House locations

<<>> The best house locations are those that offer a quiet area that is safe for children and adults. The streets will be quiet and they will not be busy arterial streets with yellow lines painted down the middle of them. The surrounding homes will offer well cared for homes with lawns mowed. None of the surrounding houses will be boarded up. There will be no graffiti on the back of garages or on homes, signs etc.

There will be no water tanks located behind or preferably within view of a water tower. Water towers or water tanks that are located above ground are unattractive. If they are too close to your home, they may pose a safety hazard. You many not qualify for an FHA Loan if your home is located too close to a water tank or other possible safety hazard.

There will be no transmission towers located within few or around your home. In some cases, the transmission towers did not decrease nor increase the value of the home, as the home offers a larger lot to offset the transmission towers. But in most cases, the location of the transmission towers are a negative impact on value.

Views of anything that is considered ugly by the majority of people should be avoided. If your home backs to a paper factory with views of the smoke stacks, this is an ugly site by the majority of people looking at this view. Plus, this paper factory or other factories will emit nasty smells that are not desirable.

Located next to larger cattle farms and other commercial operations should be avoided. Once I appraised a home that backed to a commercial cattle farm. You could small the fresh smell of cow in the morning, if you lived in this spot. Houses were selling like hot cakes in this area at the time and there were plenty of sales in the area to support other homes in the area. I predict that once there are more homes on the market to select from, this commercial cow farm and the smells in the area will drive the price downward, but only time will tell, but why take the chance.

Lot size- The best lot size will be a level functional lot. Many people will tell you that they have the biggest lot in the neighborhood, therefore its worth more. Maybe, maybe not. More and more buyers’ don’t have a big yard. A big yard means more water, longer mowing time, more maintenance and higher taxes. Sometimes you pay for a larger lot, but the lot is steep or rocky and really offers the same functional utility (i.e. flat level, usable lot) as smaller yard.