House purchase-A road behind garden

[Stargem294]

I think I'm asking here just to gauge some sort of opinion....currently DS, partner and I living in 2 bed semi in fab location. Our DS came along a lot quicker than expected and so within 3 years we have quickly outgrown our house (after renovating and spending a lot of money!). We have sold our house twice now but its been really difficult to find somewhere to go (not forever home but likely minimum of ~10yrs) and we don't want to have another reno and potentially have another baby. We have had an offer accepted on a 4 bed detached with double garage, all finished and updated (only built 6 years ago), end of cul de sac and a really nice neighbourhood (we know as believe it or not 3 houses have been up in this close, 1 drive too small, 2nd agreed price then changed her mind, 3rd is one we have had an offer accepted on). Schools are great and it's not far to travel for work for either of us. It's a huge house compared to what we are in.....BUT....the garden backs onto a busy A road. There is a bit of land between the garden and the road (about 15m) but it's quite noisy, especially in rush hour. We have been for 2 viewings and one was at 5pm. They are also going to be developing the other side of the main road so there will be a roundabout going in almost directly behind the house which will slow the traffic down.

We live in a pricey area, the house has been reduced and we have agreed a price about 7% lower than the original asking. It's unlikely we would be able to afford this house if it was spun 180° as it would have sold at the original price or around that which was too high for us. We have also been to see around 15 other properties and either we were competing with other buyers, too small of a house for the money (due to location) or doer uppers that we wouldn't be able to have the time or money for (plus having done that and nearly parted ways we have agreed that's not best for us). We can't really extend and increase the size of our current house because there are still elements missing that we would rather have (eg no garage, no room for garage, already have a big (filled up!) shed in the garden.)

So ....what would you think.....do we stay put and wait it out for something else OR do we take the opportunity before house prices go up again and potentially lose our buyer (with a chain of 2 under her so wanting to get moving).

We are so torn we don't know what to do - we need to make a decision in the next couple of days really so not to keep everyone (sellers and buyers) waiting.

Thank you!

Is the noise going to be a real nuisance to you, or is it just the thought that it's not perfect that's the issue? Could you put acoustic fencing or a hedge or plant a row of trees (or some combination of these) all along the end of the garden to absorb some of the noise? If a roundabout is going to be there, that may slow the traffic down and make it less noisy. And double- or triple-glazing would deaden the sound indoors. How long have you been looking - six months, or 3 years? How long would you be willing to wait before having the next DC? If you haven't been looking long and are willing to put off DC2 for 2-3 years, then perhaps keep looking if you're unsure about this one. But if you've been looking for a long time and want to have DC soon, you might be best off going for this one - it seems to be everything you are looking for, just with this one thing to compromise on - and try to find ways of baffling the noise.

I don’t think it would bother me. Better than having annoying neighbours behind you which you could end up with. I’d plant a big hedge to absorb the noise

Depends how busy. When DS was born we lived 1/4 mile from A14 for a year. While we were there, DS and DH had horrible coughs due to heavy traffic pollution. The coughs completely vanished when we relocated to a rural area. Would never live that close to a main road by choice for that reason alone.

Only you can say really... are you generally sensitive to noise? I have lived on or adjacent to a couple of really busy roads in London - I thought I would get used to the noise but I never did. Also lived over a mainline railway tunnel and the flat vibrated, even though we were on the 3rd floor! But I was brought up in one small village and now live in another. It would be a no from me but for you the good points may outweigh this one bad one.

I would worry about the pollution levels living near a busy A road especially if I had very young children.

I've found you've always got to compromise on something - it sounds like a great house. Do you spend a lot of time in the garden or is it just the few weeks of the year that we have nice weather?

We live on a long road that's parallel to a dual carriage way (in a town, so not people going 70, but still plenty of traffic)

Honestly the only time I notice is on the occasion when we're at someone else's and the garden seems quiet. When I'm at home I don't notice at all.

Personally I'm too noise sensitive so it would be a no from me, and polution would be an issue. I also have a cat so another factor which would rule it out. Xx It would also make it a pain to sell in the future.

Agree that there is always a compromise somewhere though. Do a pros and cons list. Do research about living next to a road too. Hope you make the right decision for you. X

It's a no from me but the garden was a priority for me when I bought my house. My garden is so peaceful and tranquil. I have a school at the side and back onto a playing field so there can be noise at times but to me it's a nicer noise than traffic and it isn't constant - the summer holidays are bliss! I do live in greater London though, so I realise we get better weather than a lot of the country and more chance to use the garden.

Pollution would play on my mind too.

