Thinking of buying buy to let - but next to graveyard

danfitzjohn

Hi all

Have been looking at buying a nice 2 bedroom property to let out.
Everything seems fine except It is next to a graveyard. By this I mean at the end of the garden is the graveyard, when you open the bedroom curtains, you see the graveyard.

Obviously there are advantages (quiet, no chance if condtruction) and disadvantages (not everyone's cup of tea, resale potential?) of buying this.

Any thoughts in helping me decide would be appreciated!

Dan

Old_Git

is there access to the graveyard at night .Is it likely to be used as a drinking den or anti social behaviour . Otherwise no problems.

moneyistooshorttomention

Good points.

Some of the local ne'er-do-wells use two of our local graveyards to my knowledge as social gathering places. Indeed, I gather they have been known to put up tents in one of them.

Then, of course, there is the general factor of it would spook some people out (me for instance) to have a graveyard next door. I'm guessing it doesn't have that effect on everyone, as one of the dearest roads in my vicinity for that type of house in it is bang next to a graveyard (not one of the "social gathering place" type of graveyard that we have here though).

Davesnave

Graveyards are a non-issue for a large % of the population and didn't affect prices at all in my last road.

True, they may become places for the wrong kind of social gatherings, but that depends very much on area. If the one near my old house had begun to attract night visitors, the residents would have found ways to make it less attractive.

Look around the graveyard carefully. Signs of 'alternative use' and vandalism will be fairly obvious if they are going on. If it is well-maintained, I see no problem.

moneyistooshorttomention

Davesnave wrote: »

Look around the graveyard carefully. Signs of 'alternative use' and vandalism will be fairly obvious if they are going on. If it is well-maintained, I see no problem.

Some of the signs of "alternative use" might be a little 'subtle' though Dave...boiling down to people having noticed that its a church minister of a distinctly liberal persuasion and this is widely known (ie I've rarely noticed any 'social gathering' signs in either graveyard after the event and I think that may be down to church users doing regular clear-ups after them).

Davesnave

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Some of the signs of "alternative use" might be a little 'subtle' though Dave...

Possibly, but in that instance it sounds like the nuisance is being minimised in a way that, say, noise from a main road or noisy neighbour could not be.

The OP sounds like you; a bit risk-averse, but the truth is that most affordable properties have real or potential problems arising from external influences of one kind or another. A graveyard isn't necessarily among the worst of those.

moneyistooshorttomention

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: Dave:rotfl::rotfl:

You hit that nail bang on the head there didn't you Dave?:)

True, when mentally running through a list of properties I could think of the other day I was thinking:

- Not detached (risk of neighbour noise)
- Bit remote (risk of public transport cuts)
- Down on the level to a river (ooh...how lovely...oh whoops...what about flooding?)

You name it and some of us will think of the possibility in advance and try and protect ourselves from it...:cool:. Its true that some of us don't have a financial level in accordance with our "personal risk awareness profile".....darn it.

Fraise

danfitzjohn wrote: »

Hi all

Have been looking at buying a nice 2 bedroom property to let out.
Everything seems fine except It is next to a graveyard. By this I mean at the end of the garden is the graveyard, when you open the bedroom curtains, you see the graveyard.

Obviously there are advantages (quiet, no chance if condtruction) and disadvantages (not everyone's cup of tea, resale potential?) of buying this.

Any thoughts in helping me decide would be appreciated!

Dan

Is it a church graveyard or a cemetery? If it's a church, then it could be almost quaint, but if it's a cemetery it could be terribly depressing (spooky maybe, too) especially if you witness funeral corteges
going in and out

hazyjo

LOVE property next to graveyards, but I'm not in the majority. Search the forum for cemetery, graveyard, etc - several threads on similar things. Yes, you will lose some potential tenants/buyers in future, but, as money says, there's always something that will put people off. Obviously, this may put off more than most though!

As above, make sure there aren't kids hanging around at night, etc. Check with neighbours if you have to.

Jx

Davesnave

I occasionally cut the grass in a 'working' church graveyard. The most expensive houses in the village surround it, but no way would I live next door, because it's one of the noisiest sites locally.

No, there are no human anti-social gatherings there, just a colony of rooks, but boy, can they holler. There's not a lot that anyone, even the well-heeled, can do about that! :rotfl:

ACG

Before i bought my house, i went to look at another and there was a church with graves over the road about 3-4 doors down. My Mrs was having none of it. Well annoying as the house had a great little local 3-4 doors the other way!

So to answer your question, its going to bother some people. But if the price is right and you can rent it then there is probably more profit in it as there will always be someone who doesnt even think about the grave and will pay the going rate.