Would you consider buying a house that is located directly next to an interstate?
DH and I recently saw a listing for a house in the town we love. We normally wouldn't be able to afford a house in this area, but this home is a foreclosure and the price has dropped several times. I think this is due to two reasons: no garage (which is disappointing, but not a total deal-breaker for us) and the close proximity to the interstate. The house is cute, located in a good neighborhood, great schools, walking distance to the elementary school, low taxes, etc. It does sound like a fixer-upper and is listed "as is". However, the monthly mortgage payments would be about $200 less than what we pay in rent now, so we would be able to save even more money for repairs/renovations. Also DH's dad completely redid their home (loves doing renovations) and has offered to help us with labor, etc.
Living beside the interstate doesn't bother me so much... our previous apartment was located next to the same highway. But I do worry about resale value and how hard it might be to sell the home if we decided to move again.
Would this be an immediate deal breaker for you?
Re: Would you consider buying a house that...?
Interstate. No way. What if they widen the road or pave it? Do you like night time construction? Plus, no garage? No way.
Two big toughies to overcome for resale.
Oops! I looked through the previous threads, but must have missed the one regarding this topic. Sorry for the repeat question.
Thanks for the quick responses. I think I've been trying to convince myself that it would work out, because we love the area so much. But even if we didn't mind the interstate, there's no sense in buying a house that would be a huge headache to try to resell - no matter how affordable it is. Thanks for the reality check!
One of our old houses is right next to the interstate. "Interstate" has different meanings to different people. Our house backs up to rural interstate - no traffic, no congestion, no honking. There's a couple hundred feet of trees, so you can't see the interstate, but you can hear the general sounds of cars passing by. A good portion of the neighborhood follows the path of the interstate and homes always sell quickly - it's one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the area.
FWIW, everyone here said no when I asked too. And we bought it anyways. The opinions of strangers on the internet who couldn't see the house and who didn't know the area didn't matter much to me in the end
ETA - you can only hear the sounds of cars passing when you're outside; you don't hear anything inside.
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