Corner House?

What are the negatives and/or positives? I have heard many people say they wouldn't get a corner lot but no reasons why?

Re: Corner House?

I grew up in a corner house, we had 2 side yards, and no backyard.

we made due by putting a door in the kitchen out to the side yard and built a deck. but it had to be only a certain amount of inches from the ground. The other yard you had to walk around.

I knew I didn't want a house on a corner but looking back growing up it wasn't so bad because we had 2 side yards but it was doable.

Corner House?

I have a corner house and for us there have been no negatives. We have a big backyard and our town does not have side walks so no additional shoveling. :) We are also in the middle of our development so we do not get a lot of traffic.

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Corner House?

When we were looking for homes our real estate agent was like "Oh you don't want a corner" and I was like why? I grew up on a corner, my parents had a lot of property. Two large side yards and a narrow back yard. We always had plenty of room for parties and bbqs. Needless to say I did not rule out corner home during our search. We did not end up purchasing a corner proprty but not for any real reason. I will say if the corner was very busy then it would have swayed my decision but then again any house on a busy block, I would not have purchased either.

Corner House?

I love corner houses, and lived in one my entire life. Only issue was shoveling in the winter, lol. We had alot more sidewalk space to shovel. My backyard was a good size.

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We own a corner house right now. The negatives to me are the side yards, rather than a back yard. Our side yard is pretty big and we have a big patio set and swing set, so we make it work. But, in my dream house, I'd prefer to have had a nice back yard where I could have a deck from the back of the house.

And we have a lot of sidewalk to clear when it snows. But that's more a negative for DH than me.

Neither of these negatives were enough for us to walk away from a house we otherwise loved.

Corner House?

I have a corner house as well. No negative- 2 large side yards and yes the back part is narrow- we have the deck with bbq and patio furniture. I love having my side yards. My front yard is also huge. I love my house! No negatives!!

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I have a corner house. I live in VA so shoveling is not an issue. We are on almost an acre so we have a big side and back yard. There is only one way into and out of my neighborhood so there is no thru traffic and my street is the second to the end so really there inst any traffic around us. I love it so far but Ive only been here a few months.

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One of my friends had a corner house, and they found out that by having two side yards, they weren't allowed to put a pool in their yard. Town said no pools in side yards, only back yards....

There are other town rules where side yards differ than back yards, depending on the town. Offsets from the property line, height of fences, etc.

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I have a corner house as well. In our case, we have a big front yard and side yard. The side yard doesn't bother me so much- it still has a patio, is fenced in, and has a place for the kids to play. The negative as some others have said is the shoveling, but since it doesn't snow frequently I'm okay with that. DH and I loved our house when we first saw it, so the fact it was on a corner never really bothered us.

Corner House?

I have a corner house and have a nice side back and side yard. I only have one neighbor because we back up to a park so no one behind use.
We have sidewalks but we also have a snow blower so its not an issue in the winter.

the neighborhood is sort of out of the way so there's little traffic anywhere in the area.

Corner House?

Thank you all!!!

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I grew up in a corner house. We didn't have side yards, still had a backyard. The only thing that bothered me there was when I was older and would shovel I had to go all the way around while others just did the front of their house. We are not on a corner now but the thing I don't like about my neighbors is the fact that they have a low fence. You can see everything they are doing outside and so can everyone who drives past their house.

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we bought a corner lot and would do it again, however NOT in a village. they dictate how high the fences could go & require a variance ($$$$$) in order to get approved for a privacy fence since side yards are really front yards on corner lots. We have 1 neighbor, so now that we have the 6ft privacy, it feels like we're in our own little world - sky and unobstructed views on the road side :) Also, b/c you're exposed to the traffic, anytime work is done on a corner property, it is flagged earlier than a mid block located house.

I like the corner lot b/c we get sun on every side, the house is flooded with natural sunlight and in the summers, we rarely run the AC b/c we get great cross ventilation with the windows & ceiling fans.

we were told buying on a corner would decrease our value vs. mid block houses, but nothing else too drastic. When you grieve taxes, corner properties are worth less (particularly if your house is near a yellow line).

