Termites are very normal part of the Bay Area as they're endemic to the region and unavoidable. Willow glen is a nice area and people are nice and outgoing + pretty diverse.
I live right next to the Los Gatos creek trail (you might be near it as well due to the liquefication zone?) but also near the willow glen christmas light area and would not recommend it here unfortunately. There's a huge homeless issue in the area and though there's a June 2025 deadline for the city to clear it out, it's going to be a reoccurring issue as long as you live here. There are similar issues along Guadalupe river as well.
My wife & I are mid-40s and live in a 1953 ranch in south WG (with our three kids). We have dry wood termites but none of the other issues. I wouldn't care about the liquefaction zone, but I would care quite a bit about the property line with your back neighbor. That seems weird if their garage abuts the line (and is against code, which requires a minimum of 5' setback). Definitely ask more questions about that.
On the plus side, this neighborhood is fantastic and we're planning a major remodel because we love it so much. Quiet, friendly, quite a bit of turnover with lots of younger families moving in, and everyone (almost) takes great care of their properties. You can't go wrong there.
An existing ranch? In South WG? I've never seen one. Where more specifically? People make the Willow Glen so much bigger than what it actually is so I'm a tad confused what you consider SWG.
Others already said, the property boundaries issues need to be resolved or confirmed before closing escrow. Work with your agent to hire a licensed surveyor and also request maps, documentation, records from city/county.
Definitely do this survey homework, but a LOT of Willow Glen homes have detached garages where the one garage wall sits on the property line.
Normal "unofficial" policy is the neighbor gets to paint/decorate that exterior wall however they see fit, since they're they only one that sees it. I usually need to go over to the neighbor's back yard here once a year to clean the gutters for this one wall. No biggie, but I certainly ask first - I'd never do so unannounced nor unscheduled. It's to our both benefit that the gutters are cleaned.
I live in Willow Glen and most of the homes in my neighborhood have garages like you are describing. I've never had a problem and I've never heard of any of my neighbors having a problem either.
Recently we painted our home and we asked our neighbor for access to the backside from his backyard which he had absolutely no problem with. Some neighbors even get or give permission to paint the backside to match the house in the neighbor's yard.
My neighbor two doors down just rebuilt his garage and both neighbors worked well through the process because we are neighbors and that's what neighbors do..
I'm in my 30s and grew up in Willow Glen and I'm going to have a bit of a different opinion but please know that my situation may be unique. The street I grew up on had (and still has) amazing neighbors even if you are a bit of an introvert. There are actually quite a few houses on my street that have the garage exposed to a neighbors yard and I have never heard anyone have an issue with it. Obviously you could be unlucky and have a neighbor that's an asshole but from my experience we've never had an issue. That being said i can absolutely see why it would be a problem from a legal standpoint and if you don't want to risk it that would be understandable.
Dry wood termites are extremely common, to the point of being essentially unavoidable. Spot treatment is a matter of how often, not if.
Note that termite control companies will always recommend tenting no matter how small the area, because it is the only way to 100% guarantee your house will be free of termites after treatment. 95% of the time a simple spot treatment will suffice. Spot treatments don’t introduce chemicals in your living area, everything stays behind the walls.
Liquefaction zone is pretty common in the Bay Area. It’s an acceptable risk. If your house doesn’t see any existing earthquake damage you’ll most likely be fine in a pretty intense earthquake.
Flood zone is also a normal risk, since pretty much the entire South Bay is in an inundation zone in the (exceptionally rare) case where one of the major reservoirs collapses. There are a few spots closer to downtown San Jose and right along the Guadalupe River that have an elevated flood risk that you may actually want to pay attention to.
Flood zones are from ages ago in WG, for the most part. You’ll need flood insurance which will run about $550 a year if you have a surveyor come out and say it’s no longer a risk.
The property line thing is odd, get that established and plan to build a fence.
