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Original poster

Would you buy a house directly opposite a 5G mast?

78 replies

starshideyourfires · 03/11/2019 19:35

Hello
We have found a house we absolutely love - by far the best we've seen and we've been looking for a while. And it is within our budget. I'm wondering if there is a reason it's in budget as we haven't seen anything else that compares for the same price.

Anyway, directly opposite is 5G mast. We think it's been there for a while but in May this year was upgraded to 5G. There are no other houses behind it, or on the other side facing it. Our potential house is directly opposite about 15 meters away. There are no other houses which fall directly into it's beam!

I've read many of the for and against arguments. We are wary. Obviously for health reasons, but also, with the outrage that surrounds some of these masts, we are thinking about resale value. Even if they are proved safe in the future, there may always be people unwilling to live near one.

I suppose it wouldn't bother us so much if we were a 100m away or so, it's just the proximity that is concerning us. My husband has done some research about how they work.

I suppose my question is simply - would you? Just so I can hear some stories, or just gauge peoples' opinions.

Thanks!

OP posts:
bluejelly · 03/11/2019 19:46

It wouldn't bother me. They aren't actually dangerous to health are they?

Original poster
starshideyourfires · 03/11/2019 20:13

thanks @bluejelly

I think a lot of people think they are and others don't. I believe 4G has been tested and found to be ok, but people are concerned that the 5G is new and therefore unknown. Of course, we are told they are safe, but we do wonder about the very few people who are very close.

OP posts:
blahblahblahblahhh · 03/11/2019 20:16

There's been quite a lot of shouting about the health concerns associated with them but then again I don't know how they determine if they are the actual cause. There are increases in clusters of cancers apparently around 5g masts.

ThePug · 03/11/2019 21:59

We were due to buy a newbuild in June but it fell through because our buyers pulled out. We found out there was a 3G mast basically opposite the front door, 15m or so away, in the few weeks before it fell through. We ummed and ahhed about what to do, although my parents and friends were all saying don’t buy it! When the purchase fell through it felt like maybe it was for the best as had stopped us making a bad decision (we were desperate to just move!). The developers still haven’t sold that plot and have been very keen to get us to buy it offering huge discounts and incentives, but some other plots elsewhere on the estate were released and we’ve reserved a different one now - we’re paying £30k more and have less space but we all agreed it was worth it to not live with the “what ifs” - what if they find in years to come it’s not safe, what if our kids got ill and we always wondered if it was the mast, what if we couldn’t sell it in the future, what if plans went in to upgrade it to 5g etc...

Shockers · 03/11/2019 22:00

No. I wouldn’t chance it.

Wilberforce42 · 04/11/2019 12:02

5G is based on microwave technology which is why people are concerned about it. It’s banned in several countries as a result. 250 scientists wrote an open letter to the government about it sharing their concerns. That should tell you all you need to know.

Babyiwantabump · 04/11/2019 12:07

All I know is that when they turned on one near me - birds literally fell out of the sky!

Wallywobbles · 04/11/2019 12:16

@Babyiwantabump were they dead?

evilkitten · 04/11/2019 12:20

Which countries have banned 5G?

CatUnderTheStairs · 04/11/2019 12:24

www.gov.im/categories/health-and-wellbeing/health-advice/mobile-phone-masts-5g/

5G isn't new - it's the same spectrum that is being used for other things already. Have a look on the site I've linked to for sources.

Babyiwantabump · 04/11/2019 12:40

@Wallywobbles yep they were dead! Well dead or dying . Was very scary! Only Happened about 3 weeks ago . Don’t have any birds around that area much anymore so don’t know if it’s still happening or they are just avoiding it now

HmmmSuspicious1 · 04/11/2019 12:45

All I know is that when they turned on one near me - birds literally fell out of the sky!

Are you joking?? Confused I can't believe the government would allow it if birds were literally falling out of the sky??? Where is this?

GladAllOver · 04/11/2019 12:48

It's really no different to 3g and 4g, just a different format.
There's actually an argument for having the mast near your house. It means your mobiles will be operating at lower power, so longer battery life.

CatUnderTheStairs · 04/11/2019 13:05

Birds falling out of the sky due to 5G....doesn't sound very likely.
www.thatsnonsense.com/birds-in-coventry-are-falling-from-sky-because-of-5g-fact-check/

Lightsabre · 04/11/2019 13:16

Do you need a mortgage? Check your lender will be happy as we had to pull out of a sale on a house 150 metres from a pylon (different but similar). It's still on the market nearly a year later and has dropped 50K
Your resale market will definitely be limited.

Original poster
starshideyourfires · 04/11/2019 15:46

Thanks everyone for your replies. The agents apparently had other offers but you never know if they tell the truth! I’m the same about the ‘what ifs’ and my sensible head says not to.

OP posts:
Original poster
starshideyourfires · 04/11/2019 15:47

It was on the news this morning. Government are pushing hard to roll it out quicker and with less opportunity to oppose so we will have no choice but to live with this 5g. Our problem is the closeness of the house

OP posts:
johnd2 · 04/11/2019 21:17

Do you have WiFi in your house? WiFi is based on "microwave frequencies" how many metre is the router from where you sleep?
The reason there are 5g masts just about everywhere is because they have such a short range and low power they need plenty of them.
I don't get the worry about pylons, substations and mobile phone masts when people literally have them running in their own house all the time.

Original poster
starshideyourfires · 05/11/2019 09:08

We figured out we are 40m from the mast we have bought a gadget which measures the strength of the frequency at any point. In our current house the numbers are very low so it will be interesting to compare

OP posts:
Rivergreen · 05/11/2019 10:02

The compromise with 5g is higher speeds, but they drop off considerably faster with distance (shorter wavelength) compared to 3g and 4g. In fact some people are estimating that to get the best speeds, you need to be within 500m of a transmitter.

So we will also have to get used to being near transmitters soon! Although they are unlikely to look like the high pole 4g ones, more likely to be unobtrusive boxes on existing infrastructure.

As for causing birds to fall out of the sky, seriously?! Confused

safariboot · 05/11/2019 10:16

I'd umm and ahh about it and push the seller to drop the price because.

Then I'd celebrate having awesome phone signal in my new home!

Original poster
starshideyourfires · 05/11/2019 13:17

@safariboot ha yes! That’ll be what’s going through my husbands mind for sure

OP posts:
MrsEricBana · 05/11/2019 13:21

No. Right house, wrong location.

johnd2 · 05/11/2019 20:08

Using the gadget it will be interesting to compare but you could get a gadget to compare anything, whether it matters or not. Eg altitude, humidity.
You'd be better checking the pm2.5 and nox levels at the new house as they do actually harm your health

blahblahblahblahhh · 05/11/2019 20:11

@HmmmSuspicious1 you don't think the government are capable of doing something that might be harmful to people - id open your eyes if I were you!