-de-sac lot with offset lanais. So a larger lot, offset and distance between homes. My rental home in TV.
5. Patio Villa. Having the lanai in front is not a bad option at all. Offers more privacy, street usually not so busy, and front yard views where places are usually better landscaped. Issue for me was size and garage space.
6. A water view where it less predictable.
7. A golf course lot where I may get hit once in a while with a ball, still away from the cart path.
8. A busier street, but still not a through street
9. Another development where I can afford something in the 1 through 4 range.

And I know many of you have bought based on different desires and requirements and probably some I have showed I would not consider. And that works for you. These were my requirements and they worked for me. Most everyone would have a different list then mine. You have to decide what is important, how much you can afford, what your lifestyle will be, then find a home that meets those needs. If your going to golf all day, party all night and just sleep at your home, buy the cheapest priced most home available. If your planing to "live" there, build your list that works for you and stick with it. Location is still the most important value in Real Estate.

Another Thing To Consider
 

There was an article in this morning's Daily Sun regarding a man who died in a single vehicle crash which caused damaged to some Village of Caroline homes.

This vehicle was driving on Cherry Lake Road, lost control and collided with several objects including fencing, an electrical transformer, bushes and trees. Parts of the vehicle were scattered across the yards of several homes and even on the roof of one home. A wheel landed nearly four houses from the crash site.

We used to have a patio villa which backed up to Cherry Lake Road. The road was actually above us. As soon as we moved in we realized how easy it would be to have a car end up in our villa some day. We sold the villa.

So when you're looking at a house that backs up to a street, also consider out of control vehicles crashing into your house.

Can you imagine if the vehicle that crashed into the pump house by the Duval gate had crashed into a house instead?

Excellent post L2 - I agree with your list but as you mentioned we all have to prioritize based on affordablity as well.

I really like you last comment (that I quoted). For us we will be full-time working residents for 10 years or so. That needs to be in the equation.

Again - great post!

Nothing is guaranteed when it comes to privacy. We have friends with a beautiful golf course home, and the home next door put on a large birdcage where the dogs spend time barking, and they have a lot of parties and play a loud television. A lot willl depend on your neighbors.

Backing up to Morse
 

We back up to Morse. We have a large lot with a fence, shrubs and more land between us and the road. In other words we are not that close to the road. We have great privacy and the noise isn't bad at all. I should mention that the golf cart path is on the other side of the road. We love it. I think a backyard view of a lake or preserve would be nicer but it wasn't in our budget. As others have said, it is a personal decision.