I wouldn't be put off by the noise from the road at all but the potential distribution due to road works if they're building a dev would. Three years of temporary traffic lights, queues and machinery. But if you don't have bonuses that road it might bot affect you, and DC might like watching the diggers!

Thanks all-its just the noise really, the pollution isn't too much of a concern - we live 5 mins from the beach and the forests and spend time out most weekends. Its just sitting in the garden in the summer (winter we wouldn't be out there much anyway!) Other than that it is the perfect house....and I totally agree re:compromises! That's why we have gone for it, I guess there is just a little niggle in my head 🥴 I think DS will love the diggers with the building! We would like another child in the next ~2 ish years and have been looking for a house for about 6/12 which I guess isn't too long in the grand scheme but we just want to make the jump whilst we can and before house prices climb up again!

I wouldn't because of the noise but far more importantly because of pollution. Even if you don't spend much time in the garden the air inside the house will come from outside.

I used to live near an A road, it was actually a Ring Road around a city so a really busy road.
The houses opposite backed onto it, we could hear cars and lorries all day and night, fewer at night obvs, the noise just became background noise, we stopped "hearing" it eventually.
You're a little closer to the road so it depends on your noise tolerance.
The house sounds perfect for you otherwise

Does the road get mega busy with tourists, being so close to a beach?

Guessing if you’re local you’ll already know (and admittedly partly asking out of curiosity, because we’re thinking of a coastal move but worried ironically about peak season busyness!)

Planting trees and shrubs in the garden on the side towards the road would not only reduce the noise a little, it would reduce the pollution a lot.

At one time I lived next to a very busy dual carriageway, like a pp said you do get used to the noise. Plus you won't have any annoying neighbours backing onto you!

I’ve found I’m sensitive to constant background noise, I’ve lived near railway lines with no issues but road noise really gets to me, so personally I would (and I have) compromise on space rather than put up with traffic noise. But obviously lots of houses are near busy roads and lots of people are fine with that.

I grew up in a house on an A road and raised my DC in a house that backed onto an A road.

The only time I noticed the traffic noise was on Christmas day and that was because there was no traffic and it was quite unsettling!

If you love the house and it fits your needs, then go for it.

I'd buy the house - nothing is ever 100% perfect and you know from having looked that there's not much else available that meets most of your requirements and that you can afford.

You shouldn't really have made an offer if this was a problem for you though. Fair enough to pull out if you discover new information at survey etc, but not because of something you knew full well about when you offered.

Not a problem.for me.

I've lived in 2 properties that have backed onto railway lines. And lived on a busy A road that was inbetween a primary school and the train station. Often slept with windows wide open with no disturbances. Pollution is everywhere so a bit of traffic doesn't put me off either.

But then again I'm not you.

Pollution is everywhere so a bit of traffic doesn't put me off either.

Well yes, but there are obviously higher levels near an A road ...

I wouldn’t touch it personally. Even if the noise doesn’t bother you, the pool of people willing to buy it from you longer term, will be smaller. You could end up stuck with it
3 properties for sale there recently too……perhaps coincidence, but enough of a red flag for me to abort

The pollution is an absolute deal breaker for me. We used to live near a busy road and my children have asthma now - very common condition for children living in that area. We moved away for lots of reasons, but that was a big one.

I bought a house near a busy road (actually 2 rows of houses between us and it but it's elevated so the noise travels). I'd say most of the time it doesn't bother me. However in the summer evenings/overnight when I want my window open and there's delivery trucks and other heavy goods vehicles trundling up and down it it's very irksome. We also seem to get coughs an awful lot. Might be related, might be because we're also in close proximity to a river. Might be both. We're currently looking at moving again and a big part of it is the traffic noise and pollution. Annoyingly we now can't afford to move within our local area so are moving quite a way from where we are. I think if we'd bought somewhere further from the traffic we'd probably be here for the long haul.

We bought last year, 4 bed detached and the only detached in our price range in the area we wanted. They lowered the price once and then we offered £40k under which was accepted. I believe the road at the back made it cheaper.

Our A road has no bus route and also approaches a roundabout so cars slow down. You can hear steady stream of traffic but I barely notice it anymore. The road is up a steep bank and we have huge trees and a double fence. I'm hoping the trees reduce the potential pollution.

Our house would be arguably perfect if turned 180 - but then it would have cost more, and we wouldn't have the lovely quiet cul de sac feel.

You have to compromise on something and I was willing to compromise on this.

Brill thanks all, we are going into the estate agents Tuesday for a chat about it all, I agree we need to compromise somewhere, it's just a bit unnerving when it's such a big financial commitment. And yes we probably shouldn't have offered but tbh it was a good job we did as there was someone else after the house our seller wanted so if we hadn't then chances are he wouldn't have got that one either! Thanks again all x