Friend buying near a railway track..any advice..?

ferry

Hi all
A close friend is buying a first home but its situated near a railway track.
Best advice I've offered so far is to have a full structural survey(as opposed to a basic mortgage survey)and have a local survey carried out in terms of vermin infestation(though I'm not sure who to approach on this-could be a consideration??).Also to visit the location at varying times of day to guage noise levels.

Any advice appreciated on how to proceed on a property of this type and of course any considerations given to anything I've missed!!

Thanks as usual
Ferry

emma396

she needs to bear in mind that can be noisy like you say, which could make it difficult to sell on in the future.

vetfred

Of course, in terms of resale, such a location can really work against you but I take it they must realise this and hope they offer in accordance with this fact.

If they are at all bothered about noise, then I don't think buying near a train track is a good idea - noise levels now may not be the noise levels in the future if trains increase in speed along the track, if more freight runs on the track or there's a higher usage in terms of frequency of trains.

As for vermin, I just don't know enough about that issue - is it likely that if there was a problem that your friends or a normal surveyor would be able to spot it? I suppose a lot of places are subject to such things but whether people buying near railways or woodland or whatever actually get vermin reports as a pre-emptive measure or just see if they can see a problem, I'm not sure.

U've_been_framed

How close to the line is the house? How busy is the line? I live across the road from an un-manned halt and the worst problem is youngsters gathering in the shelter. Trains don't bother us much; but this was not the case a few years ago when the idling engines of one particular fleet seemed to set the whole house vibrating.

tealady

Hi Railtrack are resposible for trackside and that includes pest control.
The local Council may provide free pest control for the garden.
With regards to the noise then visiting at different times of day should help, is it a local line a main line or a freight line? There may be restrictions on times trains can use the line, sound horns etc.

flowrypot

I have lived next to a railway for 30 years and you get so used to trains you hardly hear them and so far havn't been troubled by vermin.So if they like the house and it's in a nice area it shouldn't be a problem.

Bf109

flowrypot wrote: »

I have lived next to a railway for 30 years and you get so used to trains you hardly hear them and so far havn't been troubled by vermin.So if they like the house and it's in a nice area it shouldn't be a problem.

We rent a flat close to tracks and it really is very noisy indeed. I think it depends on how close you are to the tracks and what the track architchture is like. ie. if its staight strack with no points = queit but if its tightly curved track with lots of points = non-stop screaching and clattering.

I dont know why people are concerned about vermin. Have never known tracks to be associated with vermin.

3plus1

I used to live quite close to a railway station. It's not just the noise to bear in mind... sometimes the property will shake! (Perfectly safe, but it's bound to annoy some people. You only really feel the property moving at night, because that's when everything is quiet.) I got used to it very quickly, but it depends how light a sleeper your friend is.

emg

I live near a railway line but its not that noisy as it is only a little spur off the main line so only passenger trains come down it and as I am close to the station they are going very slowly. Also they only run during the day. When I looked round this flat I didnt even notice that a train was going past until the EA drew my attention to it by commenting how quiet it was!

On the other hand I used to live next to a london train line that used to run passengers all day and frieght all night. It was the freight trains that wobbled our house there and often woke us up. I think it was worse because they were going faster (again I was near a station so the passenger trains were quite slow) and heavier.

So I guess your friend needs to find out a bit more about what happens on that line.

Anne3333

Bad points
Horns sounding if men working on the line, more hairline cracks in walls because of freight trains, missing WHO DUNNIT if train passes and the windows are open whilst watching tv.
Good points
Plenty of wildlife in the land beside the track, foxes, squirrels, wrens, robins blue tits and even woodpeckers. And this is in London! Children love waving to the commuters and call themselves The Railway Children!

lil_me

We used to live directly behind a railway line, was a single track road then the track. It was an old house converted into 2 flats without double glazing etc. We got used to the noise, within weeks we didn't notice it, only thing we had to remember was not to leave the likes of a glass on the end of the kitchen bench because if a heavy train came past it might rattle off (only happened once!) Asking other neighbours might help get an idea of how busy it is and when. We had anything from intercity type, local smaller trains and heavy freight through the night. Only time I remember it being disruptive was when a wagon hit the bridge just down from us, didn't read the height limit signs!