What’s that vacant lot next door to my home?

As both a real estate agent and an appraiser, I look at the entire neighborhood, not just what’s next door.   I can remember a property in Merrimack I was working on at the end of a cul-de-sac.  Nice quiet neighborhood, but through my research you could see the subdivision ends with a couple large lots, one of which is zoned for commercial uses.  It was just under 100 acres with frontage on a main route.

Here's the GIS map of the same area now.

Here’s the GIS map with the zoning overlay of the area now.  The R is residential, the C-2 is commercial area that was in place, but the large commercial building was built after.

Sure enough a few years later a large “box” store opened and you could definitely hear, and “see”, the noise through the neighbors yard.    Can you imagine buying your new home on this quiet cul-de-sac, and then a few years later having this happen?

Cul-de-sac in Merrimack, NH

Cul-de-sac in Merrimack, NH

So here are a few ways you can find out for yourself (if I’m not your agent):

  1. Google maps is the easiest first step.  Zoom in, do the street view (little yellow man icon) and look around.  Of course Google Earth is stunning, A 3D globe.
  2. My favorite is using a GIS viewer you can usually find on a towns website.  Do a search for GIS and the name of the town/municipal location.  GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems and it is an overlay mapping system combing lots, zoning, wetlands, and all sorts of information.  For more information about GIS mapping here’s my previous post on GIS maps in New Hampshire communities.
  3. Online deeds and/or plans.  Here in New Hampshire we have www.NHdeeds.com and you can look up your deed in most counties.  From the deed you can get the subdivision plan # in many cases.  Enter the plan # and you get the subdivision plans.  Really great information!

My point is to look at the surrounding land, the uses.  I can hear my clients say: “but Jenn, we don’t mind that…”

It could be the property is one street over from a major highway, a property with only 2-bedrooms, or industrial zoned land next door, they may not perceive it as a negative.

Key Point:
Do the majority of home buyers see it that way?  I help my clients become informed, for the future marketability of the property.

 

 

 

 

What is the difference between a Superfund site and a Brownfield?  Check out an earlier post: http://jennifercote.info/superfund-or-brownfield/

Just my thoughts. –Jennifer Cote- Everything Real Estate

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Superfund or Brownfield…what’s the difference?

A Superfund, as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA), is a name given to an environmental program established to address abandoned hazardous waste.  It allows the EPA to clean up these sites and to compel the responsible parties to perform cleanups or reimburse the government.

A Brownfield is a contaminated site being redeveloped, usually with lower concentrations of contaminants.  It is possibly being done by a person that is not potentially liable for cleaning up the site.

Nashua Real EstateThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a website that will allow you to look up both Superfund sites and Brownfield sites.

-Superfund Look up-
-Brownfield Look up-

There is so much information on the EPA website.  I looked up a site on Bridge St in Nashua, NH which is in process of being cleaned up for reuse.  It shows the status of the clean-up effort, the contaminants, and there’s even a link to the neighborhood demographic information.

Brownfield Status in Nashua

Brownfield Status in Nashua

In short…they are both contaminated sites, and have been identified as such by the government, but the process to try and have them be productive is different.   Superfund sites are typically worse and the EPA is actively involved in the cleanup effort.  Brownfield sites are typically abandoned sites that are being cleaned up by private entities looking to redevelop them. http://www.epa.gov/oerrpage/superfund/programs/recycle/faqs/index.html

Check out my blog post on negative environmental influences in real estate: http://jennifercote.info/negative-environmental-influences-in-real-estate/

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Negative Environmental Influences in Real Estate

We’ve all heard the saying that when buying real estate it’s about location-location-location.  Houses in some towns have higher predominant values than others, the same with some neighborhoods, but what I’m talking about is more specific: negative environmental influences.

An appraiser looks at surrounding lots to determine the uses and influences that would affect the subject property.  It could be a positive influence like conservation land or a park.  In many cases there can be negative influences such as commercial or industrial businesses, high-tension power lines, or even contaminated or Superfund sites.

What is a Superfund site?  It’s a site where toxic waste has  been dumped and the Environmental Protection Agency has designated the site to be cleaned up.  Typically the area has restricted access and is fenced in.

A more detailed explanation on the differences between a Superfund site and a Brownfield site can be found on this post: www.jennifercote.info/superfund-or-brownfield/

The typical buyer wouldn’t know how to begin a search on site influences other than what they see driving by.  Would your typical real estate agent know this information?  If they know, they should be disclosing it to you, but they don’t always know.   The appraiser would be reporting site influences in the appraisal report…you need to read that report thoroughly.  Unfortunately, by the time you get a copy of the appraisal you will be near your closing date, or worse, you find out after you move in!  In many cases these sites have been cleaned up, but it could affect the marketability long-term.

Whether it be buying a house, stocks, or even a Doctor’s diagnosis, you need to be your own advocate.  Do your own due-diligence.  Research, research, research…takes time and practice but the more you do it the better you get.  I happen to do it for a living, and my endless curiosity pushes me to take extra steps in researching a property…be it for an appraisal or a client.

The reason for this post is because I did an appraisal on such a property in Nashua, NH.   The state owns the property behind this lot, the tax records do NOT indicate it’s a Superfund site, but town has the owner as the State of NH, Dept of Environmental Services.  Hmmm, so I went on the EPA site and found out it indeed is a contaminated brownfield.

contaminated site in Nashua NH

A well labeled site in the picture to the left is very obvious.  The Mohawk Tannery Site is located in a neighborhood close to downtown Nashua and adjacent to the Nashua river. 

The EPA defines a brownfield site as: “the redevelopment or reuse which may be complicated by the presence, or potential presence, of a hazardous substance…”

 

Check it out to see what’s near you. EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf/index.html

Just my thoughts.  Jennifer Cote- Everything Real Estate

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