To buy a house so close to a motorway

[fabulousfailure]

Just this really. A lovely house has come on the market. We put an offer in which was accepted, now having second thoughts.

The issue is, it's really quite close to a major motorway. As in, 3 or 4 houses beyond ours, then a decent fence which is the motorway edge.

You can hear it, it's a bit like white noise, there all the time. I don't know whether we'd get used to it and just not notice it over time, or conversely whether it would become an ongoing irritant.

And then I've started to read up on air pollution. Forgive me but I knew little about this until now. What I'm reading sounds really scary. If you live within 150m or so of a road like this, it sounds like there are all sorts of health risks. Not just for us as adults like dementia, but also our children and potentially lifelong.

On the flipside, clearly lots of people live there now, and across the country so many people live near roads like this and in cities. Am i being really over anxious through Google groups this stuff?

YABU = it's not that bad, you can get used to it
YANBU = these are valid concerns, it is reasonable to hesitate in this situation

You won't even notice it once you're there. The only thing is it might not be as nice if you're outside, but motorway noise is preferable to a screaming kid or a barking dog imo! I'd take the motorway anyday!

Lived 5 houses down from a motorway for 5 years - you don't notice the noise. (Have also lived next to a railway line and under airport flight path in the past). Honestly I wouldn't let it put you off. It does affect sales but they do sell and in the meantime you have a lovely home.
Fwiw my ex borrowed a noise measuring machine from work and there was less noise from the motorway outside the house than half a mile away and the road noise outside our previous house was worse. Motorway noise is kind of constant not stop/Start.
Id go for it if you like the house

Thank you for all your replies. We have been going to and fro on it overnight and finding it difficult to really decide. As pp have highlighted, would we get used to it or not. We chose it based on the inside which is exactly what we want but, quite concerned the noise and pollution could affect our enjoyment of it. It might come down to DC health - are we responsible parents if we have a choice and deliberately locate them so close knowing the risks. Things like lifelong heart, respiratory, cognitive function. And yet people do live in places like this, all over the country etc.

Actually as hgv’s are not going electric and all other sources remain, the reduction in pollution from all cars being electric is tiny, it’s like a couple of percent,

op I bought years ago next to a busy road, I also got more house for The money, but I’d really try to avoid doing it again . It wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t just the noise as such although that was an issue if I wanted my windows open in the summer, it was also the pollution, it turned everything black, from dirty windows to even the curtains, and the patio out back, the front steps and path etc, everything got so much dirtier than normal.

Good friend of mine has the M42 at the end of the garden, it was the only way they could afford a decent sized house.

Whenever I visit the noise feels awful to me but she says she's used to it and they are happy there.

It wouldn't be for me, but that said if I'd been in her position financially at that particular time who knows?

I wouldn’t. The house I grew up was in an idyllic semi rural location right on the edge of a city with fields behind and cows. Then when I was 15 they built a motorway through the area. The construction noise was tbh much worse than the eventual noise of the motorway. But re pollution - mum did eventually get dementia. I’m not sure whether the pollution was a factor or whether she’d have got it anyway. On the plus side the house sold very easily when the time came for her to go into a home.

That website is interesting - ours is in a very low area which surprised me somewhat - we're in the 8th percentile.

"The day you buy, is the day you sell", i.e. something that is giving you pause now, will give others pause too.

Also consider that your house might become even more undesirable in the future if a new housing development goes up in your village/town which is further away from the motorway. Suddenly there's a lot more choice for people wanting to relocate to your area.

If it's literally the only house you can afford, then yes, buy it. But it sounds to me that you could afford other houses, but not as 'nice' (obvs due to the reduced 'value' of this house due to proximity to the motorway). So I would buy a 'less nice' house and make it nicer over time, as finances allow.

The only other time I would consider it if is is e.g. an extremely rare Grade 1 listed Arts & Crafts house, something literally unique that you can't get anywhere else in the area, that you've fallen in love with and nothing else can compare.

We live near a motorway, but not that close. There's a big estate in between us. We can here a low white noise hum which doesn't bother us. When it's wet the noise really ramps up .
OP If you're questioning now I'd pull out. There's a reason why it seems perfect / good price etc. The motorway nr us has new houses being built and.i m talking their back garden fence is basically the motorway boundary . Even taking away the noise levels, which i do believe you can get used to, the levels of pollution would be a major worry for me.

I get the dilemma, I am sure the house has been priced accordingly and you will be getting more house for the money.

