To buy a house that’s overlooked?

[Sundayponderingday]

If you had a choice between two houses, imagine the inside and price were exactly the same.

House 1 - not overlooked, though not rural as still on a road of houses but the garden backs directly on to an ugly industrial building. A Quiet but ugly one (think old warehouse). (YABU)

House 2 - on an estate and overlooked so has houses to the side and back of them, lots of windows facing in. (YANBU)

Which view would you rather have? Ugly but not overlooked or overlooked but in keeping with the house?

before anyone jumps in with neither, I just mean between these options!

I hate being overlooked in my garden. New builds are awful for this. When we were looking at houses, one house had 8 houses that had a bit of the garden.

Tough one but probably overlooked. Better the devil you know.

chances are the industrial building will be redeveloped at some point and you could end up with a block of flats behind you or a development with antisocial hours or smells.

Ugly.

Yes it may be built on in the future but you could move then IF that happened in the future. Also pleached trees to hide the ugly on one fence line.

Over looked your over looked from day one and new build pig pen gardens are hard to hide all your neighbours planting wise without boxing yourself in even more and ruining your own light.

Was overlooked hated it never used the garden due to it and being able to hear everyone’s conversations. Also there’s always one chap out smoking weed in those gardens wafting in. The more gardens the higher odds.

Either would be fine. We've planted trees that have slim trunks but grow tall and spread out and roses/grapevines to fill in spaces for privacy. Takes up minimal space.

Also depends how long you plan to live there and if you can actively decide jot to be bothered by it as its not forever.

Like another poster, we chose a house for the schools. Overlooked but not the forever house. One day I'll live rurally with chickens and lots of space 😁🐓

I hate being overlooked at the back but don't mind at the front...

I hate the gardens in new-builds. You are so overlooked in every direction. I would be more inclined towards the other BUT I would do some due diligence and find out what could end up there or if it is likely to be developed or if it will just remain derelict.

It’s would depend on the elevation of the other houses, the orientation and size of the gardens and what the planting options were.

Generally I’d hate to be overlooked so if it wasn’t anything I could sort out with trees I’d keep looking.

Neither but house one would be my preference. I couldn't live on a new build estate.

I'd pick house 1 and budget to buy lots of trees for screening the ugly building a bit.

Personally I’d buy whichever was quieter so depends on what the warehouse is and what the neighbourhood is like

I’d go for 1 as 2nd house, more confined overlooking means more noise, in theory.

I think my presumption would be option 1 though that would depend on what the old warehouse was used for. If it is a business that is generally Monday to Friday office hours, I'd probably be OK.

Does the house with the industrial warehouse have less chance of noise from neighbours as that would be a bigger factor for me. I struggled with my terrace house when new noisier neighbours moved in as they played music constantly and I felt I couldn't get away from it.

Can you plant trees or use a high fence to block the grotty view? If so I’d prefer that to being overlooked…though if you’re in a row of houses won’t you be partially overlooked anyway?

Residential over industrial. You know what you are getting with residential. Industrial more likely to change, even if you think its stable.

Is the warehouse actually quiet at night and early morning? I would think it might be harder to get rid of later when you sell as who knows what might become of it plus the noise and pollution of factories. In reality i would want neither as I have an overlooked garden (terraced) and I hate going out in my garden I feel so watched from above. But being overlooked by residents is the least awful option and yes look for screening privacy plants.

The devil you know!

The warehouses will probably already have a planning category that would allow them to be developed for god knows what industrial use - or as pp said flats. Obviously, flats could be screened but industrial noise / dust - not so much.

Our council put a traveller site on a disused light industrial plot. The land on the other side of the tracks from my old house in another area was turned into a 'recycling centre', sorting mixed re-cyclables. Sounds OK? The noise was horrendous. (they use big machines against a 'push wall')

At the very least I would look at any planning restrictions / allowances on the warehouse site. Even if it was revived as a warehouse there would be lorries, reverse beeping etc etc.

The manky warehouse could easily be knocked down or redeveloped into a 24 storey building. So loads of building work and then even more overlooked or blocking light.

At least the other one is just as it is and won't likely change.

In my area everything is overlooked. People don't just sit there gawping out the windows at eachother.

Possibly neither?