homes for sale in huntsville alabama

Client research of Huntsville Alabama homes for sale
March 3rd, 2012 9:43 AM


The house at 16652 SALLIE LANE has been on the market since 10/14/11 with no price reductions.

The link below is to the listing where the current owner bought the house in 2009 at $190,000 / $86 per square foot. If he were able to sell at the list price he would probably just be breaking even.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7115401540

The schools are decent. You can research them at http://www.schooldigger.com/go/AL/search.aspx

The house is not near a flood zone.


Huntsville Alabama homes for sale flood map

Checking the surrounding properties there is nothing that gives pause. We have to be careful with rural properties to avoid concentrations of mobile homes or commercial farms.









http://maps.google.com/maps?q=16652+SALLIE+LANE,+HARVEST,+AL+35749&hl=en&ll=34.798228,-86.835889&spn= 0.000989,0.002637&sll=37.0625,95.677068&sspn=14.20984,64.775391&hnear=16652+Sallie+Ln,+Harvest,+Alabama+35749&t=h&z=19

From the Google satellite image at the link below there are power lines and some sort of structures on the road. The resolution in this area is not good but the structures look like mobile homes and the road doesn't look paved.


http://maps.Google.com/maps?q=ANDREW+ROAD,+HUNTSVILLE,+AL+35763&hl=en&ll=34.680391,-86.473613&spn=0.000495,0.001318&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.28862,86.396484&hnear=Andrew+Rd,+Huntsville,+Madison,+Alabama+35741&t=h&z=20


The following is an image of the road as it intersects Caldwell Lane. Again I can see power lines but the road looks to be unpaved.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=ANDREW+ROAD,+HUNTSVILLE,+AL+35763&hl=en&ll=34.674237,-86.474576&spn=0.000495,0.001318&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.28862,86.396484&hnear=Andrew+Rd,+Huntsville,+Madison,+Alabama+35741&t=h&z=20


The terrain here is very steep making home construction more difficult, expensive and prone to foundation and radon issues.


Homes for sale in Huntsville Alabama
You can drive up to the property for a first hand look

Dir:Hwy 431 S pass Dug Hill Rd, go few more miles and turn left on Caldwell, go one mile and take 3rd left on Andrew. Property is in the curve.


Note in the Google directions below, the property is substantially uphill from the water storage tank. One can assume that some sort of pump is needed to supply the subject property.

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Caldwell+Ln&daddr=Andrew+Rd&hl=en&ll=34.67617,-86.478238&spn=0.015846,0.042186&sll=34.671688,-86.477079&sspn=0.031695,0.084372&geocode=FdQYEQIdhj3Y-g%3BFWguEQIdooXY-g&oq=hampton+cove&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=14&t=h&z=15

I went to preview and photograph the house on dry creek cove. It is a nice but somewhat dated home. You can form an opinion yourself but the concerns I have are that the heat on the main floor is propane. This can be pretty expensive and the price of propane varies seasonally. You have to keep an eye on your supply and order a few weeks before it has to be filled.

I could feel that the floors were very uneven . One of the photos shows the waviness in the upstairs bedroom. Other photos show where the door has been rubbing on the fame. This is a sure sign the house has settled.

The heating and cooling units are probably original to the house and look pretty old. I couldn't find a date on the information plate but if we get that far my HVAC man can tell us how old they are.

The air filters and grills are dirty. It's important to keep these clean to avoid compressor damage.

It was dark and hard to see but there may be burn marks around the air intake of the propane water heater. I'm not sure waht that means. It could just need the jets cleaned.

The seal is broken in the double pane glass window in the room between the kitchen and laundry. There is moisture between the panes of glass.

The sheet rock tape in the garage ceiling is coming loose. This could be a sign of moisture but could be anything.

There is some unusual damage to teh front wall of the garage.

The back deck is showing some age and will need attention soon.

The mail level ceilings have been repainted but there is yellow showing through. There is no smoke smell in the house but it could be someone smoked inside and the nicotine stain is bleeding through. One area in the kitchen looks like there may have been some ceiling repair.


One of the bathroom vent fans is way noisy. There may be a fan bearing going bad or it could just be a noisy fan.

There is a doorstop in the master bedroom bathroom door. When I moved it the door closed. Again a sign the house has settled.

The insulation in the attic looks a little low.

I tried to get photos coming in and out of the neighborhood but it's hard to focus while driving.

The link below are to photo slide shows.

http://www.visualtour.com/show.asp?T=2704089

http://youtu.be/7G8RnfjJTXI

On the difference in price between XXXX and Dry Creek; Age and location are the two big factors. The Dry Creek schools aren't near as good and property values in Morgan County are not what they are in Madiosn County. In the photos I sent I tried to show the junk yard and Appalachian -American mobile homes and composting cars on the drive in.

I had to go back to 2005 to find any huntsville alabama homes for sale sales in the neighborhood. The link below is to a summary of those sales. The subject is listed at $66 per square foot and has been on market since 09/22/10 without selling. The owner had it on market for 92 days in 2006 without it selling. The average sold price was $67 per square foot with a range of $67 to $78 per square foot. All of the sales had land ranging from 5 to seven acres.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7115407826


The link below is to the street view and satellite image of 23812 EAST CLEARMONT DRIVE

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=23812+EAST+CLEARMONT+DRIVE,+ELKMONT,+AL+35620&hl=en&ll=34.904417,-86.992557&spn=0.000442,0.002637&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.28862,86.396484&hnear=23812+E+Clearmont+Dr,+Elkmont,+Alabama+35620&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=34.904417,-86.992558&panoid=t03pDjT76MtfeQxad7cz7g&cbp=11,128.53,,0,0



Locations of nearby commercial farming operations; Homes for sale in Huntsville Alabama

Google estimates 37 min to Redstone Arsenal but with traffic on Highway 72 I think that is unrealistic. It's probably safe to add 10 - 15 min.

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=AL-255+N&daddr=23812+E+Clearmont+Dr,+Elkmont,+AL+35620&hl=en&sll=34.790123,-86.813965&sspn=0.462402,1.349945&geocode=FSSlEQIdXoHV-g%3BFX2XFAIdQ5nQ-imhkZNU5fNiiDFbATF-Ext4qg&oq=redstone+&mra=dme&mrsp=0&sz=10&t=m&z=10

Look closer at the three parallel long buildings to the southwest. Zoom in on them. These have to some sort of commercial farm. It could be hogs but is probably chickens. If this is a commercial farm when the house is downwind it will be unpleasant.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=23812+EAST+CLEARMONT+DRIVE,+ELKMONT,+AL+35620&hl=en&ll=34.899589,-86.996441&spn=0.014431,0.042186&sll=34.790123,-86.813965&sspn=0.462402,1.349945&hnear=23812+E+Clearmont+Dr,+Elkmont,+Alabama+35620&t=h&z=15

Here is the street view of the operation. I couldn't find a sign saying what it is.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=23812+EAST+CLEARMONT+DRIVE,+ELKMONT,+AL+35620&hl=en&ll=34.899395,-87.002492&spn=0.000018,0.010546&sll=34.790123,-86.813965&sspn=0.462402,1.349945&hnear=23812+E+Clearmont+Dr,+Elkmont,+Alabama+35620&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=34.899438,-87.002385&panoid=s682ktHanIibyyJq71JR3w&cbp=12,166.38,,0,0



Homes for sale in Huntsville Alabama;

10648 STEWART ROAD is under contract.