Purchasing above/next to restaurant

Kynthia

A lot of mortgage companies will not lend to you so you are restricting your options. I bought a flat above a commercial premises a few years ago and some mortgage companies wouldn't lend to me, and others would when they found out it wasn't an off license or take away restaurant. A broker should be able to help you though.

butterfly72

Another no from me! I used to rent a cottage three doors down from a very nice Thai in a nice area. Still used to get drunks piling out late, taxis, vermin (although we were also by the Thames), noise and smells from the fan which meant you couldnt open the window on a hot summers night. Even in the summer the back garden often smelled (or is it smelt!) of cooking in the middle of the day!

Its a shame because it was a lovely cottage and was actually put on the market whilst we still lived there. We didnt even consider buying it.

Nan_Dingle

Aye, all of the above, plus you'd never get a cheap pizza after they missed the '30 mins or less' deadline!

Lavendyr

Yikes, I wouldn't do it either. For all the reasons already mentioned.

Wobblydeb

I tried to buy a first floor flat for BTL a few years ago. I couldn't get a BTL mortgage on it because there was a butchers two doors along on the ground floor. I was told at the time they would have agreed a personal mortgage, but not the BTL.

Things may be different nowadays, but it is something to think about, when considering future saleability.

Ivana_Tinkle

I wouldn't buy it, for all the reasons everyone else has listed, plus I'd be concerned about what happens if, by the time you come to sell, mortgage companies have tightened things up even more and nobody at all will lend on it. There's loads of things which, a few years back, would have restricted your choice of mortgages but wouldn't have been the end of the world which are now pretty much a straight "computer says no" (eg houses with annexes, or Japanese knotweed).

I'd also be worried about the takeaway being sold and opening up again as something even more disruptive (eg a pub), or suddenly starting to play loud music.

Lizling

I looked at a flat that on Google Maps appeared to be above a cafe, which I could have coped with. When I got there for a look around, that cafe had become a fried chicken place called Flames :eek: No wonder they were trying to sell up! That's the risk you take with buying above a commercial premises.

hazyjo

Big no from me, and you will definitely lose a substantial portion of buyers when you come to sell. Most reasons listed above.

Might have been worth running a poll with this saying would you view/buy/consider a flat next to a pizza place. Properties are hard enough to sell generally without losing a large percentage of them!

Also, if it has A3 use (I think the 'food' category), it might not stay as a pizza place. I imagine the smells from an Indian, chip shop, or maybe Chinese or kebab shop would be worse - along with the clientele! Certainly most of us (not that we're drunk that much - ahem) would head to the chippy or the kebab shop!

Jx

hazyjo

PS plus a lot of pizzas are delivered. I would not want to hear motorbikes/scooters up and down the road all night, revving up/engines running.

Jx

happycamel_2

if you are still considering it, even after these comments, I'd advise a couple of nights camped outside (front and back) in your car between say 8pm and 3am and a couple of nights 3am - 8am. I'd recommend that when buying any place but especially this one.

It might seem ok at 2pm on a weekday afternoon but the 0530 delivery lorry unloading or the 0100 drunken clientele might put you off. It'll make you really understand what you're getting in to.

We pulled out of an offer we made after finding out the neighbour's son left for work at 0545 on a moped 5 days a week. It would have woken us up. A few hours invested now will make sure you are comfortable with your choice.