Living next door to students

[anniemay123]

Hello,
This is my first post here. My partner and I have been looking to buy a house for over a year...house prices are constantly on the rise, and our budget is becoming increasingly "problematic" as house prices continue to go up. We finally saw a house the other day that we really liked - the garden was in need of a bit of care, but we were happy to deal with that.

We went back to the area today and spoke to a few people - but all of them said the area was very "studenty"....and it seems as though the houses on either side of the property we looked at are student properties. Because the housing market is so competitive here you ahve to make a decision quickly and so we made an offer...but having gone back, I wonder if we have made a mistake....

would it be foolish to move into a student area? We are a young couple, no children, but thinking about starting a family in the next few years.

I imagine the area will become increasingly studenty, rather than less....as investors start taking over the market.

Do people have experience living in student areas? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams]

Lived next door to a 3 bed student house in London for years. Diff students every year as far as I could work out. Never had any issue at all, if anything we were probably noisier pre kids.
Elderly couple on the other side knew the landlords so possibly why they were so quiet but I suspect they were working when they weren't studying

[Amethyst24]

We live in a rented house, with another rental next door. Our previous neighbours were music students - lovely couple, but she was a flautist and the daily practice got very old very quickly. No noise whatsoever otherwise. Current neighbours are young professionals, also lovely but have the occasional noisy party with friends - again no problem at all. I'm not the most tolerant person in the world but they're just young people living their lives and having fun.

I think it depends partly on the size of the house - if it's large you're more likely to have 7 or 8 people sharing and there will be more noise. Also proximity to the university - will it always, inevitably be students? We're a longish bus ride away from the uni so it's a toss-up whether students will live there or not, and also it's a 2-bed house, same as ours, so that limits the number of people who can live there.

[grumbleina]

I live in a block where a few of the flats are students. I find the parties quite endearing!

It really depends on you. It's a bit like buying a house next to a pub, it always boggles my mind when people do that and then spend their evenings raging about pub noise. If you're someone who gets upset about noise - don't do it!

Also keep in mind that they might not quite have figured out all the nuances of living out of home. Gardens will possibly be a sea of detritus for weeks/months, bins might not always be taken out in a timely fashion, etc etc. Also don't take what the neighbours are like now as as how it will always be - flatsharing is a movable state and you only need the 'flat mum/dad' type to move out or the party monster to move in - or vice versa - for things to change quite quickly.

That all said, I don't think it's a bad thing - where students lead, gentrification often seems to follow, and it usually means there's a good pub and coffee shop nearby. And their odd hours always make me think it might be a bit safer - no guarantee for burglars that there'll be empty houses in the daytimes.

[specialsubject]

that house will be affordable for a reason...

loud music, slamming doors, late night shouting in the street as too pissed to think, rubbish never taken out, garden a wilderness, etc etc.

rather you than me.

[Pootles2010]

No way. I cringe when I think back to how loud me & housemates were at uni - we just didn't think, very selfish I know. I really, really wouldn't.

[Sunnyshores]

We used to own victorian terraced student houses in Manchester (max 4 people in a house), and they were some of the best tenants I've ever had. They worked much of the time, the house wasnt huge and there wasnt a garden, so they didnt seem to have loads of people over. Regular visits from Mums seemed to keep the house and small garden clean and tidy. An exception maybe.

There would be more potential for trouble in a modern, thin walled house or one with a large garden for parties, one in a lively area for pubs, clubs etc, in a bigger house, an area nearer the uni...

As for once a student area, always one. Id disagree. The area we brought in was prob 80% student, but then universities and companies started building huge blocks of student accommodation and students moved out of the area virtually overnight.

[pinkje]

The issue that would bother me is that the tenants are more likely to change every year - some students may stay together but my experience has been one year is enough and then they're ready to move (with new housemates - God, mine were awful!)

[anniemay123]

Thanks for the comments. The house isn't cheap - it's been done up very recently, and so is being sold probably for a bit of a premium. Because the house looked nice, and felt so much like what we were looking for, I guess we missed the other things....and now I don't know what to do. We'll go there this evening and think about things..... buying a house is so hard! :(

[specialsubject]

it is indeed - but it is also the biggest purchase you ever make, so if in doubt, don't!

[TheHappinessTrap]

I bought in an area that became increasingly studenty. As we aged their late night antics grated increasingly, but it disn't bother me at first. I wouldn't make such a decision today.

[StupidBloodyKindle]

I bloody love students. They are the most tolerant when it comes to babies screeching.

[TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams]

We stalked our first house for weeks after our offer was accepted in early May. Figured if there weren't huge parties at end of year there never would be. New students every year and lots of music students which was mostly nice. Only had to ask once in 8 yrs for practise to end. Trumpet at 9.30 was taking the biscuit a bit. To be fair they had DD1 yelling a fair bit in the wee hours though

[Alanna1]

And they will probably change annually, so even if you get some bad ones it would only be for a year.

[Shallishanti]

there are several student houses on our street as well as family homes and HMOs and flats. Never had a problem with the students, they once came across to warn us they were having a party, very sweet I thought. More problems from some of the tenants in HMOs (drunk shouting etc)
It wouldn't put me off- even if you get a bad lot, they'll be gone in a year.

[HellKitty]

I wouldn't. The NDN in my old house were students in a top floor flat. It was bought by a students father who let his son stay and then other students as the years went on. Cars blocking my drive until the morning I needed to be out at 5, no answer from the door so the police arranged to tow it away - they never did it again. My DCs were babies/toddlers and apart from my DCs keeping me awake the NDN parties would, until the early hours. If XH asked them to turn it down then they would, for ten minutes. After a week of no sleep I followed one of the girls home from the corner shop and called her and her friend fucking selfish cunts. They moved shortly after...

I seriously appreciate being detached now.

[anniemay123]

Seems like quite a mix of opinions here! But it's really good to get different insights. We have spoken to a few people - apparently there was a shooting in the area about 5 years ago (at the top of the street) - it makes hte area sound terrible, but it's near the university and not bad at all. It was a targeted event while the man was buying a takeaway, but it has left us feeling nervous :(. Very sad because the house is lovely - which is why we're still mulling over it....but i suspect we'll end up kicking ourselves if any of our doubts materialise so we probably won't go for it. Feel bad because it'll have inconvenienced the owners - and will have prevented them having viewings.... :(

[RedRugNoniMouldiesEtc]

We are in a former student let next door (attached) to students. Also my parents own a couple of student houses. I have heard our neighbours party twice, I had to really listen though, I heard some weird noises so turned off the tv and listened hard though. The houses are solidly built though. I have also spoken to the neighbours the other side who said they never were bothered by the students who'd been in our house for 7 years (new set each year).

My parents plus the landlords of our property and neighbours keep the gardens well tended and have blinds to avoid the permanent closed curtains.

In short it depends on the build of the house, the students and the landlords. Ime it's not any sort of problem though.

[RedRugNoniMouldiesEtc]

Though, though, though. ...

[TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams]

Because the housing market is so competitive here would lead me to believe that it's less likely to become more studenty.

What is local infrastructure like? Is it family friendly, up and coming with cafe's and bars etc?

If you live in London you'll find that there's been a shooting in most Boroughs, even the terribly naice ones.

www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/armed-police-storm-through-church-garden-party-hunting-for-man-shooting-gun-at-a-bush-10256991.html Ahem.....

[grumbleina]

A shooting five years ago, if you were in London, would be considered ancient and forgettable history. I don't know when the last shooting was near me but I expect the last stabbing probably wasn't too long ago, and I've never felt unsafe or had an issue.

[shovetheholly]

It depends a LOT what kind of housing is around there and how it's located in terms of other student 'amenities'. If it's largely houses, then you may not have many issues apart from the occasional post-finals party each year (and let's face it, most of us get noise from people at some point_. Living next to these huge blocks of student residences or on the walk between them and the 'party' streets nearby may be a different matter.

Go down there, after dark on Friday and Saturday night, at around 11pm and see what you think.

[HellKitty]

I would also expect that if it's a 'studenty' area then most of the street will eventually get sold off as student lets and you could end up being the only homeowners living there. I doubt that the price of houses will rise much if you're after a profit in a few years. But saying that it would be easy and quick to sell to another landlord.

[anniemay123]

Thanks everyone. We've decided not to go with the house. There was an article a couple of months ago that referred to the street as the most dangerous in the area we live. Complete sensationalist reporting, but it was enough to make me worry that it would put future buyers off. We are not put off the area - but will look for a street that is a bit less studenty, and has a few more families living on it. Hopefully we'll find something soon!

[FluffyCubs]

There is nothing more miserable than being kept awake at night by your own kids: you certainly don't need to be worrying about other people's.

The night I gave birth to my son, my husband was kept awake all night with a party and had to step over vomit to get to the hospital.

We sold up asap.

[HellKitty]

Relieved for you Anniemay! I should maybe add that there are probably more burglaries in student streets too. Lax on locking and each student owning a laptop + phone = easy pickings.