Opinion wanted on living near (quite) busy road

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Have been looking around at properties to buy, and have found several which tick our boxes (ie, no of bedrooms, big kitchen/lounge/conservatory/garage/big garden) etc. However, they are all slightly priced out of our range, although there is a house on the market for slightly less due to the fact (I imagine) that it is on a reasonably busy road. Its not a major road, in fact, it runs through a village, and the house has a large lawned area at the front, which means it is set back possibly 15 - 20 metres, but its location means it is obviously noiser than similiar properties in for example, a cul de sac.
When we viewed it, there were lots of windows open, and we could hear very slightly some traffic. However, in other ways (as listed above, it had what we wanted. Just wondered what your views would be - I'm startingto appreciate that we will have to compromise somewhere along the line with our budget, which doesn't quite stretch to our 'ideal' property. Any experiences/feedback on living on busier roads would be appreciated!

We had problems selling a house which backed onto a busy road. It didnt bother us while we lived there BUT it put lots of potential buyers off.

If it was a very busy road and if it was right on it, it would bother me but 15-20m should cut down the noise especially if you plant a thick hedge. Not ideal but if it ticks all the other boxes, I might compromise.

Bonneville makes a good point - especially if you are not planning on living there longterm, you need to consider whether other people might be put off. What would bother me would not be noise during the day but whether the road is noisy all through the night - noise is more amplified when everything else is quiet IFSWIM! Personally though it wouldn't put me off, what would bother me more was whether it was easy to pull out of the drive, etc onto the main road.

We live on a village high st, quite a big village, maybe 3500, 4000 population - although a lot of people live on new estates at the edge and don't have to come down the high st if you know what I mean.

We're also between the post office and the newsagents so we get a lot of people parking and engines starting. Also we're only 10ft away from the road.

If the windwos are open in the living room at early evening then the cars are noticeable and would be annoying so we only have the windows open at the back of the hose and thats fine. With the living room window shut then I don't notice any traffic.

DD has her bedroom at the front of the house an dwhen she was a toddler it was a bit difficult as the road seemed very noisy 6:00pm/6:30pm. I think to be honest its teh stopping and starting of the cars/engines revving thats bad. If they were just going by at a constant speed it would be fine. DD used to not be able to get to sleep and complain about the noise so we ended up aving to keep her bedroom window shut even in summer. So then she would be hot but at least not bothered by the cars. Its ok now as she's a bit older and goes to bed a bit later and by 7:30pm the road seems quiet.

Wouldn't bother me too much if it was reflected in the price. Unless I had a cat.

Used to live on a flat right on a VERY busy road in London. We had double glazing but I like to have windows open as often as possible. You get used to the noise and our bedroom was at the back, where it was very peaceful.

With 15-20 metres between you and the road, I suspect it won't be too much of a problem.

We back on to a busy road - DS & DD were 3.5 & 18 months when we moved in and seemed to get used to it fairly quickly. We've been here nearly 18 years now & I don't even notice now unless we get a really noisy motor bike. We did turn down two that had the main road at the front though, especially as they had no fence.

Like bonneville though, I think there may be issues when we come to sell it.

I think it'sone of those things that either bother you or doesn't. It's a big no-no for me but lots of people don't mind.

It will obviously limit resale market but more so in times like this than in say, 3 more years when things have settled down and property is selling again.

If the road issue is reflected in the price you willalways get couples like yourselves who are willing to compromise to get the bigger house. It's just whether you can live with it.

Oh and check how easy it is to get off the drive. Will you need to reverse or is there enough room to turn? If you need to reverse, how is the visibility?

I think you need to consider firstly safety, ie is there adequate protection for your children, and if they are young and possibly escaped from an unlocked gate, would there be anything to stop them being run over?

Then there is the issue of getting anywhere, I mean, ideally we would all live in little quiet roads where the kids could play out the front with other children. By a road would mean you'd need to supervise this kind of thing.

However - 15-20 metres sounds Ok form any other perspective. I viewed a house once which had its front door directly onto a road. I knew it would only be a split second if ds escaped (he was 3 at the time) and he'd be gone as it was very busy.

Also walking anywhere with him would have been difficult, as I'd have had t keep a very close rein on him iyswim.

We bought just such a house. Traffic can be heavy , think 60 cars a minute, but not normally at weekends, during the day time 8.45-4.30, or at night form about 7pm . The front is such that you wouldn't want to hold a long conversation out there but the back garden is fine. We open windows and noise isn't an issue indoors. Make sure you can turn on the front to get the car out forwards.

Thanks so much for all your replies.

The speed limit is 30 mph and its not the sort of road where traffic stacks up. Our children are a bit older and theres a huge enclosed garden out back where they would play.

I would obviously only consider buying it for the 'right' price, so in reselling, this would be reflected hopefully.

As I mentioned in my first post, our 'ideal' house in a quieter location is out of our price range, so its either a compromise of buying a cheaper house on a quieter road, or a larger house on a busier road! I just can't decide whats more 'important' to me!

cheaper house on a quieter road, every time. you never know what will happen to traffic in the future, but my guess is it will only get worse (unless you know for sure there will be a bypass or whatever built soon!). safety, noise, parking, resale etc.

also how much more are similar houses on quiter roads, ie do you know they are really out of your financial reach (have you put offers in?)

It all depends on what you're used to. I have spent my life living in flats over shops in busy London streets. I currently live in a flat that overlooks two junctions and 12 lanes of traffic. When we go to stay in the countryside, dd and I can't sleep because of all the spooky silence...

So I guess my experience is that you can and do get used to it. But whether YOU will, who knows?

I'd go for a smaller house on a quieter road every time.

sorry i meant smaller house as well. doh..

If the price reflects the location (and the 25% collapse in prices since the peak) then why not?

We lived on the Embankment in London near the Tate Gallery about 5 metres from the road and hardly ever noticed cars even though thousnds of them passed every hour (we had double glazing and net curtains).

Thanks so much for all of your messages.

Certainly if we did offer on the house, it would involve addressing the recent drop in house prices (which for some reason, vendors don't seem to be aware of - buts thats another thread!) as well as ensuring that it would work out alot cheaper compared to a similiar house in a quiet location.

Its just so tricky because the house is fantastic in terms of space and would need hardly anything doing to it and is actually in a very desirable location. It sold quite quickly a couple of years ago but it is a concern that if/when we come to sell (which we would plan to do a long time from now), if anything, the traffic situation could be worse.