Would you buy a house next to a commercial business thats up for sale

[UndecidedHouse]

Currently used as a sales office. Starting to look run down. Connects onto a property at the side. The business building is up for sale/rent next door to the house which im considering. It doesn't have a for sale/let board outside. I found out by searching online purely by accident. Im worried what it could become eg noisy business/run down and left looking worse.

my current situation is im currently renting. Landlord has said hes selling by end of year. I feel panicked but not much i can afford at bottom of market. Its in a nice village/town setting

No - you don't know what business will end up there if its up for sale. One near me (also a village setting) was sold, left empty by the new owners (who I assume weren't local) and a drug gang broke in to it and set up a cannabis farm..

I agree with the unavoidable fact that you have no idea what type of business will end up using it. Certainly you shouldn't assume that because it is offices - it will be every time its occupied. Change of use on commercial is often granted by councils - have you checked for change of use applications or planning ? So it also depends on how it's priced. In theory a residential property connected to a business premises, especially an empty tired looking one, should be considerably cheaper. However the sellers may well be chancing with a higher than it's worth price. I urge caution and thorough investigation before offering.

No, it could end up being a take away which is open late, or an off licence and lots of noise of people hanging about.

I heard there are now issuea with obtain mortgages for business adjecent properties. So I would check that as well.

And no. I wouldn't buy it if I had a choice

I lived next to a shop which closed and became a funeral director, they actually have a mortuary with bodies in the back....doesn't bother me but I'm sure it would bother some. Apparently it lowers my house value by 10%

It would be a big risk. Which I would expect to be reflected in the price.

Chi chi florist- lovely. Rowdy bar- disaster and will affect sale price. What’s the area like in general? What do you think is likely to go there?

Some mortgagors won’t lend on properties near some types of commercial premises either.

Areas ok. Just announced this week theres plans submitted for a HMO (different style of house) on a property 15 doors down. Not sure how i feel about that either.

i just feel really stressed out. Im being evicted as landlord selling, there’s not a lot at my end of the market in a nice area. Ive got kids to get to schools etc. ahh its just so much atm. House is u for £165k. Id prefer to pay less because in all honesty it does need work, visually needs decorating all over, there’s potentially an issue with some loose tile on roof and sorting that out. I discussed this with EA and they basically said its the asking price or nothing. I also checked out other houses on street similar to the one in question and they were up for sale at same price if not £5k less for houses ready to live in, no issues. Not next door to any businesses. I tried to argue this but they were fixed. Im now feeling crap and not sure i want to proceed. Im stuck because of the pressure from landlord and i literally have no where to go with kids. All rentals are extremely expensive in my area, it will eat up my deposit, which i dont want as ive saved hard for this. Equally i dont want to take on a burden house

This isn't the property for you. Tell (not ask) your landlord that you need another 6 months. It would be quite unusual for them to go to the trouble of starting an eviction if you have been a good tenant and simply need a little extra time. Its a very troublesome process and will take that long anyway so most will just choose to let it go for another 6 months.

Like every time people ask on here
'Would you by a property that .....?' the answer very much depends on what the options are for your personal circumstances.

If there were 2 similar properties I could afford, in the right area, ticking enough boxes for me, would I choose the one not next door to a commercial property ? - of course. But that isn't your circumstance. Your circumstance is that you need to move, under time pressure, and under budget pressure (like most people in real life, not like strangers making theoretical choices on the internet), and this house ticks enough boxes that it is a realistic proposition for you, so you are looking from a different position than every poster who is always horrified on MN about the prospect of living near a railway, a school, a busy road, a dentist, some shops, within 2 miles of a motorway, etc., etc., etc, where millions of people manage to live their lives quite happily.

im going to call the estate agents marketing the property next door and ask them what the deal is, if there is possibility for a change of use etc. i really dont mind if it stays as a 9-5 office/sales business but the alternative of say a fried chicken shop/chippy/corner shop would be a disaster and i would have trouble selling

In all honesty the estate agent will give you any old flannel. I wouldn’t trust the answer you get.

If realistically this is a decent area and it’s good value I wouldn’t write it off. I would though use the uncertainty as a good reason to ask for a price reduction and put the money safely somewhere in case you need to pay for sound proofing etc.

In your circumstances, I think I might. It gets you a secure home and no need to worry about landlords any more

If you see houses for sale on similar streets w no issues and for 5K less, why not buy one of those???????

They are not for sale anymore. They are the comparisons in the area which have sold this year- last 8 months

That should tell the op its significantly overpriced but they seem to be still considering it. I would rather continue to rent than overpay for a potential problem property personally. But we don't know the ops personal circumstances.

I agree its over priced. In comparison to those others, which are similar on the same road and are now showing as SSTC which look like they are ready to move into (no immediate problems visible/nice kitchen/nice decor etc). This one im looking at needs work straight away. However, im in a bit of a desperate situation as my landlord is selling. Idk im considering renting IF i can actually secure one, they are like hot cakes in my area. Thing is with that is the rents are going to be £400+ what a mortgage would be. Its madness.

Having lived next door to a wholesale plumber's merchants for 8 years, no way.

my gut is telling me no

Yes much as your situation at the moment isn’t great, it might be worse if you buy somewhere overpriced and a vape shop or something moves in, devaluing it even further.

Could you look at renting somewhere else for 6 months (so a year contract but with a break clause), even if it’s not completely suitable or a bit of a distance away?

Or, a bit of an odd suggestion, could you look into whether you could buy the sales office and apply for change of use back into a house? It might work out cheaper and you’d then know it wasn’t going to be turned into a vape shop etc!

Im going to see two houses tomorrow both of which are shared ownership. Lovely houses but idk if shared ownership is a good idea either. Honestly i just feel hopeless at the point. I have no one to ask for any help. Its so difficult to know what to do

With shared ownership the key thing is to check you’ll be able to afford the rent as well as any mortgage. And work out whether the rent is likely to rise at all, and if so by how much. If you can then they are often a really nice place to live, but they aren’t generally the best investment. In your position though if you can afford it and it’s a nice place it sounds as though shared ownership might be a good idea. What you need at the moment is a nice place to live, not an investment.

Its going to take your landlord at least 6 months to evict you - probably longer with the new ledgslation coming in autumn. So you hold all the cards. I would remind him of this and ask for more time. If you are in a position to buy then you dont need a reference from him and can hang on til the bailiffs kick you out. With court delays you are looking at a minimum of 6 months. Why should landlords have it all their own way.

Ive looked also into council housing in my area. Honestly rents are so high and one wage i think im going to struggle to pay for everything. Thats even if i could get a viewing on a rental as everyone ive called is not taking anymore viewings. Id just about afford a mortgage on the property im looking at/or the shared ownership ones with rent and service charge included. Council houses are under £500 a month. Maybe i should wait to get evicted and risk getting a council house? Trouble is ive got savings, not a lot but over £16k. If i paid off my debts, i could take that down to £14k. Maybe that would be the better option?? Idk im so stressed, ive been crying. This is all just too difficult. Idk which way to turn

God i sound so pathetic! 😅