House near motorway - would you buy?

Another_money_saver

I was directed to your post by someone that replied to mine as am in a very similar situation with considering a property that has a very busy motorway directly behind the garden! I wanted to know if you did actually go for it, and if you did, how has it been? If not, I'd be interested to know why you didn't? This is obviously a massive cost and risk, so would appreciate advice from someone who has been through a similar situation!

HTB_newbie

Hi Another Money Saver

I have previously bought a house next to a motorway (M3). The front of the house faced towards the motorway with a bank separating the motorway from the row of houses so the motorway was in front of the front garden. The house was designed such that the bedrooms and living room/dining room were all at the back of the house. The front of the house had the kitchen, downstairs toilet, integral garage downstairs and upstairs at the front were the main bathroom and ensuite bathroom. I've gone into detail about the layout because I very happily lived there and I think it is because of the carefully considered design of the place where the road noise was minimised where it would most annoy you.

When I first considered this property I was really concerned about the noise and asked a neighbour how they coped. They said you don't notice the noise after a while and they were right. We found that we tuned out to the road noise in the garden etc..

It's not for everyone and it is a compromise. Only you can decide if you would like to make this compromise. For us, we wouldn't be able to afford a similar house in a good area if we were a couple of streets further back from the motorway and we compromised on the proximity to the motorway for space.

Another thing to consider is the saleability going forward. This worried us particularly as we bought the house at stamp duty threshold. When we sold, we had a buyer within a week of being on the market, so it wasn't a problem but it needs careful consideration. How long has the property been on the market and what is the interest in it?

Tancred

Another_money_saver wrote: »

I was directed to your post by someone that replied to mine as am in a very similar situation with considering a property that has a very busy motorway directly behind the garden! I wanted to know if you did actually go for it, and if you did, how has it been? If not, I'd be interested to know why you didn't? This is obviously a massive cost and risk, so would appreciate advice from someone who has been through a similar situation!

In the end I decided not to proceed. The noise was audible all the time, as soon as you went out of the house. In the house it wasn't very noticeable given the double glazing but I couldn't live somewhere where I had to keep windows shut all the time.

At the end of the day it's a personal decision and it depends on your noise tolerance. My previous house was in a cul-de-sac behind a busy urban dual carriageway in the centre of town; this was actually pretty quiet because there was a row of high Victorian terraces acting as a shield between the main road and the cul-de-sac. The noise was always in the background but never an issue and hardly noticeable. Whereas the house we saw had not only a dual carriageway right behind it, but also the M4 behind that! The noise was therefore much worse.