I wouldn't touch that lot with a proverbial 10-foot pole, and not just for the reasons above.

CLIMATE CHANGE.

The "greenway" is a euphemism for a gigantic, purpose-built, swale, by the looks of it. The runoff from all those hard surfaces in the subdivision, roads, driveways--and yep, the BASKETBALL COURT--is headed right for the swale.

Picture an inevitable days-long deluge. Your backyard would inevitably become the approach road to the water interstate and then the new new new holding pond.

Choose a lot on the highest ground in the subdivision.

I would agree with the upthread points, too.

What other lots are available?

Post some photos of other lots...

I’d probably choose one like 320, because it’s a quiet street, and there likely won’t be a driveway right across the street.

It's hard to say. Many of the HOAs around me have empty tennis and basketball courts pretty much all of the time.

I think really only you can answer this question for you. And you're going to have to answer the question not knowing a lot of the variables either - meaning, no one has any clue whether that court will sit vacant 23.5 hours every day, or whether it's the newest hangout spot for all the neighborhood kids.

I had kids across the street from me put a hoop in their driveway and they would play for 30-45 minutes at a time. The sound of that basketball bouncing drove me batcrap crazy. :) I love to keep my front door open for fresh air when I can, and I had to shut it when they were playing because I found the sound utterly obnoxious.

So speaking only for me, I would not chose that lot knowing my own reaction to the noise. But if you don't mind kids playing right next to your house - and maybe bouncing the ball off of your actual house on occasion too - then go for it.

I live next door to a house with a basketball hoop in the driveway and it seems like every teen on the street gathers there at our bedtime to shoot hoops--and our master bedroom is on that side of the house. We use a box fan set on high to make it possible to sleep. I'd vote no on being right next to a basketball court.

Answering your question: No. I would not want to be next to the bball court. Even if you are not sensitive to the sounds, future buyers may be noise averse and this limits your resale-ability. Especially with more people working from home these days people need quiet even during the daytime.

Further Please Note: It is common for developers to put "amenities" like these on their least valuable land in a community. The standing water in the development retaining ponds and the marshland further back seem to be bug breeding grounds and I suspect make these lots less valuable. Is developer offering a discount for this lot/home package?

Is this for you or a client of your's?

Where do you live? The South or Minnesota? Is this going to be an all year thing or just a few months. I live in basketball crazy Indiana and even here the parks don't get used that often.

Do you have kids where it would be convenient to send them next door to play?

If you live where you get snow, it is nice to have your drive oriented where the sun will melt snow so this lot would have that. The opposite would be that only the front of the house would have sun and most likely your living area are on the back side.

Forget the people bashing HOA neighborhoods. A lot of places those are your only choices in certain price ranges.

I can see the appeal of not having neighbors on one side. However, there are several issues I would consider. Is the water stagnant? Could it flood? Do you work from home? Will the house have insulated windows? Since you are picking out a lot, you may want to also consider which direction you prefer for light and energy efficiency.

https://www.theexaminernews.com/north-south-east-west-which-is-the-best-way-to-face/

If you have toddlers I'd take a lot in the interior circle, for less traffic.

You can ask the HOA for quiet hours; getting them to enforce it is another matter. Mine is extremely lax at this sort of thing and anyway, the HOA office won't be open at 9:00 pm when the problem is occurring.

It’s all the outside visitors to the court, playing with residents, that will make any of that intolerable. Parking on the street won’t allow you to get in and out easy. Add the teen BS trash talking and other noxious behavior, and those are the absolute worst spots in the subdivision, not the best. They’re gaslighting you on that, to try to shove off a poor lot and have you pay extra.

The best lots are the corner lots on the outer loop that allow your back yard to face south. The second best would be any corner lot on the inside loop that allows your back yard to face south. The third best would be any loop lot that allows the back yard to face south.

The worst, beside any near the swamp or basketball court, are those that have the back yard face west.

