Dream home, but it is on the corner of a junction

bhaisab

Have spent most of life growing up/living on cul-de-sacs
then bought first house that is right up on the on a main road, with a garden to the side.
- there is a manhole that is slightly raised and when lorrys drive over it sounds like a crashing noise
- lots of foot traffic so hear people talking, so mess from dogs, and people leave rubbish on the wall
-there are bright street lights that shine into the bedrooms.

For the house we're moving into, we've spent hours parked up around the area to get a feel

cogrady

bhaisab said:

Have spent most of life growing up/living on cul-de-sacs
then bought first house that is right up on the on a main road, with a garden to the side.
- there is a manhole that is slightly raised and when lorrys drive over it sounds like a crashing noise
- lots of foot traffic so hear people talking, so mess from dogs, and people leave rubbish on the wall
-there are bright street lights that shine into the bedrooms.

For the house we're moving into, we've spent hours parked up around the area to get a feel

Would it be alright if you could please send a street view of this property just so I can compare? It's difficult to get a similar example, as obviously there are busy roads and then very busy roads!  

Grumpy_chap

OP - This thread answers itself in the title "Dream home, but it is on the corner of a junction".

Location - Location - Location.

You can do a lot with a home, but not the location.  If you don't like it on the corner of a junction it is not your dream home.  "Dream Home, but..." is already a something of an oxymoron, however there are some "buts" that you can do something about after purchase:

• Dream home, but leylandii borders...
• Dream home, but the worst bathroom ever...
• Dream home, but pine paneling...

Dream home, but just need to move it somewhere else is not resolvable.

bhaisab

cogrady said:

bhaisab said:

Have spent most of life growing up/living on cul-de-sacs
then bought first house that is right up on the on a main road, with a garden to the side.
- there is a manhole that is slightly raised and when lorrys drive over it sounds like a crashing noise
- lots of foot traffic so hear people talking, so mess from dogs, and people leave rubbish on the wall
-there are bright street lights that shine into the bedrooms.

For the house we're moving into, we've spent hours parked up around the area to get a feel

Would it be alright if you could please send a street view of this property just so I can compare? It's difficult to get a similar example, as obviously there are busy roads and then very busy roads!  

https://maps.app.goo.gl/quf9fefYyBdwVEv69

Echo grumpy_chap's comment, you cant change location
we viewed so many houses that were nice, but thought "if only located elsewhere" but then unlikely to be in price budget or even available for long on market.
You can make compromises on various aspects of the house but dont think location should be one

csgohan4

right home, wrong place it seems

cogrady

bhaisab said:

cogrady said:

bhaisab said:

Have spent most of life growing up/living on cul-de-sacs
then bought first house that is right up on the on a main road, with a garden to the side.
- there is a manhole that is slightly raised and when lorrys drive over it sounds like a crashing noise
- lots of foot traffic so hear people talking, so mess from dogs, and people leave rubbish on the wall
-there are bright street lights that shine into the bedrooms.

For the house we're moving into, we've spent hours parked up around the area to get a feel

Would it be alright if you could please send a street view of this property just so I can compare? It's difficult to get a similar example, as obviously there are busy roads and then very busy roads!  

https://maps.app.goo.gl/quf9fefYyBdwVEv69

Echo grumpy_chap's comment, you cant change location
we viewed so many houses that were nice, but thought "if only located elsewhere" but then unlikely to be in price budget or even available for long on market.
You can make compromises on various aspects of the house but dont think location should be one

Thank you for this. Similar to the house we are looking at in terms of location. And we are in exactly the same boat. The same house on a quiet cul-de-sac would be easily £50-100k more expensive is the issue!

