Would you buy a house on a high street?

[FortunesFave]

We're in Australia so it's slightly different because where we live in a country market town,, "High Street" is more like a village high street.

It's the house we're renting...the landlord has let us know that he wants to sell next year and thought he'd ask us first to give us a chance to sort out finances;

We love it here as it's a big garden but the actual house is in very poor repair. I'm talking VERY poor repair. however, it's on a big block of land...with a pub car park on one side, then a pub (which does get a bit loud on weekend evenings)

My question is whether most people would be put off buying on a high street?

We have a number of sporting events which mean the high street gets closed a few times a year and literal crowds congregate outside our house...plus on weekend evenings, we get the Aussie version of 'boy racers' tearing past at high speed because we're at the bottom of a steep hill and they like it.

We'd have to make extensive improvements to the house or knock it down and build a new one. This will all be reflected in the price...though the 'informal estimate" the landlord gave us seems too high when we compare it to recently sold properties in the area.

I'm asking if you'd buy it because I wonder how much the position and poor condition would affect the price really.

I think the ll has predicted a value of about 40 grand too much...at least.

I would buy a house on a high street, as I like to be in close proximity to shops and amenities.
However I wouldn't buy this one! From your post, it doesn't sound like it has much going for it ...
Is it the convenience of not having to move again that tempts you?

Don't fall for it, it sounds like you can do better and won't make a profit anytime soon. Use the time to start properly saving for a property, or a better rental. Be careful in giving your LL too much information because they might just try to sell now and leave you in the crap

I like the idea of it but sounds like this particular one is a bit of a duff budgie

Ideally I'd be one street behind the high street, but I wouldn't reject it completely. However, the high price and the landlord going straight to you makes me think he's trying to pull a fast one, and you could be out of pocket in this one. If he's selling direct you should be getting it slightly below market price as he will be saving agency fees so can pass on some of that to you.

How long would you live there and how experienced are you in building work? The town will only get busier with more traffic. By the time you've lived through years of building work, you might want to escape the boy racers and pub noise, only to find you can't recoup your costs as other people don't want the house.

I like on a stretch of road which feeds into our town high street, it's all residential though, and no issues with boy racers but we do have events every few years where the street is closed

It's fine but I'd be worried about the pub personally. It'll put buyers off when you want to sell. Unless you get it for a bargain I'd be buying something more residential, unless it's a really sought after area? Which part of Australia is it? Im selling a house out there!!

Why would you even consider it? It sounds hellish.

Not a comment on living on high streets generally (although I wouldn't like that either), but this one in particular.

I wouldn't rule it out but I wouldn't buy your one no.

I personally wouldn’t as I’m quite sensitive to noise. Yours also sounds very overpriced- in your position, I think I’d look to buy a different house in the same area.

The advantage you have is you already live there so you know how it is to be on that main road with the noise etc. How much does it bother you now because it's not going to bother you less if you buy it.

As for the house itself, is it a place you'd like if it was renovated?
If so, get a few people in to value it then get a few quotes for what needs doing.

Doing a private sale like this is great in lots of ways but don't let yourself be pushed into buying it because it's easier than moving.

No, the boy racers would put me off. I also wouldn't buy another property that needs a lot of work. I would buy a house on a quiet high street though.

We bought a lovely house on a village high street last year - we wanted to be near amenities as we are getting older. The house is set back from the road and has excellent double glazing so you don't hear any traffic noise inside. We can walk to the pub, hairdresser, fish and chip shop and bus stop. Being on an A road if the weather is bad the road will still be passable, unlike our previous country lanes. We do have boy racers too though! Love being able to hear life going on - rather than feeling buried in the countryside.

Thanks everyone...the things that attract me are the village is a very sought after one with a lovely community and my kids are in school here already. Also good shops and travel connections.

For the price, we'd be looking at moving somewhere with far less character...you know those Aussie suburbs which look like boxes? That's what we could afford...this is lovely in many ways. I'm trying to work out how much the landlord is overshooting the mark with the price by asking what you'd all think of living somewhere like this.