But there is zero chance that buying any of them is a good move right now. Not unless you have a lot of liquidity and pick a good lot at fire sale prices. As in less than half of whatever they are currently asking. Which you possibly can do if the developer doesn’t make it through. But will you make it through?

Is that a public walkway between the house and the basketball court? Does it connect with the walkway behind the lots?

If yes, that would be another big negative because you will have groups of adults walking early in the morning talking/laughing/etc, and their dogs barking at each other, while they take their early morning walk.

I live in an old style suburban neighborhood and my house is set back from the street, but I still hear the group of older ladies that walk several times a week at the crack of dawn. They talk and laugh loudly during their walks. They have woken me up several times.

Oh gosh no! I'm noise-averse. Not only that, depending on the neighborhood of course, the basketball court could be an after-hours gathering place for the riff-raff. Plus all the negatives listed above. I'd take a hard and fast PASS on that lot!

Depends on if you like noise, and if the basketball court has a curfew. I don't mind the sound of children or teens playing during normal hours, but at night I wanna sleep. I'd worry about if the children or teens would consider crossing over my lawn an option of theirs - can you put up a fence or not?

In any case, I'd want a corner lot where my back yard faces south. OR most importantly one of those outer corner lots.

I'd like 625, with the backup of 100 or 336. Only one neighbor with 100, and 625 / 336 are nice corner properties with a couple of neighbors, and you can work it towards a southern back exposure. And it is larger, giving your own family more play and gardening space.

But you are talking to someone who lives rurally. I do love hearing my roosters, however.

I can see maybe choosing a lot next to playground--I'm noise-sensitive and wouldn't, but playground noise is background noise. But go bounce a basketball. It's a piercing, repetitive sound. You'll find in the summer in a hot place, people will want to play late into the evening as long as there's light -- so until 9 p.m. or 9:30. And people will play on weekend afternoons during your child's nap time, and you will have zero control over it.

Makarios-

I live in a very quiet neighborhood, but neighbors about 500 feet away on the other side of a small green belt have a backyard basketball court. Fortunately it really gets used, but when even a couple of teenagers play it’s not the noise of the ball, it’s the constant shouting, groaning, exclamations, cheering, laughing, yelling, etc., that are the problem. Once it was so loud and disturbing, I thought someone was getting beaten up and went over: it was just more boisterousness. You can’t predict what the situation will be with that lot, but I’d plan for the worst.

No, no, no. Parking, noise, illegal activities or borderline illegal (yes even in nice neighborhoods), I am sure the language being shouted out during a rowdy game might, possibly introduce words to your children you aren't ready for them to learn. I would think that small square of houses in the middle would offer the least amount street and sidewalk traffic, great for small children and a quiet evening on the porch or patio. Peace and quiet has always been at the top of my list when looking at location.

If it was just a playground, I *might* consider it. But, having a kid in my house that loves to play basketball, I can promise you that it is a noise that gets to me FAST. He dribbles it in my house daily until I kick him outside with it. But, the noise is still heard, just fainter. I can eventually tune it out but it takes me some doing because there is just something about a ball dribbling....maybe it's just me, I don't know. Mulitply that by multiple games throughout the day (especially during the summer, school breaks, & evenings)....just no. I'm sorry, I wish I could offer more encouragement. On the noise curfew, you can try. Most stay open from 8am - 10pm or 10am-10pm from the places I've traveled and stayed at on VRBO. Just know that enforcing it can be another issue, depending on the methods they use.

I doubt that the HOA posting signs will accomplish anything, especially with an unfenced basketball court. And who is going to come out late at night to intervene if a noisy game is being played?

You're going to get least drive-by traffic right in the middle of the subdivision where that square-shaped cluster is. The way the subdivision is designed, all the other streets are going to get quite a bit of drive-by traffic.

Buy any lot around the basketball court/playground (park). You will experience a greater sense of community and it could provide a great source of entertainment. The other lots are mere cattle in a pen. Any sounds generated from the park will not be constant and most often not objectionable. I think the others are overly concerned about the potential sounds.

