house surrounded by a bunch of empty lots

[Fred Heller]

So I showed a house this evening and I wanted to get some input on something that bothered me about it.

The house itself was fine. It obviously has been well maintained. The listing price is below market value and the seller is "motivated." On paper it seems like a great deal.

But here's the deal. The house is in the very back of a section of an early 1980's subdivision that obviously never gained any traction. There are acres and acres of empty lots sprinkled with a house here and there. Someone is obviously tending the empty lots as I didn't see any high grass.

All that empty space really creeped me out. I had visions of a crazed serial killer running amok with no one to hear you scream.

So that brings me to the question of what effect, if any, do a lot of surrounding empty lots have on potential buyers? Am I being paranoid? Or is there some legitimacy to my creeped out feeling?

I also wonder why some developer hasn't scooped this place up. This would be the perfect place for someone like Perry Homes to buy out the empty lots and build the McMansions for which they are famous.