We'd have a larger back yard, if our detached garage was situated differently on our lot, but it is what it is. :)

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Had one. Never again. People may park on the side of your house thinking they aren't being looked at (we have had drugs, people smoking pot, people leaving bottles and garbage being thrown out of cars parked). Yes, we were in a great area btw but still. Corners can be prone. You will find a lot of garbage and dog crap on the side of your house, again people think since no one is directly able to see them like in the front of a house. More noise, two streets with cars passing your home. Less private and more exposed more often than not. Kids cutting across your lawn. I have had kids run up into the side to hide, etc, which could be an issue if you have pets or a gate that you don't want to be opened, etc. More sidewalk to worry about, more to shovel. Issues with people blowing stop signs or screeching when stopping (this depends on traffic level of area). Our old corner house was horrible due to it being a corner. I see corners where I live now and see the same type of stuff go on that I experienced. Not one positive for me in my experience.

Message edited 2/4/2016 9:36:23 PM.

Re: Corner House?

Have lived in a corner house for the last 25 years. I have no issues with it at all. We have a nice sized side yard, and had an above ground pool for years.There is extra shoveling in the snow.

Re: Corner House?

Message edited 2/10/2016 3:21:23 PM.

Re: Corner House?

I grew up on a corner and now live on one as well.

Pros (for our location at least)
-Big yard
-More backyard privacy

Cons
-more to shovel/snowplow including corner sidewalks to streets
-more to "tend" in terms of lawn, garden, trees etc

I dont think it should be a requirement, nor an automatic "no" as each property or lot will be different so you have to go with what works for you

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We have a corner property. It's in the middle of a quiet development so it's not a busy corner at all. My property is much bigger than my neighbors. We have a large side yard and a big backyard. The negative for me is that I feel like there is a lack of privacy sometimes. That also has a lot to do with the amount of windows we have. I feel like we are in a fishbowl sometimes. In the summer, my backyard is private but in the winter, when the trees have thinned, not so much.

Corner House?

We just sold a flip house on a corner. The address is actually a very busy street but the driveway is on the side street and there is a great side door. It also has a very spacious back yard with a nice deck as well as a big side yard.
There were a few issues with the fence and getting a CO for an existing enclosed porch because of the corner lot setbacks, it just took a little longer.
We had no trouble selling it, three full price offers at the first open house.

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I didn't read through all of the responses. But I'll share both my personal and professional experience.

Personally, when I was house hunting (pre-my real estate career), my husband was dead set against a corner house. His thought was that the yard would be small or all of the property would be on the side, and having traffic on both sides.

We wound up buying a corner house. Our realtor talked us into looking at it. It turns out it had everything we wanted and more, and we fell in love with the house. But it's on a corner of two relatively quiet, residential streets (not a main road or a busy street), and we have a very nice backyard.

From a professional standpoint, I hear many clients say they don't want a corner. Most for the same reasons as my husband, but some have raised concerns we never considered, such as "more snow to shovel" (with two sides to clear).

I don't regret buying a corner house. It doesn't bother me. The positives are that we have a slightly larger property than the other houses on the block (often the corner houses are on slightly larger lots), we have a bit more privacy as there is no neighbor on one side. The negatives are extra snow shoveling. Other negatives are you often need to get a variance for things like fencing the way you want to do it, or having an central air unit on the side of your house... the side of a corner house is a "second front" for things like the AC unit. Also, we are at the end of the block so we don't tend to know as many neighbors at the other end as some people may if they live mid block. At our block party, we were further removed from the "action" of the dj and bouncers, lol!

I would say to keep an open mind about corner houses -- not all are created equal. Some have all side yard and no back yard, but some don't. Some are on busy corners, and some are on very quiet corners. I would think about why you don't want a corner, and then be open to houses that may not have the negatives you want to avoid. I'd rather be in the house I bought, which I love, on a corner, then a house that I really had to settle on (and didn't like as much) but was mid-block. I'd also rather be on a quiet corner than mid-block on a main road. You have to look at the big picture.