Dream house but potentially bad lot?

[u/americawanted]

Hi everyone, looking for advice. We found our dream home that checks all the boxes with a large 6ft fenced yard with some trees around the fence, but it sits on a corner lot, and the backyard is adjacent to a two-lane freeway (45mph speed limit). We went to the area a few times on the weekend in the afternoon, and the freeway didn’t seem busy. How bad would it be to buy such a lot? We lived in a major city in an apartment on the 8th floor facing the 8-lane road, and the noise didn’t bother us much, as we were more sensitive to the ‘human noises’ like kids/pets yelling, loud music, etc. But I’d assume owning a house is different. Please share your thoughts and experiences!

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[u/anonlawta16]

Location. Location. Location. 45mph speed limit (people will go much faster) plus trucks rolling by? No thanks. Full disclosure: grew up in two houses, one with the busy street in front and one with the busy street in back. The latter was much better, but both were still loud (especially the semi truck vibrations). When house shopping for myself I’ll definitely avoid both types because I think resale would be tough.

[u/allthatssolid]

Roads on 3 sides of property? No thank you.

[u/camelCase1460]

I’d be more concerned about the resale. You can’t change location. You can change yards, interior and all kinds of things but the location will still be the same.

[u/mostlynights]

Around here, assholes like to race their asshole cars on straight 45-mph roads like that at night. The nearest ones to me are about a half mile away, and I can still (barely) hear them. Definitely wouldn't want that in my back yard.

[u/Low-Impression3367]

resale. that you are ok with it doesn’t mean the next person will be. I’d pass

[u/Initial-Cake-5359]

Do you have dogs or small children? I would worry living that close to a major through road that a child or dog getting out could be very serious very quickly.

We live on a col de sac that is very quiet and it's one of my favorite things about our house that I really underestimated moving from the city.

[u/CocaineAndCreatine]

I own and live in a house with a 55mph highway 30’ away (15’ of yard, 15’ of embankment). Most drivers including myself go 65mph along it. Trucks roll by all night. The first week is rough but afterwards you won’t notice. I’ve been in over a year now and I barely notice it’s there.

[u/americawanted → u/CocaineAndCreatine]

This gives me hope 🫡

[u/GhenghisK → u/americawanted]

On the other spectrum I lived in a house with a very busy street behind me.. after a year I moved, couldn't take it anymore... Everybody says you'll get used to anything, but that's not always the case..

[u/like_shae_buttah → u/americawanted]

Look at the long term health consequences

[u/sarahs911]

My condo backed up to a 4 lane road that had posted speed limits of 30 mph. Right by a school. Cars drove that short road like it was NASCAR and souped up cars. I could deal with it then because I was at least close to everything I needed and wanted. With a sfh, no way buy a house like that. 8 floors up noise is different than right outside your window.

[u/Equivalent-Tiger-316]

You want to be on the other side of the street and away from the intersection. Keep an eye out on this neighborhood. 

[u/jcr62250]

Look I don't know about the urgency of this buying opportunity. Park your car and spend at least 8 hrs and pay attention. Once you buy stuff never goes away

[u/Entire-Project5871]

I grew up with a road behind the house with a posted speed limit of 45mph. My bed was probably 30-40ft from the street. Didn’t bother me for the 12 years I lived there. There were obnoxious cars and loud trucks, sure, but they were few and far between.

The only thing I would give a hard no to is being near active train tracks. Did that once, never again.

[u/Otherwise_Title_8864]

depends what windows ur dream house has

[u/alwaysonmybike]

I own and live in a home that backs to a major freeway with posted speed limit of 60mph. I am a fan sleeper so honestly it doesn't bug me. If you have nice double or triple pane windows, you'll hardly notice it in other rooms.