"No Buy" Zones

Posted at 1:26 PM, Sep. 2, 2008

Don't be worried by this title. You are not about to read any comments that  violate provisions of Federal Fair Housing law. Hurricane Gustav simply got me thinking about how many people buy homes in inherently hazardous or inconvenient locations. The city of New Orleans is built below sea level. The exact amount below is open to dispute, but must sources indcate a depth of eight to ten feet. This flood zone factor  would legally have to be disclosed to every prospective  purchasor. One has to wonder of somebody who chose to buy a home there..... "what were they thinking?"

I'm guessing that most people who buy in NOLA do so for the same reasons why most people buy anywhere: because they were born in the area, and most of their family, friends and personal history are there. The relative safety of an area will usually be a secondary concern, compared to personal or economic priorities.

But considering the abundant inventory in today's market, a prospective buyer has the opportunity to be more selective in choosing a safe homesite within the general area he wants. I want to discuss a few locational hazards that probably will not be listed on most sellers' Property Disclosure Statements because the seller is not even aware of any potential problem. You may choose to call my suggestions paranoid. Nevertheless, I have personally met  homeowners who really wish they had taken these factors into consideration before they bought. The following are some factors of location where you may not wish to buy.

Do not buy within one mile of a railroad track. Obviously, you don't want to live so close that you are awakened from sleep or have the dishes rattled out of the China hutch each time a train rolls through. But that's not what I'm thinking of. Railroads are the primary means of transporting shipments of chemicals. Next time you're stuck at a crossing, take note of how many tankers you see among all the boxcars as they oh so slowly go by. From time to time, trains derail, or crash into each other. When that happens, some of those tank cars are going to burst open. Their chemical contents will be dispersed into the atmosphere. Explosions are one possibility. What would scare me even more is the real possibility of clouds of poisonous chemicals quickly engulfing the neighborhood. Statistically, few residents within this zone will ever suffer this fate. But if you have plenty of more safely located alternatives, why take the risk?

Do not buy within one half mile of a freeway. Hazardous materials from a tanker truck crash are once again a risk, though much less in this case. Any one or two tanker trucks are unlikely to be carrying even a fraction of the chemicals that would be involved in a train incident. But  car crashes serious enough to shut down a freeway are an almost daily occurance. If a freewayfull of traffic is diverted at the offramp next to your neighborhood at rush hour, you may find your suface roads so clogged that you cannot get to someplace you really need to be. Crime statistics will be higher than in comparable neighborhoods farther from the freeway. Burglars and other felons often choose neighborhoods where they can quickly jump back on the freeway and be long gone, immediately after they strike. Even if the road decibles seem fairly low at your lot a couple of blocks away, that "distant, wind rushing sound" is still enough to deter about 20% of your potential buyers, and impact resale value.

Do not buy a property on a "T-intersection."  That would be a house facing directly up a street that ends at  the property's curb, where oncoming traffic either has to make a right or left turn. Sooner or later, an impared driver may fail to turn, and continue straight on into your house at significant speed. We see news stories at least every month where this happens. In my experience, only about 10% of potential buyers are sensitive to this risk, but that is enough to negatively affect resale value as well.

There are other, not immediately obvious, conditions which may impact a home's desireability, depending on your personal preferences. For instance, some buyers will love the open vistas that accompany a home with a view fence, that backs to a golf course or greenbelt. Others will dislike the diminished privacy and security. Similarly, proximity to firestations, neighborhood commercial centers or schools may be either an asset or a drawback.

Just like every rule, there will be exceptions to the above. If the price is extra attractive, or the house is perfect in every other way, then go for it. But every buyer should be aware of these factors before finalizing a purchasing  decision. If there were ever a time to be picky, that time is now.