Buying a house on a buy street?

[Anonymous]

We are looking to buy a house in Arlington or Alexandria. There have been a few really nice houses in our price range that are on super busy streets (Glebe/Quaker). We currently live in an apartment on a busy road and have no issues, but I am hesitant to buy on one. The houses we have seen are set back far from the street so it MAY be possible to build a wall and/our plant some large bushes/trees to block out the noise (and slow down cars that may run off the road). But then I worry about resale value and kids/pets running into traffic.

So, would you buy on a busy street if you found an awesome deal? Do you live on a busy street? How is it?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

You won't be able to change a busy street. If you think it will bother you, go with your gut. I lived on a very busy street in AU Park. My house was far back on the street and a really charming, adorable house. But for me the charm of my house could not overcome the busy street. I always noticed traffic going by, couldn't sit on my cute front porch without distraction. I was born and raised in a city so I didn't think it would bother me, but it did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You won't be able to change a busy street. If you think it will bother you, go with your gut. I lived on a very busy street in AU Park. My house was far back on the street and a really charming, adorable house. But for me the charm of my house could not overcome the busy street. I always noticed traffic going by, couldn't sit on my cute front porch without distraction. I was born and raised in a city so I didn't think it would bother me, but it did.

Did you have any kind of barrier (like a wall or trees) between you and the street? I think you are right though, it probably would ruin a good house (and if I have a porch, I want to use it!)

[Anonymous]

OP, it will make the price difference, as you have likely noticed. They are harder to sell. If you are worried about it, go with your gut, as pp said.

[Anonymous]

Just sold my house on a busy NW DC street. 4 offers after first open house, three above asking (two with escalation clauses). Good houses sell.

[Anonymous]

I live on a cross town street in DC. I think it depends on your proximity to other things like Metro, shopping. That makes all the difference. Also, we're set back and sit on a hill. Replacing the windows made a huge difference in street noise and energy consumption. I don't think it will hurt us one little bit in an area like ours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live on a cross town street in DC. I think it depends on your proximity to other things like Metro, shopping. That makes all the difference. Also, we're set back and sit on a hill. Replacing the windows made a huge difference in street noise and energy consumption. I don't think it will hurt us one little bit in an area like ours.

Yeah, I feel like I could deal with it more in DC than in Alexandria/Arlington. The house is just sooo pretty though ha ha.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that I would ever buy a house on Glebe Road -- not sure what section of Arlington/Alexandria you are looking at, but I feel like that street is perpetually busy/full of traffic. I have lived in various houses/apartments off Glebe in both Arlington and Alexandria, and I just don't think I would want to live on that main road.

Last year, we sold our townhouse style condo on another fairly busy, 4 lane road in Arlington. It was noisy, the road would get backed up during rush hour, and I hated taking my dog out with cars constantly driving by. We sold the condo fairly quickly (12 days on the market) but did receive feedback that people didn't want to be on the busy road (that actually looks fairly quiet during the day when everyone is at work).

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't do it if you have kids. It just takes one second for a child to run into the street. I've seen it on my non-busy road and it always stops my heart from beating.

[Anonymous]

There are differences between primary (Glebe, Washington, Wilson) and secondary roads (Patrick Henry, Harrison, etc.) in Arlington. I wouldn't buy on a primary road but we got a good deal on a house on a secondary road and it hasn't been bad. Traffic is worse than in the neighborhood streets for sure, but the county does make an effort to control speeding on secondary neighborhood roads with medians, speed traps, etc. We mostly get cut-through traffic, but it isn't a "main" route. I've never had any issue backing out of the driveway. If we had the money I would have held out for something more in a neighborhood, but we paid a full $100K less than what houses a block up and similarly sized are selling for- and we got a move-in ready place that needed no repairs in a great school district. Plus we have a nice big backyard, which made the sell for us.

[Anonymous]

All of Glebe is not that busy. Glebe Rd north of Lee Highway is not as busy as Glebe south of Lee, just as George Mason above Lee is less busy than George Mason South of Lee. (I live a block off GM and take either that or Glebe to get to Metro every morning.) Parts of Quaker Lane are busier than others. Parts of Washington Blvd are busier than others, too, and a lot can depend on how wide the road is where you're looking. (I would not buy on Washington Blvd in Lyon Park, but might near Westover.) I would buy on parts of Patrick Henry or Harrison, but not all. I'd also look at which side of the street you'll be on and which direction you need to go most often.