Reminder that Mark is the most sarcastic of posters. Depending on his location, it may have been April 1 when he posted.

I've never bought a new home, but I have bought a house about 4 houses down from a playground while my kids were little, and it was a great place to be. It was an easy way to get to know other kids/parents in the neighborhood, and I liked having quick and easy access to the park. I don't think the basketball would bother me, but I rarely see basketball courts getting used, maybe it's different in other areas, though. I wouldn't want to have to pay for flood insurance, so for that reason I think my ideal lot in that picture would be 164, it looks close to the playground, but hopefully out of flood zone.

I would not choose that lot simply because of the noise. If you are already considering asking the HOA for concessions, I think you have your answer. Wait for a better lot to be released. For whatever it is worth, we were in this position about a year ago. Every subdivision we went to was releasing lots in sections. If we couldnt get the lot we wanted, we moved on. In the end, we found the perfect subdivision, and the best lot which they released early to us because we were also looking for a delayed build. It all worked out.

I am serious on that comment. Surprise.

I see absolutely no benefits on this lot and house when you consider resale

Honestly, it would be a huge plus for me to be right next door to a park and basketball court. I would be sending my kids over there all the time! My kids are very active and I already hear basketball and kids playing outside and I like it. Our next door neighbors have teenage boys who play basketball late at night with music, but it's always at a tolerable level and/or our old house has thick walls that drown out the noise well enough. My husband and I have also lived in big cities (downtown) and have never been overly sensitive to noise.

This may seem crazy but since you are concerned I would visit the house and have someone bouncing the ball outside at the court. I know newer homes can have paper thin walls and crap windows that don't insulate noise at all. Might be a helpful and telling experiment.

My only concern with that location, and any house location, is its proximity to water. I would be concerned of flooding, etc and would be overly diligent when reviewing the house report and history of the land.

It's a trade-off.

I could be difficult to sell because others might be weighing the same questions you are weighing right now.

Kids grow up and won't be pre-schoolers forever, so that adjacent playground might not be so appealing five or ten years from now.

While it would give more open sight lines because there are no houses in front of you, IMO the view of the greenbelt isn't all that great that I'd want the basketball court next door.

If that sidewalk in front is a walking path that people would be using for exercise, I have the same caution as an upthread poster. We live in an old neighborhood on a very desirable walking path and like to sleep with our windows open in the summer. It is incredible how completely oblivious some people are when they are walking in the very early hours and carrying on loud conversations. The bikers are even worse because they shout at each other as they bike.

Do the bb courts have lights? If not, nighttime problem solved. Also, I assume that you will have insulated windows to keep out the heat and keep the a/c in. If you get good ones, they also keep the noise out. I'm in central Florida. My windows and doors are rarely opened. We need a magical combination of the right temperature and the right humidity, Otherwise, the house is shut up tight. No heat comes in, and very quiet.

Just a suggestion but purchase a basketball and blow it up to the proper pressure. Have someone bounce it on hard concrete while you are doing something for about an hour. It may allow for a better decision if what you are looking for is for yourself or a customer.

Does the bb court have lights.....problem solved...

NOT

Then you gotta live with screaming bright lights from dusk to dawn. They will get into every pore of your house.

What other options are there? You haven't listed those (that I've seen) so it's hard to make an informed decision not knowing what the other options would be.

I feel very certain the developer is not going to put a lighted basketball court in a residential neighborhood! This isn’t a public park...I am sure the expense of putting in the lights AND paying the electricity would make most production builders take a hard pass on lights. So I wouldn’t worry about that. Are you planning to fence your yard? I would if I had that lot.

My son (now in college) played basketball all through school, and the dribbling and ”thunk“ of the ball hitting the backboard were the soundtrack of our life. 😂 You could end up with neighbors with athletic kids and a driveway hoop wherever you build...even in a custom home neighborhood with 1/2 ac lots.

