To buy a house next to a petrol station?

It could be a good long term buy. In 5 years the sale of new petrol cars is ending. EVs dont need petrol stations, charge at home, at supermarkets., by the roadside. So, you may find in a few years the petrol station closes and is redeveloped. If the price of the house is low due to the petrol station, once it's gone you should see the price bounce up.

I grew up next to one it didn't bother us the only issue we had was when they sold it off and they built a TON of houses on there

The petrol station was fine

It wouldn’t stop me. Everything else sounds great and ability to walk to work is fantastic.

I live about 6 doors down from a petrol station - it had never occured to me before until I just read your post that it could be a negative thing! I have lived here just over 20 years and have had no problems - only thing I can think of was when there was a petrol shortage a couple of years ago it was a bit busy down the road but it also meant we were close to check when pumps were full again!
No smells and no noise just convenient for getting petrol. Hope all goes well with the move

More likely that a house goes up in a gas explosion than a petrol station.

We used to own a flat that was next door to a petrol station back in 1998 and I can honestly say that we never smelt any fumes, there were never any danger alerts and it was honestly fine. I used to always have our large window open and still couldn't smell anything and in all honesty, once I was home, I literally forgot it was there because it wasn't in our sight.
We didn't even have any problems when we came to sell the flat.

If you love that house and if it feels right for you, then I'd still buy it.

No I would not. The stink of petrol, the constant stream of traffic, the noisy car wash, the noisy jet wash, potential chance of fires or explosions, and possibly yobs hanging around at night ...

What were you thinking @BeatriceAndBeau ?!

20 meters is far too close for my liking. Sorry......... You did ask.

Wow! We were offered really good mortgage in principles but the second we liked this house they’re all either a no or “subject to valuation” (which is fine) because they’re worried about potential resale. It’s been a nightmare😂

Hi, what mortgage provider are you with if you don’t mind me asking? We’re in a similar position but no mortgage lender is lending because of the petrol station

It will certainly has been cheaper next to a petrol station. The majority of house purchases have compromises somewhere so I suppose you just need to decide if a petrol station is one.

(And I should mention the petrol station was the reason cited for nobody wanting to buy it!)

I bought a flat next to a petrol station because we were in a rush to find somewhere and didn’t think about it at the time as young naive first time buyers. There were no problems with the sale or mortgage, loads of properties are near to petrol stations. There were also no problems living by it and no smell etc - only some noise when there was the petrol shortage and long queues. There is now research I think about the effect on children which worried me but I tried not to think about it, particularly because we live in London anyway.

However, it proved hugely difficult when we came to sell. Nobody wanted to buy it. The estate agent we bought from admitted she had done 70 viewings at the time and ours was the only offer. It turned into a nightmare although we did eventually find a buyer, but it was very stressful. I was worried we’d get stuck with it.

Don't be ridiculous. New petrol cars are still being sold and will still be on the road in 25/30 years time. Look around you. Plenty of 20+ YO cars still running around in decent condition.

We lived next to one. Rented so only there a year.
Noise issues. Little boys gathering on motorbikes in good weather.
They put in a car wash which was incredibly noisy. They limited the hrs til 8pm after complaints.

live close to one...like three houses away..it's in a main road and we lobe on a road branching off .
Can't see it from the house ..apart from one bedroom if we look sideways we can see a bit of it
Can see from garden if we stand on tip toes and look over a couple of gardens
No fumes
Occasionally people forget to turn music off in cars when they stop ..
Sometimes can hear the delivery - fuel and shop but it really doesn't bother us at all.

Wouldn’t be concerns over air pollution, rather the noise from traffic, but as OP says live in a city so less of an issue.

My concern would be potential nighttime noise (tannoy messages/noisy engines/people slamming doors etc).

I know it doesn't happen often, but what about when we have petrol shortages and cars are queuing round the block twice to try and seek petrol? With unrest in the countries that supply, always a danger it will happen more.

It's probably more annoying where I live with a bus stop immediately outside. Don't get me started with the problems that causes!

If you’re having serious doubts pull out. Gut feelings are real and a blessing.

But I think your concerns are a bit skewed. If you have used a petrol station or even only walked past one, you know they don’t smell. The explosion you mentioned is the only one I’ve heard of in my entire life. I wouldn’t have thought about getting an insurance quote, that was clever. If an insurance company doesn’t see a petrol station being near as a reason to hike up premiums, the risk must be minute. Petrol companies place their outlets on roads that are already busy, so the air quality on that road wouldn’t be significantly better if the petrol station wasn’t there. The house is in a busy road so that’s the air you’re going to get.

Think of the convenience. 20m from a mini supermarket.

But when all that is said and done, don’t make such a massive financial commitment if you aren’t sure.

Noise would be enough to put me off. Those who accelerate noisily (usually men who feel inadequate about a certain body part) can be at any time of day or night.

It wouldn't put me off. Petrol stations are pretty quiet, and they rarely go under and close down - so you can rely on it being there for the long term and not getting sold off to become flats etc.

I’ve lived close to one in the past and don’t recall any particular noise or smell. It was handy for snacks though!

A 5 minute drive away is really not close at all

We live on a corner diagonally across from a petrol station, so probably a similar distance to the house you’re buying, OP. I’ve never considered it either a risk or a nuisance, and seven years on have no regrets. It’s handy when the lawnmower runs out of petrol and we can just nip across. There’s traffic noise anyway because it’s a junction, but that’s par for the course with city living and has never bothered any of us.