SFH close to railroad tracks..,

[Craig Montesano]

Hi everyone

Wanted to get thoughts on this...

3 bedroom 1 bath house listed for 35k in a decent neighborhood. Hasvbeen on the market or awhile. Could maybe scoop up for anywhere from 25 k to 30k. Taxes are only $690. With current demand i could probably get $600 to $60 a month in rent.....only problem is there are train tracks in the backyard. About 75 yards from the house up on a small hill seperated by some trees. The current owner currently pays 25 bucks a year to rent the driveway from the rr company!

I am afraid resale value down the road wiil be horrible, buy i am a buy and hold investor so i am not too worried about that now. Also there is no garage...

Any thoughts...

I am currently trying to figure out the train schedule...

Thanks!

[Ben Skove]

I'll be a contrarian and say that it depends on your market. My two first hand examples are:

1) My grandmother's house was right across the street from steadily-used tracks. You simply got used to it and it became white noise. There were other houses on the street which were rented and didn't see steady turnover. When she passed, her children had no problem reselling it.

2) When I lived in Chicago, my girlfriend (now wife) had an apartment right next to the south shore train line. Didn't deter them or the other tenants.

It may well affect the rent you can charge, but I wouldn't say it's a deal killer.

Have you been inside the house when trains are going by to judge the noise?