Buying a House Next to a School

fireyfirenze

Hi there, first time poster but long time reader

Me and my partner are first time buyers and have recently found a seemingly perfect property that ticks every box and is in our price range. We have booked a viewing for it on Saturday and last night went for a little drive round to see what the street looked like etc (basically being nosy!). It was a lovely quiet cul de sac but we soon realised that the house we want to buy is right next to a large primary school. Like, the main gate to the primary school is practically at the end of our drive.

This immediately put me off as I thought of a few things - the noise from the playground at playtimes, and the business of the street when its picking up and dropping off time. My friends children go to the school and she said it does get extremely busy and gridlocked especially if its raining. However the more I think about it the more I wonder if I could cope, as its only going to be for what, half an hour each morning and afternoon?

Basically I'll try and cut this shorter, would buying a house next to a primary school put you off? Does anybody live this close to a school? and does this generally reduce the value of your property as the house is quite cheap for the area.

Any tips would be much appreciated!

McKneff

I would put me off I'm afraid.

Nosie in the morning, playtime, lunchtime, playtime, end of school.

Clubs, open days, parents evenings, Christmas shows.

I have to pass a primary school often and the amount of screaming from the kids is horrendous.

My daughter lives in a cul de sac 200 yards from a school and on some days the cul de sac is full of school traffic.

Gra76

I think a lot of it will depend on your own working habits. For instance, I work 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday so I'd never have any issues with it as I'd be leaving at 7.30am so would never see the gridlock. I'd then be away all day so wouldn't have to live with any of the noise, and then I'd be returning home at 6.30pm, long after the kids went home.

It wouldn't affect me in the slightest, but everyone is different, so it may or may not be a problem for you. If you're at home a lot then you need to weigh up if you'll be able to stick out some noise during the week to have a seemingly perfect property.

jbainbridge

All the above is true ... if you can live with it I wouldn't let it put you off. Will you be in during the day to hear the noise? Parking will be a nightmare during drop off and pick up ... does it have its own drive? If you're both leaving for work before drop off time you might never see the madness!

Could be an advantage if the school is one you might one day use!

lb364

My friend lives next to a primary school and has never had any problem with it. As Gra76 said, it depends when you personally will be using the house, whether you need to drive anywhere during pick-up/drop-off times, and just think how quiet it will be on the weekends

balletshoes

As long as you will be away for work before 8.15ish in the morning, and not coming back until after 3.30pm, you'll be fine and probably won't even notice .

Some parents have terrible manners when they're taking their kids to school by car around here, they park across driveways etc etc, must be a bit of a nightmare for local residents at school time in the mornings and afternoons.

fireyfirenze

It has a double drive and a garage which is what most attracts my partner to it! He has pointed out a lot of the same as you have - it wouldn't affect him as he would be leaving at 7am and returning around 4 Monday to Friday, so he would never see the traffic really. I however work shifts that include some night shifts that mean sometimes I need to sleep in the day - thats going to be a nightmare isnt it with the noise of the playground?

I think I'm going to have to accept the inevitable that its going to stop us buying it but I'm so disappointed as its otherwise a perfect house! Do you think its a coincidence that its gone up for sale in the summer holidays so theres no children at school?

I think what we will do is wait, and go back to look at it when the kids are back in school (if it is still up for sale) and go around picking up time, see what the noise level is actually like. Thank you very much for the responses so far!

McKneff

I used to live in a village, and 2 doors away from a graveyard, it was very quiet there:D

Good_Money

I have lived very near a primary school for over 10 years. The only time I notice a bit of noise is when I am off from work and then it is only short bursts of half hour when it is playtime.

Other than that no problems.

lb364

How about ear plugs and triple glazing? Or a guest room for daytime sleeping on the other side of the house?

pacific4130

It's completely subjective, but I know I wouldn't purchase a property next to a primary school.

As a shift worker the noise from young children (and it's not just 'normal noise' but horrendous screeching and yelling) can make getting any sleep a sheer nightmare - particularly in summer when windows are open.

I used to live near one and the morning playtime would wake me up after a few hours of sleep. This was on an RAF base, so the noise of the children was worse than the aircraft! Like I said, the screeching is just unbearable as it's not really a background noise but very punctuated if you get what I mean. I was about 100m away, so God knows what it'd be like living next door to one.

It all depends on you though... Some people can sleep through it, or they are fine in hot weather and don't need the windows open much. There's always the option of spending a bit of cash to secondary or triple glaze the bedroom windows to block out the noise.

Also, consider the effect on any pets. If you have a dog the noise from the children playing can agitate them if they've not been socialise around groups of young children.

All in all, it's like any property near to a non-residential building. If that building doesn't disturb your life, and you accept that it may put some future buyers off, then you can get a great house for your money compared to the local area.