Dream house dilemma

Achinghips

Achinghips

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Hi, some of you may be aware I found a house I really like. Only problem is clay pigeon shooting and motorcross occurs about an acre and a half away. I've found out the frequency of this but I'm still going around in circles. Hubby says it doesn't put him off buying the house and we could use it as a negotiating point.
Would you buy the house?

Motocross

Saturdays 11 - 4.
School summer holidays, additional Wednesdays 11-4.
Must close for a total of 3 Saturdays in the year.
Sound levels have to be monitored and bike engine size restricted.



Clay Pigeon shooting.
Sundays 10am-2pm. Five Sundays a year, they are allowed to extend to 5pm
April-September: Tuesdays 4-7pm



There are no applications for extensions to those hours.

These are some pictures of the land I'd have

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9902_031427_IMG_11_0005_t.jpg
 
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followed your last post on this. Clay pigeon shoot wouldnt be a problem (and great for despooking ponies!) for me but I would really want to go and listen the motocross myself on the saturday to hear just how much noise it would be. And also consider whether maintenance is done on the bikes during other days i.e. would the owners be going round the track or revving engines in a shed during the week?
 
Hi Rotchana,

Don't know if I would buy the house or not. Before making that decision I would insist upon going there at one or more of the times that the Motocross is on - and also for the shooting, just to get a first hand idea of how much noise it is likely to be and whether or not you think it would disturb you or not. I don't think it's an unreasonable thing to ask of the seller/agent.

The guns probably wouldn't worry me at all - I guess that's something I'm well used to by now as shoots are always taking place around here, but the Motocross might be a different matter.
 
No, I wouldn't. The motocross would put me off.

I kept my horse on a yard where there was a motocross track about 1.5 miles away.
If the wind was in the right direction, or if it was a still day, the constant drone used to drive me nuts.

Having it an acre and a half away for all but 3 Saturday's of the year would finish me off. I wouldn't like my animals having to endure it either.

Don't they use that kind of constant drone as a form of torture??
 
The shooting should not be a problem, in most parts of the countryside you can hear the pheasant shoot, duck shoot, etc. The motorcross would be a deal breaker for me though! Why live in the countryside and have the noise of the city?
 
Don't forget the motocross is only saturdays 11-4. I viewed the property when it was going on - you can't hear the noise inside the house due to the double glazing.
Wednesday's are summer school hols only.
 
Think it depends on your lifestyle, if you will be home on weekdays and go to compertitions on saturdays shouldn't be a problem because you can enjoy the peace but if you work all week and your weekend is destroyed by noise that would wear thin. But if the first applies definately a barganing point I would say.
 
Rotchana said:
Don't forget the motocross is only saturdays 11-4. I viewed the property when it was going on - you can't hear the noise inside the house due to the double glazing.
Wednesday's are summer school hols only.
Click to expand...

You say only, but for me, the weekend is my relaxation time. Having to stay indoors, or go out, from 11-4 to avoid the noise would just be too restrictive.

To have only 3 Saturday's in a year when I can pootle about in peace and quiet would just not be something I could compromise on.
 
As I said, I lived quite near one years ago, and they were a nightmare. So noisy! Yes you can shut your windows, but wouldn't you want to be outside/ have windows open in summer? I'd run for the hills and keep looking. Sorry to rain on your parade!
 
I wouldn't. I could cope with the motocross, I think, but the shooting would drive me crazy. Having to hear people shoot during the hunting season is one of the primary reasons why we are about to move house :)
 
Both would put me off so far as the horses were concerned, from a "me" point of view the motorcross would put me off. I have been not that far from a motorcross comp and the noise really did carry. It comes down to individual choice though as with anything.
 
It depends whether you have the sort of brain that just filters such things out, or gets progressively more annoyed by them. I know someone who has a wonderful place about 1/2 mile from a motorway (installed after they moved there) and it drives her totally NUTS, whereas when I was there my brain filtered it out after 5 mins and I forgot it until she started ranting about it again (which she did, every day.)
Tbh the motorcross wouldn't worry me (just sounds like a swarm of bees imho) but the shoot might, there was a shoot near me where I used to live and they were a nightmare, shot a snipe over MY very large pond (which I was ****ing LIVID about) and shot over my stables so the shot rained down on the roof frightening my youngsters, and then got really nasty when I asked them not to shoot towards my land. I know it's just clay pigeons but if the wind's in the right direction, shot travels far...
maybe all shooting people aren't arrogant & horrible though!
 
I agree with Kerilli, noise realy doesnt bother me. If you have heard it on a day when the wind is in your direction and it doesnt bother you then great. If you go there knowing the score it should be less annoying than living in tranquility and having it foisted upon you. Also if you want a nice quiet ride on a Saturday you can always go out before 11 or after. TBH I tend to do this in the summer anyway because its cooler and the roads are quieter.

If you think you can cope deffo use it as a bargaining too.
 
It doesn't matter what any of us think - you've got to live there, not us.

It should be cheaper than other properties that don't have that problem. My decision would go on budget, if I could afford to buy something similar elsewhere without issues, I would. If I couldn't, I'd buy this one (cheaper) and make the best of it.

I can't afford to buy a postage stamps-worth of land so I'd put up with anything! But if I had plenty of money, no, I wouldn't compromise like this.
 
I stiil think its your call,however im with others on the shooting, the MX woulden't bother me as much, the horses will most likely get used to both... but it will be a issue if you want to sell and move on as seen on here it could put off about 50% of potetial purchasers.. if it was me I would want to be sure the price reflected the down sides, it dosent seem over priced not that im an expert.. you would pay that for a derilict cottage with a paddock round here!!
 
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There are always going to be drawbacks to every place you look at. Only you and your OH can decide if the MX and the shooting are problems to you :).

As someone else has said, you may well have to consider re-sale value/issues. We didn't when we moved here - Edwardian house, big garden, Conservation Area, backs onto fields; but there's a busy road and and commercial garage to the front, which is going to put a proportion of people off :(. My Mother told me not to buy based on re-sale, but I chose to ignore her. Now we want to sell.... We will just have to wait for the people who want a reasonably sized old house but can't afford the extra £100k it would cost them to buy anything like this as they are in a more expensive area. I think it is similar to your situation - you like the house and the land, but there is the downside of the MX and shooting, just like our road - if you had the extra £ then you would probably be looking elsewhere.
 
Years ago we had a livery yard that also did banger racing about quarter of a mile from our fields. The noise was fairly awful for about one weekend in 4 but the horses became completely bombproof as far as car noises, lorries, pick up trucks and crowds were concerned.
Proximity of Moto-cross circuit might de-value an expensive house though, so could be a negotiating point as your hubby says, and you may get some rough types of people in the are too. We had problems with travellers and scrap metal merchants as a result.
 
Would you be able to cope if either business went 7 days a week? think you need to be prepared for that possibility and base decision on that.
i know a case were people set up a circuit, they sold it but carried on living there. New owners took it from weekends ony to everyday, it ended up going to high court! lots of bad feeling and the circuit was restricted for a bit but seems to be operating normally again now.
 
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