BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
So my lovely little town has a street that is extra wide to accommodate a train track that runs right down the middle of the north and south lanes of the road.
1,000 years ago, I lived 3 blocks from a train in my first rental. I didn't know the train was so close, until I was ripped from sleep that first night an hour before my alarm went off. Train horns can be exceptionally loud even from 3 blocks away.
I will NEVER live near tracks again.
Would you buy near tracks? We have a lot of trains, and you can hear them through the night sounding their horns from any part of the city, no matter how well insulated your home may be.
But right up against the tracks is a different story.
The city is contemplating some sort of fix that would allow trains to go through without the horns, which would make renting properties near the tracks much easier.
Investor · Fishers, IN · Member since 2012 · 520 posts · 499 votes
10y
Industrial properties and Self Storage are a great fit - We can buy the land cheap, and the "stuff" inside doesn't care if a train rolls through at 2am.
Just 1 more of the 784 reasons we got out of the tenant and toilet nightmare, and into Self-Storage.
OK, so you live in an overpriced beach town. Why would anybody here care, and what could that possibly have to do with this thread?
It does not change the fact that if there are train tracks in your town, then somebody lives within ear shot of them. This is an undeniable fact anywhere there are railroad tracks.
A lot of people say where I live is a fairy tale city also. It's on top ten lists all the time. Everything is super inflated, values are sky high. People still live all over the railroad tracks...also by other noisy things such as commercial property and airports.
Have you ever heard the phrase, when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging?
San Jose, CA · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
10y
I bought a house close to a railroad track when that's all I could afford in WA state on the Canadian border. The trains had to rearrange to meet the different requirements for Canada and the US, and what this meant was that right at the border, they had to "couple." What this involves is slamming one car into another, so they attach to each other. Lord, the noise and how it rattled the house!
But, another concern, is that creepy people walk the railroad tracks. You aren't just dealing with noise, but unsavory types that walk the railroad tracks. It also seems to be a favorite place for graffiti artists.
Hi - Reigniting the train track conversation here... I'm looking at 15 acres in the country, that includes a vineyard. It's a lovely spot to watch the sunset and gaze at the stars. Two BR and 1.5 bath - half a mile from the tracks (crossing with arms, and freight train does blare horn at night). Currently used as owners home - and they say they don't notice the train anymore. Would love to do STR, but worried about the train noise. I get that LTR tenants eventually get used to the noise, but what about STR folks? Any STR specialists out there that want to chime in?
Lender · Asheville, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
I absolutely would not buy it as a STR. Some long term tenants may eventually get over it. MOST of your STR tenants will complain, even if you disclose it in your listing and those low star reviews will hurt your bookings. Heck, they complain about much more minor things. Train noise...not so minor.