No, I wouldn't buy that. I'd prefer about a ten-minute walk away, assuming it was a nice house in a nice street. I'd hate to have crowds congregating outside my house.

If all the noise etc doesn’t bother you then stay.
You are in the perfect position to answer your own question !

Our house was quite a bit cheaper because of its position - like yours, it's also near the pub which gets a bit noisy at weekends. It would be between £30 to £50k more if it wasn't on the main road. (Sorry, not sure how much that is in Australian dollars). But the difference is the previous owner occupier had done loads of things to improve it. So new kitchen, bathrooms, windows etc. But you can make your house your own by doing your own improvements. As you're already living there that's a definite bonus. Maybe have a conversation and see if you can get it reduced - it's much less hassle for him to sell it to you rather than on the open market. A survey will pick up any problems and any buyer would push for a reduction, so it's totally in his interests to be accommodating to you. I know what you mean about the Aussie suburbs - I see them a lot on 'Wanted down under'. Soulless with metal fences - I much prefer the sound of yours!!!

I’m also Australian so I can picture your situation.

How big is the block? How many titles does it have and what are the zonings? What are council plans for rejuvenation? There is going to be the most enormous cash splash for projects over the next few years.

If you are on a truck route and there are no plans for a bypass, I would be reluctant to live and bring up children with all the fumes. Although, I do in my dreams think about living somewhere as you describe and during your festivals that there must be a certain charm to it.

You mention rebuilding so can you build something new down the back while you continue to live where you are, subdivide and sell off the Main Street frontage? Even if you battleaxe it? Is the front zoned commercial or residential? Does council have a future plan for infill?

Would you still have the garden space you are currently enjoying?

Would that keep enough of the amenities you like but make life a little quieter?

Good luck.

Honestly, never again. I live on a village high st. The road doesnt go anywhere apart from round the village but it’s surprisingly busy.

So road noise, idiots racing too fast, revving cars. We’re a few doors from a shop and delivery lorries come at 6am, full size HGV.

Drunken idiots shouting and screaming. I had 1k of damage done to my car last month by drunken blokes bouncing on the bonnet.

Don’t do it! All it takes is one group to start congregating outside your window every weekend night or one dickhead to start drinking in the pub and your life will be a misery. Speaking from experience here: I love to be in the middle of things then spent two years absolutely miserable in our dream house near the high street of a small market town.

BadLad that's when the prices around here shoot up a LOT. Ten minutes walk from the high street is straying into almost million dollar area.

Sand it's big...more like two blocks in one. I have no idea about titles and things. It's been here since the 1940s and is more like a shack to be frank.

It's not a truck route. We're heading into proper rural so the only traffic is people going camping or to visit relatives.

We don';t want to build and sell half...it would ruin the main attraction which is the size of the garden and the view onto the high street and some lovely protected and old cottages.

I am going to get back to him and suggest that the next step is a proper valuation. He just got a casual price done on it and here you have to get an official valuer to come in and do it.

And what you can tolerate in a rental suddenly becomes a prison in an owned house.

Plunk nobody would congregate here. People just don't. Not even teens around here. They all go to "town" which is about 30 mins drive away.

I wouldn't.

You've also listed so many negatives (poor state of repair, the pub, boy racers, being overpriced) and the only positive you've listed in your original post is the garden. That makes me think you have huge reservations about buying this house and could live to regret it.

Then I would buy it, all else being settled to your satisfaction.

Ask to see the last few years rates notices. In WA, they are based on the mean of about 3 years worth of gross rental value, as set by the lands department (or whatever you have- you are carefully not saying).

You sound like you really like a lot about it.

And those settlement shacks renovate beautifully.

I live on a high street, we bought it because massively cheaper than surrounding roads. We love it because whenever there is stuff going on (parades etc) we get a great view.