Would you buy a house near a correctional facility?
 

As some of you know, my wife and I are looking for a home. We found one this morning that we absolutely loved. It has been sitting on the market for 240-some days. That got me thinking of what is wrong with it. My first thought was that it was an older home and most people like new, especially where this home is located. But it really is a great home. Then, after some research on the computer and looking at overhead views I realized a correctional facility butts up to the property.

This house sits on 5.75 acres completely surrounded by trees. You can see one other house when you walk down the driveway but nothing near the house. About 400 yards to the NW is where the facitility is located. It is a maximum security prison.

I'm not really worried about safety as break-outs really don't happen in real life, only Hollywood. I'm worried more about the resale value and perhaps other things I can't think of at the moment. You can't even see the facility from the home and you would have to walk a ways to get to it so it is not an eyesore or any type of nuisance (at least that I can tell).

Is living near something like this kind of like living right on the interstate? People put up with the noise because they can get the house they want at a cheaper value?

Thoughts?

Its worse than putting up with the interstate, because there's an upside with that. You can get on the highway quickly.

Power plants, garbage dumps, prisons, heavy duty power lines always scare people away.

Their price better be way below comparables.

I wouldn't worry about the prison being close by. If the house is what you want, buy it. BTW you might want check under the house to see if there is any hidden tunnels. :cool:

It's unfortunate that people have this crazy nimby fears of things like prisons and power lines.

I would live in a house near a prison. Just don't expect a payout unless there's a gold vein right underneath.

Good luck. If you like the house go ahead and move in, just don't expect to make a huge profit on it if you plan to sell.

If you live in the place for 30 years it won't really matter anyway, but if you ever for any reason had to sell your house quickly it would be a problem. It just needs to be considerably cheaper than the rest.

I actually think the interstate would be worse because it is loud. I like living away from things so it is quiet (personal preference). The prison does no harm to me while I'm living there. The interstate is loud.

It is not really like those things because it is not an eyesore or a nuisance in any way. A power plant is loud and lets off plumes off water vapor, dumps smell, power lines are eyesores. The prison is not visibile, doesn't smell or make any noise. In fact I doubt any visitors would know it was that close unless I told them.

It doesn't really bother me. I'm just wondering if I should be thinking about anything else besides hurting resale value.

My dad always told me, "You don't make money in real estate when you sell it, you make the money when you buy it." What he means is that you can only sell it for what the market will pay at the time and not any more than that. How ever, you can sometimes get steals on properties and thus make money when it is time to sell them because you paid less upfront.

So perhaps living near a prison is just a bargaining point to get it below value??

Pass.

Can you expand on your reasoning?

Unless there is something compelling about that particular piece of property, I would also prefer a non-controversial piece of real estate.

It's like finding a rusted out MB - nobody else wants it, so you decide it's a great find. I say let somebody else be the lucky owner....

Pass.

I know where you are looking and I'd think there be some other alternatives up that way.

There kind of is. My wife said to me as we were driving away "I feel like that place was built for me." Now you don't know my wife, so I'll put this in context. She spends almost no money. She drives a 12 year old car with over 100k on it because it has no car payment even though her parnters all drive new cars. So she doesn't really want to buy things, so this was quite a big statement for her to make. The house has literally everything on our list of desires in a home and is in the range we are wishing to spend. We have probably looked at 50-60 homes in person in the last month and a half and only one or two have even raised any interest by her.

There are other alternatives, but nothing that we have liked except for the previous one we made an offer on (as you probably know this is not the same area) and this one is bigger and the lot is actually better for only a little higher asking price.

Actually, the more I think about it, the less like buying a rusted MB it is. Eventually the MB rust will overtake it and you will no longer be able to use it, thus losing money. The house, not so much so. It is a solid house.

The only issue I can see (other than fear of breakouts, which neither of us have) is resale value. If I buy it at the right price, resale value won't matter because I will have already paid the right price for it when I bought it. We'll see.

I think you're only looking for reasons not to buy now ;)

Negotiate a lower price and see what the seller says. If he/she bites then you're good to go.

Once you move in throw a GTG so we can visit the prison house. Any infamous inmates there? :P

Do some research.

What is the crime rate in the area? What if no one has ever escaped from the prison?

What are you afraid of? The unknown? Scenarios from bad made-for-tv movies?