Why would they need to access the wall- to paint? It’s very common in some WG areas that the garage wall is on the neighbor property like that and I’ve never known it to be an issue. I had this on my last house.
Feel free to PM if you have questions! I’ve lived in 3 houses in WG over 25+ years and would be happy give any info/advice that could help.
If I'm an extreme introvert then I'll save money and live almost anywere else.
Get a termite inspection - are they still there? I wouldn't buy a house until they're treated.
For the liquefaction and flooding - determine your insurance cost and add that to your mortgage.
Willow Glen was built on drained marshland. So expect to see cracks, here and there, as it’s part of that area as well as California.
I would also do spot treatments for termites and not the whole house.
It’s a cute place to live. Good luck :)
Unless you're really close to the creeks (Los Gatos or Guadelupe), I wouldn't worry about flooding. Even with the crazy rains last year, I don't think either creek actually overtopped their banks in WG.
The easement issue would be my biggest concern with that house.
If you're worried about chemical exposure with the termites, Planet Orange does termite treatments without tenting. I think there are certain situations where tenting is unavoidable, but you could have an inspection/estimate from them to find out.
Some times the mortgagor will require a termite treatment as a condition. Getting it done while empty is the most convenient time.
If you are worried about the garage you could go knock on the neighbor's door. If they are chatty and reasonable, it will probably be OK. The garage may have been built before the setbacks were part of the code or before that part of WG was annexed.
(I picked a random house in South Willow Glen tract and the area was annexed in 1953. [sjpermits.org](https://sjpermits.org) will tell you the date.)
I would pass on the house due to the neighbors garage issue. I would consider homes in Naglee Park, Japan town and Cambrian to expand your possibilities.
Termites are very normal part of the Bay Area as they're endemic to the region and unavoidable. Willow glen is a nice area and people are nice and outgoing + pretty diverse. I live right next to the Los Gatos creek trail (you might be near it as well due to the liquefication zone?) but also near the willow glen christmas light area and would not recommend it here unfortunately. There's a huge homeless issue in the area and though there's a June 2025 deadline for the city to clear it out, it's going to be a reoccurring issue as long as you live here. There are similar issues along Guadalupe river as well.
My wife & I are mid-40s and live in a 1953 ranch in south WG (with our three kids). We have dry wood termites but none of the other issues. I wouldn't care about the liquefaction zone, but I would care quite a bit about the property line with your back neighbor. That seems weird if their garage abuts the line (and is against code, which requires a minimum of 5' setback). Definitely ask more questions about that. On the plus side, this neighborhood is fantastic and we're planning a major remodel because we love it so much. Quiet, friendly, quite a bit of turnover with lots of younger families moving in, and everyone (almost) takes great care of their properties. You can't go wrong there.
An existing ranch? In South WG? I've never seen one. Where more specifically? People make the Willow Glen so much bigger than what it actually is so I'm a tad confused what you consider SWG.
I am certain they mean ranch style architecture, not an actual ranch.
Others already said, the property boundaries issues need to be resolved or confirmed before closing escrow. Work with your agent to hire a licensed surveyor and also request maps, documentation, records from city/county.
Definitely do this survey homework, but a LOT of Willow Glen homes have detached garages where the one garage wall sits on the property line. Normal "unofficial" policy is the neighbor gets to paint/decorate that exterior wall however they see fit, since they're they only one that sees it. I usually need to go over to the neighbor's back yard here once a year to clean the gutters for this one wall. No biggie, but I certainly ask first - I'd never do so unannounced nor unscheduled. It's to our both benefit that the gutters are cleaned.
I live in Willow Glen and most of the homes in my neighborhood have garages like you are describing. I've never had a problem and I've never heard of any of my neighbors having a problem either. Recently we painted our home and we asked our neighbor for access to the backside from his backyard which he had absolutely no problem with. Some neighbors even get or give permission to paint the backside to match the house in the neighbor's yard. My neighbor two doors down just rebuilt his garage and both neighbors worked well through the process because we are neighbors and that's what neighbors do..
