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A few years ago, I was showing a house in Potomac, Maryland, a Washington, DC suburb, when I noticed a stack of brochures on the antique dining room table. They were reprints of a paper saying that high density power lines were totally harmless. And then I noticed that this listing agent of this beautiful home was none other than the wife of the chief lobbyist for the power companies trade association.
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34 Comments on Should you buy a home near a TV tower or high voltage power lines?
I am told to mention power lines near a house on my report, and the possible EMF effects. But none of the many studies surrounding these power lines show danger.
I map all properties and eliminate showing those with heavy power lines...most of my clients will not even go inside. My job is to show home buyers the best of what is available and avoid mistakes that will come back to bite them.
Good blog subject, thank you.
Eve in Orlando
Over the years I've had several listings that backed to high voltage power lines. I always thought they would be difficult to sell...but not so. There are a lot of buyers out there who just don't care.
Rich
I think I would have a problem with it, but who knows until you are actually in that position. If the home were my dream home and priced right....I just might consider it.
I just bought a home in Feb. with it's own cemetary on the lot....just feet from the house in fact. The agent selling the house was obviously hesitant when he disclosed it to us. He was very relieved when I expressed my excitement at the thought of having my own cemetary! He said other buyers passed on the house because of it.
Everywhere I go, you see houses that someone bought like next to a railroad track with busy trains, a highway or a busy street. If priced right to allow for the negative circumstances, it sells is all I know....
Personally I know I am not prepared to take the risk. Some buyers don't care, it all depends on price.
We have huge transmission lines running across Delaware County, Ohio. Delaware County is our growing (sprawling) county and has reservoirs / dams that generate / sell power. For years as business was booming I showed homes near the wires, but never sold one near a tower. My brother the electrical engineer once told me they were not unsafe. I remember when he was in his 20s when he'd tell us funny stories about cows and electricity. Dairy cows in a very rural area. They have more water in their bodies, stray currents???
When the market changed big towers looming behind a house was just one more thing to make a house harder to sell. Personally I would rather live near a train, a cemetary, a busy road (within reason) under a flight pattern than near a big power line.
Living next door to a someone on the local govts. sex offender list or with a electric tower looming over my house? I think I would choose the sex offender personally.
You can buy more home under / near a tower. A few years ago I ran into past clients who were concerned the NEW elementary school was too close to the electric wire tower. We had a big power line come down in Franklin County in a derecho (strong straight line wind storm) last June, it was not as huge a structure as the transmission lines running across Delaware County interspersed with new homes. When you drive under the huge, huge transmission towers you can hear the electricity crackling and the hair on your arms stands up.
Pat--I just had to comment. We have some very large power stations and towers throughout the communities I serve. When we were looking for our first home, my husband referred to a new development that was in the shadow of some huge lines, the "Come GLOW With Us" neighborhood. People either don't mind or don't want to live by them. You know what category my husband was in! :)
I look at this like a location issue. Some buyer do not mind living on a busy street. Of course, price and location go hand in hand. I have had the electric company to test this type of easement and they found that the EMFs produced from such a field are far less than what you get from a hair dryer or a plug in fan.
I think wind turbines can be added to the list of negative features along with hydro towers, there are a lot of issues regarding there health effects also.
This issue is no longer debate-able. Research has shown that all wireless transmissions damage your DNA which often results in cancer years later. No one should live within miles of a TV or Radio tower or within blocks of a cell tower. For some people these transmissions make it hard to concentrate of hard to sleep.
The fear of power lines is a little overblown. EMF's dissipate rapidly with distance. Just 100 feet away should be safe.
I think it is definitely something that may give buyers pause. The house would really have to be otherwise nothing short of perfect in order to choose it over another. There are arguments both ways, I always suggest that my buyers do their own research to determine whether there is a risk, and if they really love the house enough to deal with it down the road.
Great info Wayne. I know a lot of our Buyers are weary of the powerlines too.
Pat, many people do not want to live under, or close to, high voltage power lines or tv antennae. Prices will be lower for those homes.
Thanks so much for your comments. And it's interesting to hear that my buyers are not the only ones who are wary of high voltage power lines and towers.
I had a few listings near power lines. .and never had a complaint...but if I was buying a home I would have to take this under consideration. .
Pat ~ In Colorado they have a negative value. I have heard arguments stating they can cause cancer and other statements that they just have a very obnoxious humming sound. Whatever the truth is, I'm not sure. What I do know is that the mountains are much prettier to look at that those ugy things!
I actually discussed the high voltage power lines with a client once and we both agreed to pass on that house. There is just too much against the possibilities of what that can do. He loved the house but those power lines were a deal killer. We found another house about a mile away.
It all depends on how far away the house is from the transmission lines, and what size the lines are. There are health problems with some people living too close, and teh Electro Magnetic Fields do have an effect, but it diminishes quickly as you move away from the lines. I've heard doctors say 150' is a safe distance.
We ran into a house once in this situation. After some research, we found quite a bit of comment and controversy over the issue. Being an REO, we decided it was not worth the risk even though it was a nice investment otherwise. An interesting topic for sure and one to be given consideration.
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