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AIBU?

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Original poster

To not be that concerned about moving close to a traveller site?

54 replies

Buddhagirl · 07/08/2013 12:44

Me and DH are looking to buy our 1st home. The best house on the market in our price range is about 200metres away from an established mobile home, traveller site.

I'm not bothered, if you look up the crime statistics then it is not higher in that area...the house is cheap, maybe because it is near there.

I don't know, DH thinks I'm mad to want to move there, am i over looking something?

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 07/08/2013 12:47

Just do as much research as you can

See if there's a facebook page/online reviews for that area and I'm sure any problems will come to light.

Rooners · 07/08/2013 12:48

Depends really...it may lower the resale value particularly if things deteriorate re the site.

I would not want to live too near to ours, as I've had stuff stolen before and don't enjoy locking everything up all the time.

Not to say all travellers are the same or anything.

Rooners · 07/08/2013 12:49

Sorry I should clarify, stolen by local travellers. (or so the police told me)

chesterberry · 07/08/2013 12:54

I think every traveller site is different, some are awful and make awful neighbours and naturally those ones get into the press. There are plenty of non-traveller families who make terrible neighbours as well.

I have previously lived near a traveller site and they were fine - sometimes the kids could be a bit of a pain, but so can kids from any family. They were no worse than any other families I've lived near (and a lot better than some).

Maybe if your husband is concerned you could try and do a bit more research into this particular travel site and whether there have been any problems with it (eg: look on local newspaper's website, ask local residents if possible) before making up your mind.

SalaciousBCrumb · 07/08/2013 12:55

You say first home, how soon would you be looking to sell it yourself? I think (like train lines, pylons and so on) there are people out there (like yourself) willing to buy these properties, but there's a lot who aren't. You may not find it easy to sell - even if nothing changes re the site.

Original poster
Buddhagirl · 07/08/2013 12:58

Good points everyone, I've googled it and there is nothing. Apart from the council agreeing to extent it to create affordable housing.

OP posts:
Original poster
Buddhagirl · 07/08/2013 12:59

extend*

OP posts:
MiaowTheCat · 07/08/2013 13:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MikeOxard · 07/08/2013 13:52

Do you and your dh live separately? If not, what's the googling for if he's already made up his mind he doesn't want to live there? You need to find a house in an agreed location where both you and your dh are happy imo.

SnoopySnoopyDoggDogg · 07/08/2013 13:57

I'm afraid I absolutely wouldn't go near it. We have only recently turned down our otherwise dream home becasue it was half a mile from a permanant site (although in this case the crime statistcs were also refelctive of this).

I've lived close to sites in the past, without exception it was horrible. Theft, drunkeness, general anti social behaviour, fighting the list goes on.

I wish I could bring a more balanced view to the table but these are my experiences. Also, if your DH is against it then you have to accept that, your first home, or any home actually, should be a joint decision.

beaker25 · 07/08/2013 14:09

I live about half a mile from a permanent site. Generally not a problem at all. We had a bit of a spate awhile ago of people nicking metal/ copper stuff from the front of our houses. It wasn?t actually people from the site stealing it, but they were taking it to the site to sell. We see the kids from the site around but they don?t really cause any trouble. One bonus is that we never have to take anything to the tip. We can leave old chest of drawers etc outside our flat with a note and the residents from the site will take it for scrap pretty quickly!

Where I grew up, travellers used to pitch illegally and that used to cause a lot of trouble, crime, general anti socialness etc. I?d thought a permanent site nearby would be a problem, but actually it?s fine. I think when it?s a permanent site, people don?t want to cause trouble in their own community.

It is worth considering though, that even if you?re fine with it, when you come to sell other people might not be.

BrokenSunglasses · 07/08/2013 14:22

We have a permanent site near us. I lived here for years before I even knew it was there, and it's a sought after area where house prices are ridiculously high. We also have a low crime rate according to that police website. I know a few people that live on the site through my dcs school and because some of them work in the local shops, and they are all lovely polite people that you wouldn't know were travellers unless you were told.

But on the other hand, there is a village not too far away that has had loads of problems with the small permanent site being made bigger illegally, and the travellers there have caused a lot of trouble.

Is there anyone in the area you like that you could talk to about the travellers there? It really could be fine, or it could be hell, you just don't know.

Fairylea · 07/08/2013 14:25

Resale value would put me off.

beaker25 · 07/08/2013 14:31

now I think about it, I don't think the permanent site near us has much of an affect on house prices near us, it's still a sought after area with quite expensive property regardless of the site.

On the site near me, alot of the reason there's no trouble is because the head of the site is really careful to make sure the residents don't cause trouble for the rest of the community. AFAIK, if the site has a good leader, then they will make an effort to do this. Might be worth finding out if the one near where you're thinking of moving has a stong leader within it, if you can.

Viviennemary · 07/08/2013 14:34

I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole if only because of the resale value.

squalorvictoria · 07/08/2013 14:34

It's not Crays Hill (aka Dale Farm), is it? I'm from Basildon, which isn't far away, and I'm afraid I wouldn't touch that area with a bargepole.

propertyNIGHTmareBEFOREXMAS · 07/08/2013 14:37

I would not do it for fear of being stuck with a house you cannot later shift for what you paid for it. Many people would not consider a house in such location. Limited potential resale market is not an attractive prospect regardless of whether or not the particular site is problematic for neighbours.

YoniMitchell · 07/08/2013 14:39

I wouldn't. I'd be thinking to the future and how I'd sell it on.

YoniMitchell · 07/08/2013 14:42

Plus OP, you mention council permission to extend the site? How would that impact on the property? Thinking increased pressure on local roads, amenities etc. as well as the land development.

expatinscotland · 07/08/2013 14:42

I wouldn't because of resale value. It is cheap because they can't sell it off.

Mrsrobertduvall · 07/08/2013 14:46

I wouldn't.
Not in a million years.

MrsApplepants · 07/08/2013 14:56

I wouldn't, it will be more difficult to sell in the future

WooWooSister · 07/08/2013 14:59

I've worked with travellers for over a decade. As someone said upthread there are good and bad in every community, and the prejudice that travellers face is appalling. Can you imagine transposing the word traveller in this thread with any other minority group? It seems like the last bastion of acceptable discrimation and it makes me so angry Angry
On a practical level, why don't you:

  • visit the site and talk to the people that live there
  • Talk to the people who live in the same street as the house you're considering purchasing
  • look up the planning application for the extension so you can see how it is going to impact (and if the application has not been submitted yet then call the local traveller liaison officer in the Council and ask their plans for the area) There can be quite a difference between Council sites and privately-owned sites so check the ownership of the site too, and whether travellers live there all year round or whether it's a site for the migrant community. If it's the latter then you will have vehicles moving back and forwards at different times of the year and the population numbers and behaviour may change too.
dexter73 · 07/08/2013 15:11

I wouldn't move either. There is a permanent site 2 miles from us and every other month it is reported in the local paper that someone from the site has been arrested for various crimes like theft, gbh, possession of weapons, intimidating witnesses, etc. Most of the kids get permanently excluded from school by the time the are in yr9.

OneStepCloser · 07/08/2013 15:25

Nope, I wouldn`t buy it, I would be to worried about the resale value, it would put so many buyers off.

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