Also, if the street you're considering has speed humps, it's a cut-through street. 26th St. North is a popular cut-through for a lot of neighborhood residents because it goes all the way from Military to Sycamore.

but know that in Arlington, generally, you are paying a discounted price for your house, and a lot of the houses I saw on busy roads were nicer inside - they had renovated bathrooms and newer kitchens for the same price as older kitchens/baths on quieter streets. If you do go this route, I would put up a nice white picket fence if the house doesn't already have one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of Glebe is not that busy. Glebe Rd north of Lee Highway is not as busy as Glebe south of Lee, just as George Mason above Lee is less busy than George Mason South of Lee. (I live a block off GM and take either that or Glebe to get to Metro every morning.) Parts of Quaker Lane are busier than others. Parts of Washington Blvd are busier than others, too, and a lot can depend on how wide the road is where you're looking. (I would not buy on Washington Blvd in Lyon Park, but might near Westover.) I would buy on parts of Patrick Henry or Harrison, but not all. I'd also look at which side of the street you'll be on and which direction you need to go most often.

Also, if the street you're considering has speed humps, it's a cut-through street. 26th St. North is a popular cut-through for a lot of neighborhood residents because it goes all the way from Military to Sycamore.

but know that in Arlington, generally, you are paying a discounted price for your house, and a lot of the houses I saw on busy roads were nicer inside - they had renovated bathrooms and newer kitchens for the same price as older kitchens/baths on quieter streets. If you do go this route, I would put up a nice white picket fence if the house doesn't already have one.

OP here. The house on Glebe and Quaker are both in busy areas. Quaker and Duke and essentially Glebe and Columbia pike You are right though, the thing that makes me look at them is how nice they are inside. Since I am sure we won't buy this one (becuase I really think it is just too busy) here is the link to teh one on Quaker. http://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/51-N-Quaker-Ln-22304/home/11851279

It is soo pretty inside! And if it wasnt on the busy road I am sure it would be much more!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are looking to buy a house in Arlington or Alexandria. There have been a few really nice houses in our price range that are on super busy streets (Glebe/Quaker). We currently live in an apartment on a busy road and have no issues, but I am hesitant to buy on one. The houses we have seen are set back far from the street so it MAY be possible to build a wall and/our plant some large bushes/trees to block out the noise (and slow down cars that may run off the road). But then I worry about resale value and kids/pets running into traffic.

So, would you buy on a busy street if you found an awesome deal? Do you live on a busy street? How is it?

Thanks!

I think it depends. Where on Glebe? If it's one of those ones down by 66 south of Glebe Elementary School, no way. If up by Marymount/Golf Club, Glebe's really not that busy up that way.

In Alexandria, I guess it depends. The busy roads there are really busy. King, Russell, Duke, etc.

[Anonymous]

I have good friends that used to live right on Connecticut Avenue in Kensington. Twice they had accidents happen in front of their house (and there was no intersection close by, just crazy drivers). The one time a tire came flying off the car and into their garage and did some damage. The other time the car almost ended up in their front yard (and they had "privacy bushes" in front but obviously not a big enough barrier to keep large objects out).

I know they were relieved once they moved and got away from the busy road.

[Anonymous]

We live on a busy, cut-through street with a double yellow line. It's in Falls Church. We bought the house before having kids. It was somewhat of a deterrent but it was what we could afford, and the location had/has other positive qualities. Now that we have a kid, I would really love to live on a quieter street. It's an issue to use the front yard. I always have to be on the look-out for crazy drivers. Everyone always speeds and several times drivers have rear-ended cars parked on the street. Also have the problem with d-bags throwing trash out their car windows. (Who does that?) Also lots of cigarette butts. Hard to have the windows open at night because of the noise level. Ummm, lets see, we also get a lot of people parking on the street who then get into other cars and leave the area. I don't think these people live in the neighborhood. I think they are commuters and use our street for parking.

Anyway, those are some of the negatives. I'm sure every busy street has it's own unique character though! I'd say if you're already concerned about the traffic, look elsewhere. It will only get MORE annoying once you move into the house.