Corner houses- pros and cons

I read up on some of the pros and cons of a corner house but I would like to hear opinions from people who live in one. Basically, the pros are more property and 1 less next door neighbor. The cons I read about are more snow to shovel, traffic on both sides, people seeing into your backyard (which can be alleviated with a fence right?), and people cutting across your lawn when they are walking down one block and making a right onto the other. One article I read said that cars can come crashing onto your front lawn if they are making a right at your corner while going fast. That scares me but how often does that happen? Any experiences or tips would be appreciated.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

I live on a corner property - it's the only home I've ever owned - so I don't have anything to compare it to! lol. We have a stop sign on our corner (that some people always speed through) but it has been fine for the past 6 years we have lived there. My house sits right in the middle of our property so we have "side" yards, not much of a "backyard" if that makes sense. There is still plenty of room for the kids to play, etc... And we are okay with having one less neighbor .

We just got an alarm due to recent home invasions and I asked the guy if being a corner property made us more of a target and he said not at all, less if anything because we are in clear view of all of the surrounding corner homes! Hope that helps!

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

For some reason I was in the mindset that corner lots had higher taxes. I think I was told this a long time ago, but don't know how true it is today.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

i live in a corner house. the only pain in the butt is that there is more lawn to mow and more sidewalk to shovel, but other than that no issues so far.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

When it comes to fences you have to check with the town/village to see what the height limit is. My MIL has a 5 ft fence in the back. Her neighbor across the street got a pool permit (you need a pool to get a 6 ft fence) and put up the 6 ft fence. He never got the pool but what he did was legal.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

There are more restrictions on fencing, since you can't block the intersection, so you can't have a tall fence near the corner (every town is a little different). Some towns also restrict what you can build on the yard (pool, shed), since even though you consider it your back or side yard, it's actually a "front yard" to the side street.

If you're in an area with no sidewalks, there's no additional snow to deal with.

I live in the middle of my block, and I still had a car careen into my yard....

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

Both houses I own are on corners. I think it is desirable because it is much more private. Besides the snow, I cannot think of anything negative.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

snow, and wind. crosswinds. wind everywhere!

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

My last hous was on a corner and it was a lot less private, people would constantly cut across our grass too but I think they were just rude

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

I live in a corner house. When we were house hunting, DH was dead against a corner, but that's what we ended up with.

Our property is a bit oversized (corner houses sometimes wind up with a larger than 60 by 100 lot because they get the extra land at the end of the street). But sometimes houses on corners can be situated on the lot such that the yard isn't as useable (oddly shaped, or more side yard than back).

My corner is not a busy corner or a main road (I am on the corner of two residential streets), so I don't find traffic or lack of privacy to be an issue.

We do have an extra side (of sidewalk) to shovel when it snows, but to me that's a minor consideration.

Taxes aren't generally higher on corner houses v. midblock houses, but lot size is factored into taxes, and as discussed, many corner houses are on larger lots.

Honestly, I don't regret buying a corner house. It works fine for us. I don't know of any major drawbacks, but I don't think there are any major advantages, other than a potentially larger proprerty, and as mentioned, only one next door neighbor.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

I think it depends on your own particular situation/needs. We did not look at any corner houses unless there was a private, deep off the corner, sectioned off backyard (only saw one like this in the entire 2 yrs we looked).

The only pro IMO of a corner house is that you get more for your money (at least in my area) - however, I don't really count it as a pro b/c I think it's one of those - you get what you pay for things. The main con for me is that I have two young children and I do not feel corner houses are safe for them - not private, direct entrance to the street from the playing yard, etc. etc. I would not feel safe leaving my kids in the yard on a corner house nor would I feel comfortable having a swing set etc. Also, we have many outdoor big family parties in my family - how would we do that on the corner? There would be very little privacy - if any. Then, there is also re-sale value - usually I think corner houses are less desirable.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

My other concern would be a corner house could be a potential bus stop for the schools, which comes with its own set of issues sometimes.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

Althoguh some corner lots are a little oversized, most by me don't seem to be. They end up with a house that looks like it has a big piece of property from the front, but in reality doesn't have a backyard.

Also you now have the traffic of 2 streets to worry about and deal with.

I grew up on a corner, it did have a bigger than average lot which was nice. 100x100. the biggest downside was the having 2 streets of traffic, one more major than the other. and a lot of sidewalk to clear.

