Site for sale - opposite farm - Good Idea/Bad Idea

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Cyrstal

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A site has come up for sale near us - it is in a great location, ie less than 5 miles away from the centre of a big town.

The only thing I'm worried about is that the site is opposite a farm - when looked at site over the weekend there was those big bails with the black covering on them etc and outsheds sopposite, but well back from the road.

I suppose I'm just concerned the farm would be an eye sore to the house that we would plan to build, as well as anything else we may not have thought of(!), anyone buy opposite/near a farm and have any issues?

Thanks
 
I suggest you visit the site at different times of the day/evening....ie. in the morning/evening at "cow time"... to see/hear if a milking parlour is running, can be quite noisy....

Also to see if tractor noises are running continously etc...

By the way how far away is the farm from the site.....perhaps this is what you would expect in the country....

It would be worse if you had an apartment block looking into your back garden.

Also listen out from the outsheds to either hear the following noises......Mooooooooooooooooooo!, Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!....Get out you f...ing bi.ch (Farmer).

Watch out for the empty cattle grid sheds...as these may be empty now but come winter they may be well full of starving cattle having loud conversation with each other.
 
I live next to a farm and one thing to watch for is little flying beasties, usually in the summer, you might get them if the fields around you are worked in any way. Also, as said before, the smell....I don't noticed it from the farm but for most of April we get a smell from a near by mushroom farm (at least I think it's coming from there).

Only other thing I would tend to think about is the safety of any children you have if they have access to the farm yard, with equipment and such.

On the plus side, our farmer is a lovely guy who runs down our hedges with his big machine thing and tidies them up.

A friend of mine also lives next to a farm and she gets disturbed at certain times of the year by harvesting equipment operating during the night (lights and sound) but that might be a local thing to her.
 
Thanks Guys, There's loads of things I haven't thought of.

I did think of the machinery thing with regards to kids.

Smells I could live with, noise in the night, not sure Oh I don't know. And flying beasties? I think that may be the worse thing :eek:

But the thing is we do want to build our own house, which will be out in the country - so I suppose we will have the problem of flying beasties, harvesting, farm animal noises, smells, whether or not we live opposite a farm.

Will take a look again over the weekend and see what activity is going on down there.
 
Cyrstal said:
A site has come up for sale near us - it is in a great location, ie less than 5 miles away from the centre of a big town.

The only thing I'm worried about is that the site is opposite a farm - when looked at site over the weekend there was those big bails with the black covering on them etc and outsheds sopposite, but well back from the road.

I suppose I'm just concerned the farm would be an eye sore to the house that we would plan to build, as well as anything else we may not have thought of(!), anyone buy opposite/near a farm and have any issues?

Thanks
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Would a view overlooking a farm not add to the amenity value of a site? A lot better imho than being alongside or opposite more houses.
 
I would suggest that if you have concerns about the close proximity of a farm you might be better to forget about the site altogether.

There are many different kinds of farm, and each attached farmyard has the potential to cause various kinds of seasonal disruption to you, especialy if you are having concerns already.

For example, if it's a tillage farm, there will be a lot of large machinery and noise and dust in August for about three weeks, but the rest of the year will be relatively peaceful.

A dairy farm will be active from about 6am to 6pm, a milking machine will be running twice a day (not a major noise issue, but if you're sensitive about it you just won't like it.) Possibly cows will cross the road four times a day, so there will be some dirt on the road. Slurry will be spread regularly. Silage will be cut in late may and again in July, so that could mean heavy machinery working into the a.m., twice a year. Calves will be bawling for their milk first thing every morning, and cows will be bawling for their weaned calves right through the night.

A piggery... well they're noisy, and the slurry is fairly foul.

If it's a sheep farm and you have a dog... you'll have to really keep your pet under control, especially at lambing.

Kids love farmyards, there's so much to do and see. All the baby animals and big machines. Of course, a farmyard can also be deadly dangerous for kids. Would your kids know the difference between a big old friendly cow and a tetchy bull?

You could spend time at the site at different times of the day, but as farming is seasonal, what you get today will be different to what you get in September or December.

