Would you buy this house? Please help

cte1111

I would go ahead and buy the house. Yes, there is permission to build a big fence and it would likely be renewed if they applied for that. However all the information that you have gathered indicates that it is unlikely to happen. And if it did happen, then you have potential to block the visual impact with trees.

No-one can guarantee that a development won't occur that would devalue your house. But my personal opinion would be that you have done a great job in researching potential downfalls of this small residential home and found none really, so go for it.

daisiegg

hethmar wrote: »

And whilst its ok for people to say its a home for adult downs syndrome AT THE MOMENT - it would appear to have a licence for much more worrying conditions? The fence application is a worry - ok they dont need it for people with Downs but why did they think they may need it in future? If they have had planning permission okayed once, it would be much easier for them to get a renewal of the application through.

You're right, it's because they were considering changing the status of the home. Which they decided not to do. But which they could presumably still decide to do at any time!

My mortgage broker was looking at it all with me and raised a good point, though, it's small and only houses 9 residents, and has recently been refurbished in lots of ways including lots done in the garden - if they were wanting to change it to a higher security place, they would need to do lots of work and lots of drastic changes other than just putting up the fence, and they wouldn't have invested lots of money into making it into a nice place for people who are semi-independent and can come and go as they please recently (like, in the last few months) if they had any intention of changing it to be an entirely different facility in the near future - that would make no financial sense.

kentmum1973

I would probably go for it, I would ask to go back to see the property, stand the garden and visual a 12 foot fence. Would they remove the existing fence or just build behind it? It is not *that* high, a bank of lleylandai (sp?) would be higher, which would be easy to plant. What material is the fence to be made out of it? If you love the house, can see yourself growing old there, then go for it. I am in the process of buying a house that has sold off a piece of its garden for development; it has put loads of people off but we can see beyond it and are happy to go with it as we love the house.

pimento

kentmum1973 wrote: »

I would probably go for it, I would ask to go back to see the property, stand the garden and visual a 12 foot fence.

Three metres is just under ten feet.

I'd buy the house. I don't imagine the residents of the care home are likely to be habitually prowling the perimeter next to your garden and to be honest, I'd rather live next door a home like this than someone with three or four noisy teenage children with a trampoline and a dog.

cheepskate_2

At least you know what you are getting, and with it being a shelter complex(still will be even if it is changed) any problems will be dealt with better and more appropriately , than if you moved into a house with a sweet little neighbor who in turn sold it to a total loony with psychotic problems and a mad personality.

hethmar

cheepskate wrote: »

At least you know what you are getting, and with it being a shelter complex(still will be even if it is changed) any problems will be dealt with better and more appropriately , than if you moved into a house with a sweet little neighbor who in turn sold it to a total loony with psychotic problems and a mad personality.

very true - similar thing happened to us!

ruggedtoast

Anywhere you buy can go pear shaped overnight due to the neighbours, but its probably best not to start off worrying about what might happen.

I wouldnt be keen to proceed on this property unless I had a good discount.

Bullion_Baron

Doesn't sound like the fence is needed, I wouldn't worry about it.

poppysarah

Bullion_Baron wrote: »

Doesn't sound like the fence is needed, I wouldn't worry about it.

Funding issues have meant a special needs school isn't going to be put where a secondary school is *at the moment*.
They are rebidding for funding and this may be the case in the future here too - that they get it.

I wouldn't buy next to such a potential nightmare. It might be fine for years until 6 months before you need to sell...

KateLiana27

Call up the manager of the care home, introduce yourself nicely and ask for an informal chat about the type of people the home cares for. There's no point speculating or getting second hand information from an agent/vendor who may have already lied to you. For what it's worth, if it really is a care home that looks after people with Down's syndrome it wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

I do think the situation makes your house slightly (not hugely) less desirable to future buyers, and would expect the price of the house to reflect this. If you are paying less than you would for a similar house in the same area, and wouldn't be able to afford a different house without that "discount", I'd go for it. Every house involves some sort of compromise.