Planning permission for new flats next door to house I've offered on

catshark88

However much we theorise and guess, the truth is, the affect of the flats is unknown. Both now, during the build and when they are completed.

You need to decide how much risk you wish to take.

I_have_spoken

I wouldn't risk buying next to flats with the possibility of HA residents throwing syringes and soiled nappies out the windows, noise nuisance, drug dealers hanging about etc.

Mrs_Optimist

Agree with above post. The thought of 40+ neighbours, Housing Association or privately owned, living next to my house in a block of flats would most definitely put me off, in your shoes I would definitely walk away and not let my heart rule my head.

Argghhh

just watch the program tenants on benefits on tv at moment. ok might not be as bad but just because only some of the flats will be social housing doesnt mean the privately owned ones wont be BTL and let out to all and sundry
I would also walk away or reduce price by 33% to cover what potential losses you may incur when u come to sell

stator

It will make it harder to sell the house and it may make it harder to get a mortgage (assuming you need one). It is certainly something that the conveyencer will flag up if they are doing their job.

1sttimebuy3r

Thanks everyone. There seems to be consensus here! You have given me some really good impartial advice and it would seem foolish to ignore it and push on with the sale.

Can't believe how much time I invested in the buying process for this house before making this discovery. But my time is much cheaper than the cost of a house...

Is it even worth offering significantly less money? Might still be stuck with a house I can't sell.

it'smeinit

I would definitely walk away if I were you. Why spend what could potentially be years worrying about selling it at a loss, save yourself the grief and move on. Even at a reduced cost the stress wouldn't nbe worth it for me..

[Deleted User]

You said its a very good house for the money.., now you know why.

It might be worth the risk, it might not.

IN 20-22 years you will have almost paid off your mortgage.., one would expect house prices to rise quite a bit in that period. So its likely that the house would raise more than you paid for it at that time even if the development went ahead. But whether you'd raise sufficient funds to buy another house just can't be predicted. It depends on what would be built, how responsibly it was managed, and how policies change in the next 20 years. None of this can be predicted.

Look at the prices of equivalent houses in the area, see if you can see what it would sell for if the development wasn't planned. Is it a bargain? Is it worth the risk.

And sometimes developments do buy neighbouring houses to allow better access or more parking.

vw100

I wouldn't buy a house next to a flat development, you will have to put up with all the noise and dust for couple of years and then who knows what your new neighbours will be like.

white_noise

We looked at buying a property that had planning permission for a new resi development behind it. Directly behind the house were going to be new houses (2 storey). We weighted it up and based on the house and the price we thought we could live with it.
In the end a survey matter that the vendor didn't want to resolve/negotiate made us pull the plug on that purchase (the straw that broke the camels back). However i am glad that we aren't living there now as we didn't want to live next to a construction site for 2-3 years not being able to know the phasing of the site (the houses could have been the last to be built).
in your case unless its a really really good buy and you want to be in there for a long time i would pass.
Each to their own though and all depends on your own set of compromises.
WN