Do you know if there really IS anything to be afraid of?

I don't think you really know if there is a threat.

Neither do I. I'll admit it!

And, I'll say it w/o recourse to a flame suit: neither does anyone else on the forum, unless they did hard time in that prison.

DO THE RESEARCH, LIVE BASED ON FACTS.

I would visit the property at different times of the day, or late at night to see if there are any weird lights or noises that you don't notice during the daytime.

http://www.slate.com/id/1007001/

Here is the problem I see. You may tell me you don't give a rip about it being next to a prison. Fair enough. Should you want to move, well..... Now you have to convince me that I want to buy it. The harder it is to sell a house, the longer you are paying for it. Simply put, if I want to move tomorrow for whatever reason, I can. However, now I have 2 houses. The longer it sits on the market, the more it costs me. If you plan to live there till they drag your carcass out literally, no problem. OTOH, if you think a move is possible, you might be sitting on that house for a while like the PO who is sitting on it for 6 months.

BTW, a rusted out MB is a lot cheaper a purchase than a house. An old MB is about 20K tops. Even if it dies completely goes over a cliff, it is 20K. Your house is how much again?

What is "the right price," for a rusting MB, or a home with it's next door neighbor - a maximum security penal facility?

If it were not questionably handicapped by the penal facility - there would be no concern to even mention it as your potential next door neighbor, now would it?

It's too dicey for me - just like a rusting MB....

I would be hesitant to buy near a Correctional Facility, breakouts DO happen and proximity to not only woods but the property of the facility butting up to yours.... I would not like to be near that, plus the search lights, heli fly overs (possible) etc, I wouldn't want that harassment or security Risk. but if your comfortable with it then that's what counts

Do whatever helps keeping that woman married to you.

I think women have better instincts than us men and she said she felt that house was built for her.
There's nothing wrong with checking things out though. I think your best source of information are the neighbors. I would just slowly cruise around until you saw someone doing some yard work and start a conversation. If the house has it's own water well you can start a conversation by asking if there are any water problems in the area considering that the prison might be using wells too. Neighbors will be able to tell you things you wouldn't even think to ask.
Someone once posted a link where one could look up his area to see how many people with criminal records were living there. I checked mine and it lit up like a Christmas tree. Any decent sized city would I suspect. I also did it for a location I lived that was out in the sticks. And up pops one just two blocks on a dirt road. And they weren't locked up.

1) Check and see how many times this home has sold and for what price.
a) Check this against the normal market appreciation for homes in this area

2) Check and compare the time on market vs the average in the area

3) Check the initial price when it first came on the market and see if it has come down much.
a) If the price hasn't come down then the time on market doesn't mean much

If it were me I would not even consider it....period.

I believe in the old axiom location location location....that said if you are comfortable living next to the prison, at some price it makes sense.

I have no idea what that price is.

That's ridiculous.....

Can you cite any studies to indicate the accuracy of your belief(s)?

My dear Father had the "instincts about real estate" that you claim that "women have better than us men." In fact, my Mother wanted no part of the decisions of; buying, devolping, and re-selling real estate. Which, btw, was our family's primary income producing activity when I was growing up.

Basically, women are not better than men, as pertains to the real estate field - nor any other field of endeavor that I'm aware.


.

When prefacing a remark with the qualifier, "I think," is evidence really needed?

Are you trying to imply that men are better than women at every field of endeavor of which you are aware?

Price means next to nothing.....when contrasting a handicapped residential location.

I admittedly made a poor choice several decades ago buying my primary residence near downtown Dallas, Texas. Little did I know at the time how important Life-Flight helicopters flying would become to the future of healthcare. My home is directly in the flight pattern of not only Dallas Love Field's Southwest Airlines Company air traffic - but Life-Flight helicopter 24/7 air traffic near Baylor University Medical Center. Add to that the massive increase in vehicular traffic, as well as the increased nightime law enforcement helicopter air traffic, and it's a literal zoo outside the confines of my home much of the days and nights.

Southwest Airlines / Love Field in Dallas shuts down the air traffic at 11:00 p.m. - but the helicopter air-traffic (police and healthcare) is da*n near 24/7. I'm not complaining - I still own the home in Dallas and enjoy hanging out there from time to time - but it's not the ideal location given the hindsight of 25 years.