I'd wait for more employees, etc. to back out of one of the other lots along that row. They were bought as investments most likely. With everything shut down they'll want to get out of them when it becomes apparent building will be a lot slower for months. If you have your finances locked up sit tight and negotiate. I'd expect 20% off in 3 months.

If 173 (upper left corner) were available and within my budget -- and all else being equal ... mostly level lot with any part of it available for building without added restrictions and with no part of it in a flood plane because of the location -- that one overlooking a pond/lake is probably the one I'd want. In a corner, the traffic would likely be slower and with other roads leading to adjoining houses, perhaps the traffic would even be less.

IF, but only if this development were my only option.

Choose another home site -away from the playground.

-A basketball court in such proximity to homes is a terrible idea, as the thump thump thump sound travels quite far. I can recall as a teenager - trying to study in my front-facing bedroom to hear thump thump thump from the neighbor's cement driveway hoop -it was beyond terrible.

-Also, should you decide at some point to adopt a dog- the constant stranger-danger noise will drive the poor animal crazy, as his instinct is to protect you-his family pack. AND you certainly don't want children annoyed by the barking to antagonize the animal, much less anyone throwing anything over the fence and into your yard that might harm your animal

-The HOA will not change the builder's development plans that were approved by the city.

-The HOA might post time limit signs, but will not enforce playground hours. HOAs will fine for unkempt yards, as that is the only way to determine where a violator lives. What proof and how would they distribute fines for persons playing basketball beyond hours?

Choose another lot- that's wide enough for a 3-car garage

If you are that worried about sound, choose another lot- that's wide enough to land a Cessna 172. Next door neighbors can make more noise and they are closer.

The park looks finished, if there were going to be lights they would be there by now.

"May I ask what difference in view would you have if it was for a client instead?"

I would discuss with them the realm of realistic possibilities/probabilities and let them decide.

Makarios-

My first house was on a quiet street...until it got busier years later. I never thought about outdoor noise until it was present. I heard it inside even after all the windows were replaced with insulated glass, and being outside gardening or in my hammock I started wearing noise-cancelling headphones (though that was only a partial help). I finally moved, in large part because I wanted some degree of quiet.

It's one thing to enjoy the sound of children in the neighborhood, and it's another thing to be nextdoor to a basketball court with teenage boys. If you are planning on closing yourself inside when the weather is nice and hoping expensive windows will shut out noise from the basketball court, that may be a less than ideal location.

A comment on that walkway. People will be using it to go to the grassy area to walk their dogs. People may also use it as a park.

maifleur-

...and as a bathroom for their dogs.

I lived next to a neighborhood park with playground. No basketball court. Just a large grassy area for pickup soccer. Not big enough for real baseball.

Weekends were just horrible. The noise was a big issue. The vehicles with park goers taking up all of the street parking, and then the double parking was another big issue. You’d think a neighborhood park like that wouldn’t have people driving to it! But they did. The park “closed” at dusk, but what that actually meant was that If you wanted quiet, you’d have to call the police on the kids hanging out smoking and making noise after dark.

Thankfully that was a rental, and two years later it was someone else’s issue.

If you know which employees own the other lots reach out to them. Give them your contact info and say you'll give one a cash offer when they want to sell their lot.

Thank you all for the feedback!

I wouldn’t want it for another reason. I would want my backyard to have southern exposure.

Additionally we are headed into a severe recession. There are already 6 million people applying for unemployment benefits. I would wait to buy something

I'd choose NONE! The houses are too darn close!

I think this really depends on the area. We lived right beside a school. From our backyard we could see the school field. We heard the bells and kids playing. On Halloween etc it was noisy with fireworks. But we loved it. Our kids walked to the school often and played and it had more benefits than drawbacks for us because it was a small community school not overrun all the time.

The greenbelt would be a huge draw for me. Is that space that will never get developed? If so that would be amazing. If it is just not developed now I would be cautious.