Remember when you come to resell, your house will always be lower in valuation compared to our properties in the area. Reselling a property that is subject to noise can also take longer, but having said that you are wanting to buy it.

Having bought and sold many times, there is always a comprise somewhere.

Health aspect, I don’t know enough about to comment, other than my personal health situation I was born rurally and was dx with MS at 40, a friend of mine, one of 7 kids, the only one born rurally also has MS, so make of that what you will.

Its a big decision, good luck.

It’s not a regular occurrence but it does happen where there are major works. I worked on the M1 scheme in Luton, in the four years I was managing it, the road scheme never happened but the plans were to extend and so compulsory purchase an amount of houses to facilitate that - there has to be a safe distance between a live motorway and a residential area for obvious reasons.
The difficulty for those local to this scheme was that for years those houses who weren’t directly blighted by the scheme were affected by it most - they couldn’t sell their homes because who would want to buy with the scheme uncertainty- it is something to be mindful of.

I got stuck in my road house for 12 years as my DC then started at the local schools and we laid roots in the area. We ended up part exchanging it for a new build and got lucky when the estate agent valued the house as we had rare and flukey quiet 10 minutes and he didn’t go in the garden as it was raining.
It took the housing developer who bought our house a year to sell and they ended up reducing it by 20%. We made more in 2 years in our new house than 12 years of living in our old road house. This was when prices were going up for everyone else in the country.
Honestly I can’t say it clearer, don’t do it, it’s been the biggest mistake of my life. Buy a regular house even if it’s a bit smaller or not as nice.

I would say the introduction of electric vehicles could be a consideration if it were just a property investment, but the childhood of children already born will be too short for this to make any difference in the years it matters most.

I live close to the motorway. When I met my husband he had already bought the house - at first I hated it and could clearly hear the motorway noise. Now I hardly ever notice it.

You will never sit and enjoy your garden. You will never open your windows and enjoy the fresh air. You won't get used to the noise it becomes a constant irritant. And the house will be covered in constant dust.

I think that parts of the country are so crowded it's likely most people have to live near some noise unless you have loads of money to spend to live in the middle of nowhere .
I viewed 2 houses one near a railway line and one near a motorway and it was the railway line that was worse , the whole house shook which even surprised the estate agent . The other thing was the trains were intermittent so you were always anticipating the next one . The motorway was far easier to cope with as I lived in London and used to traffic . It was just white noise and sound out .
OP if the price is good and you love the house buy it . There will always be buyers to sell into because you can already see the number of people living by motorways and they can't all be there through lack of choice .

I live 2 miles from a motorway and I can hear it. I don’t notice it downstairs but upstairs I think there is nothing for the sound to hit before it gets to my bed. It’s white noise and not terrible but it would be nicer if it wasn’t there. Not a chance that I would live 4 houses away. We have no plans to get people and freight off the roads so it will only get busier and, possibly, wider.

Is it a home you plan on living in for a long time?
Are you a worrier?

You would most likely get used to the noise, unless you or somebody in your family is neurodiverse / has a history of being upset by noise. I’m guessing you don’t or you wouldn’t have considered this house. It’s called habituation.

If the pollution issue is likely to weigh on your mind though, then best not to continue as it will be an o going worry.

Make sure you are 100% sure you’re happy you’re getting a good price, as no doubt the house will be harder to sell.

WOW this is shocking! Just checked and I’m in the 53rd percentile. I live in a village about 2 miles from a small city, it’s pretty green and quiet (apparently!).

I've moved from a busy town road (54th percentile) to the countryside (5th percentile) and have noticed a huge difference in the air quality.

I think if I had DC, I definitely wouldn't buy it. Pollutants can cause and contribute to so many health issues.

I think you'll feel relieved if you pull out, OP!

I think we feel very silly right now, having put in the offer and even increased it a bit, to then notice something so obvious. We feel like idiots, the motorway is right there next to the house.

We like about a half mile away from it at the moment, funnily enough we had never really registered its noise in about 10 years here. Now we can hear it! I think we just thought of it as the wind before, but its not its the motorway.

I am very noise sensitive but traffic doesn't bother me. My friend lives about half a mile from a very busy road and whilst you can hear it outside her home it isn't too bad.

What would concern me is the pollution.

If you are in any doubt I would stop now. You will find another house!

I would buy as the move to electric cars !!! Could be a time to buy cheaper

I'm a bit confused about the electric cars thing. Everyone i know drives a car with fuel, noone with any intention of changing that to electric as far as I know. Who are all these people expecting a change to mass electric cars?