Scotbot

First house I bought turned out to be under the Heathrow flight path if the wind was southerly or easterly, I was new to the area so didn't realise plus both times I  viewed the wind was in the other direction. It drove me nuts, never got used to it but that was because I could hear the planes inside the house The next house was on a road that was initially quiet but became busier due to a new development and the fact the suburb became sought after. The traffic didn't bother me too much as I couldn't here it inside  but the lack of parking did! You are kidding yourself if you think a hedge will filter the noise out when you are outside.
As you have said the reality is if it were in a better position you couldn't afford it so do you want to trade space for location? If you have kids and or dogs is there a fence that will keep them safely off the road?  Both front and back, toddlers will run out the front door before they learn road sense. You will probably get used to the traffic if you can't here it inside but noise is not the only consideration 

cogrady

Scotbot said:

First house I bought turned out to be under the Heathrow flight path if the wind was southerly or easterly, I was new to the area so didn't realise plus both times I  viewed the wind was in the other direction. It drove me nuts, never got used to it but that was because I could hear the planes inside the house The next house was on a road that was initially quiet but became busier due to a new development and the fact the suburb became sought after. The traffic didn't bother me too much as I couldn't here it inside  but the lack of parking did! You are kidding yourself if you think a hedge will filter the noise out when you are outside.
As you have said the reality is if it were in a better position you couldn't afford it so do you want to trade space for location? If you have kids and or dogs is there a fence that will keep them safely off the road?  Both front and back, toddlers will run out the front door before they learn road sense. You will probably get used to the traffic if you can't here it inside but noise is not the only consideration 

Thanks for this. The house I'm looking at is secure from the side and back, but the front would need a hedge for the exact reason to keep children safe (with the added benefit of blocking the light from headlights of cars at night shining onto the house directly). A driveway gate would also need to be installed, as there is none at the moment. Luckily parking isn't a problem, as there is a private driveway to the side and back of the house. I remember when we viewed that we couldn't hear the cars inside. 
How do you find the noise of traffic when you are in the garden?

phoebe1989seb

Our last-but-one house was a three storey, five bedroom, Georgian thatched in a village that fronted onto the A30. We knew it wasn't going to be as quiet as our previous house (in the middle of a 1930s estate, although our house there was also considerably older), but we believed everything else about it was right and we got it for a very good price 

As we were moving long distance (200+ miles) there were only so many times we could go to the property to check things out before purchase, but we convinced ourselves that it was a rural road so wouldn't be too bad especially as most traffic took the A303.......

As soon as we moved in we realised how wrong we were as the tall building shook every time heavy traffic passed by, not helped by the fact that our house was at the bottom of a hill leading into the village so lorries, coaches etc either bumped as they hit the bottom or else seemed to be revving up to ascend the hill. The noise inside was fairly bad (old, single glazed timber sashes) but in the garden (the front was directly onto a double depth pavement with a deep layby in front of that,   so only a rear garden) only the very heaviest vehicles were audible, plus as we had a third of an acre we spent most time at the furthest point from the road, lol!

The house was a renovation project so one essential job was to improve sound-proofing by having new windows installed. We opted for acoustic glass in the replacement timber sash windows, but soon discovered this made very little difference. In hindsight we should've gone for triple or even secondary glazing. 

After three years - during which time the village tried/failed to get the speed limit (30 mph) reduced as well as repairs carried out to the extensive pot holes - we'd had enough of the feeling we were in the middle of an earthquake whenever an hgv passed through the village. We sold the house - very quickly and for a profit - to a family who admitted it was their dream home, but would have been unaffordable in a more peaceful location.......

Our current house is on a very quiet rural lane where we have only two near(ish) neighbours and hardly any through traffic. Apart from having more land, it's a much smaller property......but we're infinitely happier!

maisie_cat

We recently moved from a Surrey village cul de sac to an old cottage on a rural A road. We were 3 houses from the junction in Surrey and there was constant noise from the village, cars tooting, dogs barking, lorries reversing, people shouting. We also had the drone from the M25 and the planes circling overhead depending on the wind. Here the only noise is the road, and it's only at certain times of day, although when the holidaymakers come back I'm sure it will be busier. Because we were used to the other noise the road noise here isn't an issue, so it really depends on what noise annoys you.