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Corner Vs. Middle Lots


TheNiche

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I always notice how homes on corner lots are often highlighted in real estate ads and on MLS comments. Seems as though it wouldn't be mentioned in ads so frequently if it didn't add value...but perhaps I'm missing something.

Question to all: if you were looking to purchase a home in an old suburb (i.e. Montrose, Heights, Eastwood, etc.), what would be the perceived advantages of owning a home on a corner lot?

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I always notice how homes on corner lots are often highlighted in real estate ads and on MLS comments. Seems as though it wouldn't be mentioned in ads so frequently if it didn't add value...but perhaps I'm missing something.

Question to all: if you were looking to purchase a home in an old suburb (i.e. Montrose, Heights, Eastwood, etc.), what would be the perceived advantages of owning a home on a corner lot?

Its supply and demand that drives the price up. There are too many people, and too few corner lots.

Corner lots, to me, mean larger lots. They also mean that the detached garages are usually tucked away with the driveway on the side street, giving the house a more attractive front facade and a more usable yard. However, in an old neighborhood such as those you listed, a corner lot probably means that it would be easier to build a new home or add on to an existing home (larger size, easier access to all parts of the property, separate entrance for garage apartment, etc.)

Personally, I have never found corner lots to be more desirable. I grew up living in a corner house and my memories are of a huge lawn to mow and my dad getting mad at the kids on bikes cutting across the lawn!

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Its supply and demand that drives the price up. There are too many people, and too few corner lots.

Corner lots, to me, mean larger lots. They also mean that the detached garages are usually tucked away with the driveway on the side street, giving the house a more attractive front facade and a more usable yard. However, in an old neighborhood such as those you listed, a corner lot probably means that it would be easier to build a new home or add on to an existing home (larger size, easier access to all parts of the property, separate entrance for garage apartment, etc.)

Personally, I have never found corner lots to be more desirable. I grew up living in a corner house and my memories are of a huge lawn to mow and my dad getting mad at the kids on bikes cutting across the lawn!

I'm curious...do you think that the added visibility might attract vandals or do you think that it might deter them? Any extra crime risk associated with corner lots in older suburban areas or are they about the same, do you think?

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I'm curious...do you think that the added visibility might attract vandals or do you think that it might deter them? Any extra crime risk associated with corner lots in older suburban areas or are they about the same, do you think?

When I lived in Willow Meadows, as well as in Idylwood, it was the corner lots that seemed to be disproportionatly affected by burglaries, especially thefts out of side-load garages. Whether statistics will back me up or not I can't say, but that was my perception.

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When I lived in Willow Meadows, as well as in Idylwood, it was the corner lots that seemed to be disproportionatly affected by burglaries, especially thefts out of side-load garages. Whether statistics will back me up or not I can't say, but that was my perception.

I have a corner lot in Walnut Bend. We love it as we have a huge lot and pretty nice size house. There is more lawn to mow, but I am getting the deal of the century with my lawnman (super cheap) and he does a great job. As for crime issue, luckily, we have not had any problems.

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I always notice how homes on corner lots are often highlighted in real estate ads and on MLS comments. Seems as though it wouldn't be mentioned in ads so frequently if it didn't add value...but perhaps I'm missing something.

Question to all: if you were looking to purchase a home in an old suburb (i.e. Montrose, Heights, Eastwood, etc.), what would be the perceived advantages of owning a home on a corner lot?

I moved into a house on a corner lot in the Heights last year. My first house on a corner. There is a stop sign at the intersection and it can be noisy when the cars stop and then take off.

The loud car stereos in the loud cars can be very annoying.

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I moved into a house on a corner lot in the Heights last year. My first house on a corner. There is a stop sign at the intersection and it can be noisy when the cars stop and then take off.

The loud car stereos in the loud cars can be very annoying.

WE have this issue too. It is much more busy on a corner lot. Luckily we have double paned windows so the noise is not horribly disturbing. The bass pumping is annoying.

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Hiya..not sure if this applies to Houston (I just moved to Houston from Colorado), but I used to live in a house on a corner lot that backed up to a large vacant lot, and I can tell you the biggest drawback of a corner lot: WEEDS! Since the house wasn't "protected" by other houses, the side yard open to the street was getting much more weeds than other houses on the block. Oh, and trash, too....winds were always blowing parts of trash onto the yard as well.

There's another drawback to having a corner lot -- people tend to park their extra vehicles on side streets by corner lots. In most cases, this isn't a biggie, but one time someone left a RV parked on the side street for many weeks. The city raised a stink about it (apparently, it was a no-no to have a RV parked on streets for long periods of time) and sent us an angry letter about it. We had to convince them the RV wasn't ours, and we couldn't track down the owner of the RV...luckily, the RV disappeared eventually.

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ability to have 2 driveways is a big plus for corner properties.

negative, if structure is close to corner, any wrecks may affect your property. destroyed landscaping, fencing, etc is a consideration. in my hood, i live 1 house from the corner and i've seen at least 2 wrecks where a vehicle ended up in the yard of a home.

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This is a great thread! I have almost (90+%) have all the neighbors and there friends trained to not park in front of my house with there cars. Man I can not vent loud or long enough to express how much it pisses me off when people park in front. My neighbor across the street frequently trys to park his 18 wheeler in the street (his side) but luckly I am pretty quick on the horn to report it and have gotten it towed off once and ticketed many times. But he keeps on doing it. I figure heck maybe taxes will go down if bozo's like him keep receiving and paying the tickets.

A police officer just told me two weeks ago that semi's are not allowed for longer then 4 hours in a residential area. I believe this must be a recent change as before the police would mark the tires two or three times and then finally start ticketing and resulting in the tow. A neighbor converted there garage into a rental and every so often the new renter will try to park in front of my house until I ask him not to or start paying me.

I know I know I don't own the road in front of my house but it's a respect deal.

Scharpe St Guy

ps... sorry for the rant

Hiya..not sure if this applies to Houston (I just moved to Houston from Colorado), but I used to live in a house on a corner lot that backed up to a large vacant lot, and I can tell you the biggest drawback of a corner lot: WEEDS! Since the house wasn't "protected" by other houses, the side yard open to the street was getting much more weeds than other houses on the block. Oh, and trash, too....winds were always blowing parts of trash onto the yard as well.

There's another drawback to having a corner lot -- people tend to park their extra vehicles on side streets by corner lots. In most cases, this isn't a biggie, but one time someone left a RV parked on the side street for many weeks. The city raised a stink about it (apparently, it was a no-no to have a RV parked on streets for long periods of time) and sent us an angry letter about it. We had to convince them the RV wasn't ours, and we couldn't track down the owner of the RV...luckily, the RV disappeared eventually.

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I agree that corner lots are considered more desirable in most neighborhoods. As mentioned, they provide the builder with better options.

However, I live in an acreage community and this does not seem to be the case. All lots are big enough for proper house placement. Privacy prevails. Culdesacs also seem to be more desirable as some cars drive faster.

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  • 1 month later...
WE have this issue too. It is much more busy on a corner lot. Luckily we have double paned windows so the noise is not horribly disturbing. The bass pumping is annoying.

Haha, I agree, I too have a corner lot in Walnut Bend. The problem is the bass pumping is from the security guard, isn't that great?

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  • The title was changed to Corner Vs. Middle Lots

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