“Welcome to the ideal property for train lovers, its located near a semi-active train tract,” begins the listing for this 5-bedroom, 4,164-sq.-ft. home backing up to the tracks on Community Dr. in College Court, the far western edge of West U. Writes the reader who sent it in:
I give them points for having the guts to address the issue head on (may be limiting the pool of buyers by focusing on such a niche though!)
Not mentioned in the $799K listing: the high-voltage power lines that run parallel to the tracks. Also, there’s the bad feng shui: The front door faces onto the end of Judson St.
- 5636 Community Dr. [HAR]
While I don’t know what a “train tract” is, it is clear that by “semi-active” they mean “one of the busiest rail corridors in Texas.”
I think the agent meant track instead of tract. Then again, who knows. Pass the test, get your license, give HAR your credit card number and you’re in business.
As for the bad “chi-chi” it’s really the bad “choo-choo” and I’m forever amazed by people who have bought along Community believing that you get used to the house rattling every time the train goes by.
Its the same problem east of Newcastle where the homes also built right up to the side of the tracks. “Ooops, the train is coming, call you back.” Why anyone ever bought the houses to begin with boggles the mind. Why developers would go in and tear down the original houses and put in million dollar homes defies logic. That anyone would buy them defines insanity.
If you go south into Ayrshire the homes that back up to the field that backs up to the tracks have a nice berm I think it’s called that deflects some of the noise over the houses. Whoever developed Ayrshire probably lived on Community. Or in the 4300 block of one of the streets off Newcastle. In Bellaire and West U, the wrong side of the tracks was ON the tracks. Literally.
a friend used to have a shack on community drive before the hood went really upscale. when the train comes through you’re going to hear & feel it.
People will do strange things to try to impress others…
One of our favorite lines from Blues Brothers: “How often does the train go by?” “So often you won’t even notice.”
From d:
a friend used to have a shack on community drive before the hood went really upscale. when the train comes through you’re going to hear & feel it.
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The realtors no doubt have a “schedule” so they can show the houses “inbetween the trains.” I was showing once once on the east side of Community when the train arrived. The potential buyer departed.
They do have a silent crossing there now, so at least you’re not bombarded by the sound of the whistle too.
I grew up with the train on the “po’ side of Bellaire” that Matt Mystery is referencing (seriously, 1 train track, 2 sewage treatment plants and an HPD helipad and people are still paying half a mil for a house?!) in an old bungalow and you do get used to the train…but I wouldn’t expressly seek it out.
On another note, the spelling / grammar errors in that listing are making my teeth stand on edge.
Nothing sells a home quicker than using the incorrect homonyms… lol
I once saw a listing for a home that had a “rot iron fence” and had to cringe… Very unappealing, even though I knew what they meant by it.
Perhaps the agents are using text-to-speech software to write these listings and not bothering to proofread them. That’s probably the best excuse I can come up with…
I have a copy of a listing that made much of the house’s “huge entertainment deck”; however,the word “deck” had the next vowel in the alphabet. Wonder how disappointed prospective buyers were?