When you know up-front that a property is undesirable - for whatever reasons, why would it even appear on the radar scope? That's my only question.....

I think you're uncomfortable with the idea but you just don't know what about it that makes you uncomfortable.

What would make you comfortable living next to a maximum security prison?

That's an odd theory.

Exactly where did that implication of your's come from?

I inferred, because you seemed to imply (get your terms straight). That is, I inferred it from what you wrote.

I was asking if this was intentional.

Precisely.

A couple weeks ago, the OP found a couple old MBs for sale he was interested in buying - one with unredeemable rust - yet he found the rust worth mentioning at length - why was that?

When there's a 300 lb. gorilla that comes with the room you are buying - why would one attempt to not claim it worth mentioning - after the fact - when they described it in detail when describing the room??

Well, as you've now learned you're wrong - I wrote nothing of the sort.

You wrote what you wrote. I'm not wrong about that. I'm also not wrong in thinking that it would be typical to infer that you think that women are inferior to men.

But I don't expect you to understand.

It looks as if you may have reading comprehension issues. I cannot help you with that. Sorry...

If it were a 200K house anyplace else would it make sense to buy if it could be had at 20K?

In some ways yes.

I guess its a little like buying in Detroit.

Already checked into all of that. House was purchased by current owners in 1967. Prison was not constructed until 1980s.

It is currently priced above the taxable value and has not been reduced since coming onto the market. The wife is still alive and lives in a condo in the nearby town. The husband passed a short while ago.

They originally had about 33 acres and sold 18 of them to be subdivided to a developer in 2002. Those homes are on the south of the property, the prison is the north. There have been 2 "reserves" of 10 acres created. One on the north side of the development and west of the home. Obviously the development sold out and there are probably 10-15 homes living near the prison. None of those are for sale to check and compare.

The time on the market could be mostly because of the price, but I have no way of knowing if others were deterred by the prison. If a potential buyer looked at the property they may not even ever be aware that it is close to a prison.

I guess I should clarify that the property doesn't actually touch the prison property. There is DNR land inbetween. And like I mentioned there are tons of trees so you can't even see it.

And my answer to that is, resale value.

BUT, if I buy it at a discounted price, then I can sell it at a discounted price eliminating the potential issue.

PS- The owner of those 2 benzes I looked at a few weeks ago called me and offered them to me at a large discount. Not quite to where I would pay yet, but I think he will eventually come down. I could use the low mileage rusted one as parts for the high mileage one with NO rust.

The house has been on the market for quite awhile. There have been lookers. There may have been offers. The price has not come down.

I would follow the folks who came before you on this one.

Excellent advice. My wife and I considered trying to ask the neighbors the same questions. When we go back to check it out at different times of the day, I will try and find some neighbors to poll.

I don't believe there have been any offers. If we can't get it at the right price, we won't buy it.

I agree.

The house must be discounted by a certain percentage because of it's location. Presumably, the discount will be the same, in percentage terms, for both the buyer (you) and the seller (you in 20 years).

The only difficulty is quantifying the discount. If you can buy it for 15% below comparables, the correctional facility will be a non-issue.

Those that tell you to run away simply don't want to understand the underlying value of the property.

Value means nothing if they are emptying their dumpsters at 5AM Saturday morning. Big businesses and institutions don't always make the best neighbors and its nearly impossible to change their way of doing business if something disturbs you. Check it out carefully.

Be a little careful with that advice.

We all know people who purchased the biggest POS that they could possibly find as a vehicle.

"How do you like that vehicle?"

"Great........it's a great car..........a few little issues, but a great car"

Nobody will admit that they screwed up.

You've got to discard the responses that state........"great..........."

Yes, that makes sense.

Someone does; that's for sure. But it's not me.

Make sure you check visiting hours first. :D

I went and looked at this online. This is not a lazy person's property! Still I believe there may have been lowball offers on this. It wouldn't hurt for you to ask for $80k off.

As an investment, sure. If I could buy them at 20K and buy say 10 of them, I might be able to wait it out for say 10 years before they get better.

Why would I pay you above taxable value? Especially when there is something as controversial as that prison. Sure, you say there is a buffer but that is hardly a selling point, is it?

Most houses, at least around here, sell for well above taxable value. Mine is appraised about 20-30% below the real market value.

That's exactly the parallel.