Another issue you might consider is where your site is place relative to the farm and prevailing winds. That would have a major impact on smells and noise carrying across to your house.

You could always call over and say Hi to the farmer. If you get on well, then obviously that's a good thing, if he/she is not happy to see a house being built so close, then that's another.

But whatever you do, don't build a house close to a farm yard, and then complain about the farming activity and expect it to be changed. That would be like a farmer moving to New York and complaining because there's too much noise, and he can't see the sky for the buildings, and expecting it to be changed. I'm not suggesting that's what you have in mind, but just in case you find yourself thinking.."well, maybe joe'll milk the cows an hour later on Sundays, so we can sleep a little longer" He can't - his cows will get mastitis and suffer.

Sorry for laying it on so thick and negative... I'm just trying to make sure you get an idea of what you could be facing. For some people, farms are just fantastic, for others they're a problem. Which one are you?

(By the way... I'm a farmer)
 
I spent all of my summers as a child beside a farm in Wexford and loved it. I still get down there as often as I can and the noise and smells never bother me. There's nothing like a walk at 5.30 on a summers morning watching the world wake up.
 
We own a Farm and the field adjacent to our Yard/Shed was purchased years ago and now there is a housing estate being built. One house is approx 50 feet from our shed. Upshot being they cant sell the houses due to our normal activities. A lot of people put down deposits but then pulled out when realized where farm yard is. Just my tuppence worth. Be very sure you can understand the farming community and what comes with it.
 
Delber said:
We own a Farm and the field adjacent to our Yard/Shed was purchased years ago and now there is a housing estate being built. One house is approx 50 feet from our shed. Upshot being they cant sell the houses due to our normal activities. A lot of people put down deposits but then pulled out when realized where farm yard is.
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In fairness this could be as much to do with the state of the market, and behaviour patterns among buyers everywhere, as anything else. Its not as if this development is the only one in the country failing to shift. People will use all sorts of excuses in the current climate. Did buyers really put down deposits before seeing the location?
 
I think it is really up to what you feel comfortable with.It is your decision and visits at different times is a good idea.Also size of farm would make a difference too.If there are silage bales, then there are animals,so you'll either be ok with all of it or not.It wouldn't put me off but it is a personal decision.
 
moneygrower said:
To me that's like worrying about living near cars in the city. Pig farms excepted. Poor piggies.
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Yes you dead right Moneygrower. The smell out of cars is terrible & yes nearly as bad as the smell from pigs.....unless u are referring to the exhaust fumes v's pigs muc:D.....or CO2 emissions for that matter;)
 
Delber said:
We own a Farm and the field adjacent to our Yard/Shed was purchased years ago and now there is a housing estate being built. One house is approx 50 feet from our shed. Upshot being they cant sell the houses due to our normal activities. A lot of people put down deposits but then pulled out when realized where farm yard is. Just my tuppence worth. Be very sure you can understand the farming community and what comes with it.
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I totally agree with Delbar. I'd prefer a farm across the road from me than a big field that could become a housing estate.
 
"there was those big bails with the black covering on them etc and outsheds sopposite, but well back from the road.

I suppose I'm just concerned the farm would be an eye sore to the house that we would plan to build, "


Don't want to be rude Crystal, but that's country living!!! Maybe an urban site would suit you better if you've these type of concerns
 
Thanks for all the replies!

Roundy - I am actually from the country originally(parents and rest of my family still live there!) - down a lane with moss growing on road even!! We weren't farmers though and we didn't live near a farm(well there were ones within 2/3 miles) So that's why I queried living in that close proximity to a farm. I'm well used to country living!!

Anyway, the site isn't exactly opposite the farm after all it's up one field away, so we're delighted.(Didn't explain fully about the farm, seemed to be old cars just left in field in front of farm, place looked a bit run down) We're meeting the auctioneer on Saturday and are going to put a bid in.

Very excited, but this is the first step in the process. Site nearby got turned down due to 'Ribbon development' concerns from council, so not holding out to much hope for it :-(

Thanks again for all the advice.
 
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