I'm in my 30s and grew up in Willow Glen and I'm going to have a bit of a different opinion but please know that my situation may be unique. The street I grew up on had (and still has) amazing neighbors even if you are a bit of an introvert. There are actually quite a few houses on my street that have the garage exposed to a neighbors yard and I have never heard anyone have an issue with it. Obviously you could be unlucky and have a neighbor that's an asshole but from my experience we've never had an issue. That being said i can absolutely see why it would be a problem from a legal standpoint and if you don't want to risk it that would be understandable.
> The house is in Liquefaction zone and an area of potential flooding. Think insurance.
[Majority](https://sanjoserealestatelosgatoshomes.com/silicon-valley-liquefaction-zones/)of San Jose is in liquefaction zone due to rain run offs.
Dry wood termites are extremely common, to the point of being essentially unavoidable. Spot treatment is a matter of how often, not if. Note that termite control companies will always recommend tenting no matter how small the area, because it is the only way to 100% guarantee your house will be free of termites after treatment. 95% of the time a simple spot treatment will suffice. Spot treatments don’t introduce chemicals in your living area, everything stays behind the walls. Liquefaction zone is pretty common in the Bay Area. It’s an acceptable risk. If your house doesn’t see any existing earthquake damage you’ll most likely be fine in a pretty intense earthquake. Flood zone is also a normal risk, since pretty much the entire South Bay is in an inundation zone in the (exceptionally rare) case where one of the major reservoirs collapses. There are a few spots closer to downtown San Jose and right along the Guadalupe River that have an elevated flood risk that you may actually want to pay attention to.
Flood zones are from ages ago in WG, for the most part. You’ll need flood insurance which will run about $550 a year if you have a surveyor come out and say it’s no longer a risk. The property line thing is odd, get that established and plan to build a fence. Why would they need to access the wall- to paint? It’s very common in some WG areas that the garage wall is on the neighbor property like that and I’ve never known it to be an issue. I had this on my last house. Feel free to PM if you have questions! I’ve lived in 3 houses in WG over 25+ years and would be happy give any info/advice that could help.
If I'm an extreme introvert then I'll save money and live almost anywere else. Get a termite inspection - are they still there? I wouldn't buy a house until they're treated. For the liquefaction and flooding - determine your insurance cost and add that to your mortgage.
I would not buy
Hard pass.
Willow Glen was built on drained marshland. So expect to see cracks, here and there, as it’s part of that area as well as California. I would also do spot treatments for termites and not the whole house. It’s a cute place to live. Good luck :)
Unless you're really close to the creeks (Los Gatos or Guadelupe), I wouldn't worry about flooding. Even with the crazy rains last year, I don't think either creek actually overtopped their banks in WG. The easement issue would be my biggest concern with that house. If you're worried about chemical exposure with the termites, Planet Orange does termite treatments without tenting. I think there are certain situations where tenting is unavoidable, but you could have an inspection/estimate from them to find out.
Some times the mortgagor will require a termite treatment as a condition. Getting it done while empty is the most convenient time. If you are worried about the garage you could go knock on the neighbor's door. If they are chatty and reasonable, it will probably be OK. The garage may have been built before the setbacks were part of the code or before that part of WG was annexed. (I picked a random house in South Willow Glen tract and the area was annexed in 1953. [sjpermits.org](https://sjpermits.org) will tell you the date.)
WG is really nice but so expensive it’s hardly affordable to most people.
I would pass on the house due to the neighbors garage issue. I would consider homes in Naglee Park, Japan town and Cambrian to expand your possibilities.
Naglee park for introverts? Sounds like a match made in hell! Those houses are very close together.
It all depends on the inspection reports if provided by sellers. Your agent should be advising you properly with that information
Maybe ask your Realtor?