Beautiful House But...

ted_hay_man

I have fallen in love with a house I viewed this morning, the house itself is perfect for my needs, but there is one problem, the back garden is only about 4m long (its very wide) and the there is a one metre gap and then there is a very busy road. Thinking ahead sitting in the garden you would be subject to traffic noise.

It has been on the market since July and the agent has said everyone picks up on the busy road. The house if further away from the road wouldbe £20K more and totally out of my budget, The house itself is perfect but the location is not the best. We all have to compromise, but I worry about resale in the future.

The house is on the market for £250K which is about £20K below similar houses not baking onto the road. Would you consider and offer and what would you offer, the house has been on the market for £260K for part of the time.

ted_hay_man

Think about £240K offer, there was also another viewing on the property as I was leaving.

Red-Squirrel_2

With a high fence and some shrubs you can do a lot to make the road feel less intrusive, would that eat into your garden space too much though if its not very deep?

I have a busy road at the bottom of my garden, I've got used to it and it doesn't affect my enjoyment of being outside at all, but my garden is longer than wide and I can have trees and shrubs as a shield without losing a lot of space.

The houses on the other side of the road are more expensive here too. If its a good house in a good area it will sell again, just at a slight discount the same as you're getting!

Marcus1991

Im not sure on what you should offer, but I have lived next to a dual carriageway all my life, and I just don't hear it. I can hear it if I want to. The sound might blank out after a while.

Margot123

You have 'fallen in love' = heart ruling head.
'Perfect' = appears perfect at this moment in time.

You are already questioning your own thoughts, so I'd suggest walking away before you commit to the purchase. If you were confident then you wouldn't be on here asking strangers to decide for you.

Good news though, none of us can hear the noise from where we are :-)

ProDave

Define "busy road"

As a boy I lived on a busy road, one of the main roads into Oxford. There was constant traffic noise. It drove my hatred of traffic noise and I am very sensitive to it now and could never again live on a busy through road. I would almost certainly rule that house out because of the road, and very small garden that puts the house so close to the road..

I wouldn't rule it out for the small garden. A previous house I had only had a 15ft long "back garden" but had a huge southwest facing side garden that more than made up for lack of "back garden"

JoJo1978

Try viewing (or just 'visiting' the vicinity) on weekdays, in the evening at the weekend etc. Preferably at times you're most likely to be out in the garden.

How often will you realistically be out there, really? If you are at home during the day perhaps think again but if it's the occasional soiret some background music and seating near the house may be sufficient.

Is it just road noise when in the garden you're thinking about - what about from inside the house with the windows open? Double glazing is fabulous for shutting out noise, but did you do an 'open window' check today?

Cakeguts

I am sensitive to noise and wouldn't entertain a house like that at any price. I wouldn't want a garden like that either.

It isn't just sitting in the garden it is also when you open the windows to let some air into the house especially in the summer you will get noise and traffic fumes. You will get traffic fumes when you sit in the garden in summer not just noise. The garden is too short for you not to.

Margot123

My house is approx. the same distance away from a road as the one you are considering.
On first viewing, I thought 'yes, I can live with the noise, I'll get used to it'. After nearly 20 years it is annoying me more and more. Traffic will only increase, as it has done where I live. It is constant from 4am to 11pm weekdays and not much different at weekends. My partner and I have to shout to one another when in the garden.

Roll on Xmas morning, we get about an hour's respite between 8am and 9am. Thanks Santa.

kerri_gt

When we were looking at houses it was a toss up between the one we bought and another. The latter was a second viewing I took my husband to. First time I'd viewed it had been a still, dry and sunny day. Second time it was breezy and wet and omg you could hear the dual carriageway nearby. Many people at the open house commented on it. It wasn't the only factor that made it a no but my husband could not live with the noise.

You can change many things about a house but location is one thing you can't change. Also it might be worth considering whether you would also have the same issues reselling in the future. It's not just the noise of the road that would put me off, we have a cat so I wouldn't want to be so close to a busy road, same for people with kids (esp air pollution a possible concern) and security...how easy is it to hop over the garden, burgle the house and scoot off down that road in a waiting car?

Of course, decision is yours...you'll be living there not any of us.

Tygermoth

We had a long front garden (50 ft) and then a lane - then a long stand of trees between us and a very busy A road and the noise was still intrusive - that being said after a week or so i didn't hear it anymore. Unless it was raining then it combined with the increased traffic roar from the M3 a few yards down the road and its became very noticeable.