How Close is TOO close to the Train?

Question

Hi Guys,

I am thinking of making an offer on a 2 Family home in Massachusetts that is directly across the street from the train station.  This is the Boston to Providence commuter rail.  The commuter rail runs (during weekdays) from about 5:45 AM to 9 PM.

- How do you guys think prospective tenants would feel about this situation?

- The rental history for this property is tough to come by because the current owner has been there for a long time and has always owner occupied while renting to his sister in the other unit.

- All the neighboring multi-family houses are currently rented and there are no vacancies within a 5 mile radius (based on craigslist research).

- On the plus side if your a train commuter you have a 30 second morning commute and do not need to own a car.  On the down side - your going to have the commuter rail schedule memorized in no time without needing to look at an actual schedule!

- Side note - I will be owner occupying this house and have lived near (not this close) to a train before and didn't mind it.

Any input / experiences would be great appreciated!

Jim

Ray Hurteau · Answer

Jim,

I would check https://www.rentometer.com/ to see what median rents look like.  This is just a starting point.  Checking CL is also a good idea and it may be worth reaching out to a RE Agent to pull MLS data. MA has a very strong rental market, you just need to know where your rents will be.  Where along the line is it?  How loud is the train?  Have you heard it from inside the building?  Half the year the windows will be closed, so it shouldn't matter too much.  My 3 family is near the red line (underground) and my house shakes ever so slightly when it goes by.  There is no impact.  Typically, being close to public transit is a good thing for those who rent and need to use it, so it should actually be a selling point when you go to list the rental units.  Do you have the property under contract?

-Ray

Pat L. · Answer

Great let us know how it works out for you.

The one I mentioned sold for more than double our initial price. The commuter train locale became a huge "walk to draw" because parking at the station was always full.

All the best !!!!

Pat L. · Answer

We signed up for a new build town home (A+ area) that was less than 1/3 mile from a very busy commuter station. We never had a problem renting it & when we went to sell it 5 years later the first agent wanted to drop our asking price because of the train. (Yet the immediate traffic flow made more noise).

We listed it ourselves, had an open house & sold it immediately for asking.

We just built my sons home (2x6 construction etc), rural, 1/2 mile from a goods train line. The only time you hear it is it's in the middle of the night.

I would take the risk :)

Good luck

Darrell Shepherd · Answer

It really depends on what people are used to.  One of the most expensive areas in my main county is right on top of the tracks.  People get used to that stuff pretty quick.  I'm talking million dollar homes with back yards  on train tracks.  I had one last year that I had the train behind it.  They were doing work back there and the first time I heard the train come through I thought I was doomed because they blew the horn the whole way by the house, it was SO loud!  Turned out that was because they were working back there, its normally not that bad.

I had a buyer ask how often the train came by, I was downplaying it and he was actually disappointed at what I said  because he and is wife LOVED trains...

You just never know.  I factor it in, but remember, it only takes one that likes it.  The quirky ones tend to go faster than the ones that are just like every other house on the market in my experience.  My weirdest house was one of my best deals, I thought it'd take a year to sell and it sold in a week.  If its a commuter train in walking distance I'd say its more of a positive than negative.  Gotta check with someone that knows the area about the affects, but there are plenty of people (renters) that would view it as a positive more than a negative IMO.

Mike Hurney · Answer

@James Sestito Generally if you have to ask how close is too close, then it is;-)

I was in a friend's income property in Quincy, right next to the commuter line and while it was not that loud, there was vibration. I believe it was new construction 2x6 walls and triple glazed.

Anthony Thompson · Answer

Jim, unless you are getting a really good deal on the property, in your shoes I would probably pass.

I've developed a general rule not to buy properties that already have issues which would impede renting or selling them. For example, tiny bathrooms. It's going to keep coming up as an issue every time you show it to potential tenants, and down the road, to potential buyers.

Similarly if you think some non-trivial portion of renters & future buyers would be put off by the train station, think hard about whether you want to put yourself in that "tough sell" situation.

If you're paying market value or close to it, why choose something that already has an impossible-to-solve blemish right off the bat?

The only time I would get into a property like that is if you're really getting a steal, and even then I'm hesitant because your ability to turn it over (get out of it) is still going to be impeded.

Jean Bolger · Answer

Good modern windows make an enormous difference for sound. If you get the place it's probably well worth your money to replace them on the street side

Jean Bolger · Answer

I'd guess it's a big plus. If vacancies are that low it  shouldn't be hard to find a happy commuter!

Elizabeth Colegrove · Answer

Honestly it depends on the area and culture. In DC it is a gold mine, in small town suburbia where I live it is a deterrent. Personally if you are in a big city where people use it to commute, I would advertise it as walk to the train station.

Shaun Reilly · Answer

I'm with the others that it is probably not a big detractor, and is more likely to be desirable for someone that commutes that way.

Also keep in mind that if your tenants have one of those "jobs" we generally like to see they will only be effected probably by the first couple and last couple of the day.

Now when negotiating with the seller think of every possible reason it sucks to be near the train and point them all out.  :)

Besides just trying to get a better deal there WILL be people (families with younger kids is probably the biggest ones) that won't live there so your audience is more limited than the same place 1-2 streets away.  Also for that reason smaller buyer pool too if you need to sell so more equity to start will help if it hits the fan.

How Close is TOO close to the Train?

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