Last night I was online looking up a real estate article that had recently been in my local paper.  Usually the real estate stories receive numerous comments from a group of anonymous commenters who like to point out what dishonest crooks Realtors are.  I went to the page of stories that have received comments so I could quickly locate my article on that list.  That's where I was when I saw the curious headline of:

PLANES: Flying around houses

It had received numerous comments so I clicked it open to see what was up.  It was a letter to the editor that reads like a Saturday Night Live satire!  Could this be for real?  Here it is, minus the writer's name:

I recently moved from Cd'A to Hayden. I knew we were closer to a small airport but didn't notice a problem until moving in.  (Uh oh, you can see it coming!)

I don't mind the planes that take off and actually go somewhere. (Say WHAT?) The problem is there are planes that fly over the schools and houses all day long! They just fly in circles with no apparent destination. Perhaps this is some sort of training but why not train somewhere other than over residential neighborhoods and schools. I've counted the same plane(s) circle over my house more than 15 times in less than one hour. This has got to stop! (Ummm, good luck with that!) Not only should it fall under noise/nuisance laws but it is very unsafe. Nobody reading this would let somebody race up and down their streets from dawn until dusk on ATVs or loud motorcycles but it is OK to do it in a plane? I don't get it. Will anything be done before these "recreating" planes crash and burn up our homes and schools? (I'm going to venture a guess here... no.)

Name Withheld by Janna  

Now, I was chuckling and scratching my head wondering if this could possibly be a REAL letter.  Then I scrolled down and started reading the comments.  This is when I started laughing so hard I almost fell out of my chair! If you would like to read the letter and all the comments, go the The Coeur d'Alene Press, click on the Comments tab, then look for PLANES: Flying around houses.  This is your ticket to a little comic relief!  To follow the comment thread you need to start at the bottom and scroll up.

This story illustrates how important it is for a prospective homebuyer to be familiar with the pros and cons of an area they are considering buying a home in.  You can't expect a listing agent to point out the disadvantages of a particular neighborhood.  Be sure you and your buyer's agent do your homework.  In the case of this unfortunate man, he bought his home fully aware of the airport nearby.  He just didn't realize it would be so noisy.  To him, there is no humor here.  I always advise my buyer clients to spend some time in the neighborhood morning, noon and night to really see what goes on there, BEFORE they buy.