I wouldn't buy on a corner unless there was some really compelling reason to buy that house or the situation wiht the property made it such that the corner house downsides weren't applicable like a very quet street and a dead end with plenty of property.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

Sometimes, the corner lots can be smaller than surrounding lots. If you are in an older neighborhood, like mine, where the streets weren't planned out in a perfect grid, sometimes, the middle lots get 100xwhatever, and the corner may only get 80xwhatever. There are a couple of corner lots near me that are smaller than the lots next to them. There's no universal guideline to lot size.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

I think it really depends on how the house is situated on the lot. We just bought a corner house and I love most everything about it. We have no issues at all with privacy since the yard is fenced. I'd have no problem letting DS out there, getting a swing set or having an outdoor party. Our yard is the same as anyone else's in this neighborhood in that the 2 gates we have in our fence lead to the front/side yard.

The negatives so far are having more sidewalk to take care of, but this may not be an issue if your neighborhood doesn't have them. Also, the bus stop is on our corner and we have problems with children playing on our front lawn while waiting for the bus. It's drives me a little nuts that they and their parents are so rude, but it's only 10 minutes a day so I'm learning to deal.

Just wanted to add to that I think it depends on the 2 streets you are on also. The street in front of our house is somewhat busy, but the street on the side is not really at all b/c it's a dead-end court. So I think that makes a big difference.

Message edited 2/9/2012 8:51:34 AM.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

I live on a corner lot and LOVE it. like you said one less neighbour.
I have total privacy.
more lawn to cut on the one side yes. i dont have a sidewalk on my side so that isnt a problem.
people dont cut across my lawn for some reason.
my parents live on a corner lot as well, they used to have kids cut across their lawn going to and from school. my dad fixed that with creative landscaping so that they couldnt cut across.
their fence is not all that high because of bylaws. it has never been a problem. they have a pool and you still get the privacy you need.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

We bought a corner house, and I think it's great! We have a very large "front" yard (or side? depends how you look at it!). However, we also have a big backyard. We have a small house, so we have a lot of room to expand upon in a few years when we're ready.

Our yards are both fenced in, so we don't have people running across them.

I don't know if it would work this way for all corner houses, but since we're on a corner and have a corner directly across from the middle of our house, there's two huge street lights right next to us. I like that since they help to light up the night a bit more. I'm a bit of a safety freak, so I also like that I have a very, very clear view of my house when I'm coming home. There's nothing on either side to obstruct my view.

The only pain is when it snows.

Message edited 2/9/2012 10:06:43 AM.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

I have a corner lot. We dont have sidewalks so the shoveling isnt an issue. Wouldnt be for me anyway bc thats DH's job... lol.

The only negative thing i found is that corner lots have more zoning restrictions. Since its a corner, you pretty much have a side yard extending to the back yard. At least I do. I have a big backyard and intended on putting in an inground pool. However, the town I am in requires the pool to be completely behind the house. Not even a portion of it can fall into the side part without getting a variance. I had no idea about this before I got the house and am very disappointed in that part bc the rest of my back yard is already occupied with gorgeous landscaping and patio and hot tub.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

I live on a corner lot and the only complaint I have is that pieces of garbage (like a napkin or wrapper) get blown onto my lawn. No one cuts across my front yard and we have a completely private backyard except for my neighbors who had to build a deck on their 2nd floor.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

I have a corner lot. Our is considerably bigger than any of our neighbors homes although its odd shaped, but we have a huge side yard and ample back yard space as well!
My neighbors kids do cut across my lawn to get home from school, but thats 2 kids not a whole neighborhood so that doesnt bother me much.. My backyard is very private. we have a 6ft pvc fence.

I am going to be honest, no one in my neighborhood shovels the sidewalks when we have snow so thats not an issue here.

Really the only bad thing is our house is probably a little noiser being that we have 2 streets of traffic to contend with. But it has never been an issue

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

We bought a corner houses, I LOVE it!!! We have a side driveway and I think it makes the house! It is on a very quite block and the side street is very quiet too.

no cons yet - but we are still fixing it up so we can move in - soon I hope!

We looked at all house styles and locations, but we knew corner or not that we wanted a quiet block and that's what we got!


edit - our neighborhood does not have sidewalks, so no extra shoveling for us!

Message edited 2/9/2012 12:29:21 PM.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

Our old house was a corner with a HUGE backyard. The yard was great but rules in the town only allowed a 4ft pickett fence facing the street so privacy was a bit of an issue and sooooo expensive to fence. The shoveling was miserable. Total property was 100x100. It was nice not having neighbors on top of us.

Only other draw back was the kids seemed to like to ring and run our house since it was easy to get away around the corner!

Our new house is not a corner but that was by chance not because we were trying to avoid the corner.

Re: Corner houses- pros and cons

Dogs always seem to like to do business on corners.