What is a Flag Lot?
A Flag Lot is a lot shaped like a flag on a staff. Imagine the staff of the flag is the driveway that leads from the street up to the bulk of the lot where the house sits. The land adjacent to the staff, or in front of the “flag” part is a separate lot that belongs to someone else. That lot could have another house on it. So if you own a house on a flag lot, your house is behind someone else’s house and not visible from the street. Some people thinks this give them privacy, but most of the time, houses on flag lots are lower in value than a house with street frontage.
My father’s house is the front house, and there is a house behind him on a flag lot. He sees the owner once a week having to push his trash cans a long way down the lengthy driveway to put the trash on the curb for pick-up. Then he has to take the empty cans all the way back. So take that into consideration when you think of buying a house on a flag lot.