Would you buy a home next to a childcare?

So we have been looking for a house for a while, this one in Sydney North came and we started to like it. There were issues with the house - as in we weren't liking the lounge/kitchen but were happy to buy, wait out a bit and then renovate at some stage in the next 5 years.

Anyway, just found out that the house next door has got an approval to open a child care (single level), that house is on corner and the driveway would be on the other street - not the one where our driveway would be.

It is possible that the current owners are selling or have expedited the process of selling after the DA for child care was submitted.

Do you see a value being impacted a lot if the house is next to the child care? The childcare will be operating from 7am to 6pm - 30~ odd kids with 6 educators.

I can't see much problem living in it myself - but that is because the childcare is not built yet so its a bit hard to get a feel. However, any buyer in the future would be privy of all the info etc.

What do the experts think here? Thanks for your advice in advance, really appreciate.

 

My PPOR is two doors from a kindergarten and childcare, around the corner, no problems at all. Some parents park outside my house. I go past the place a few times a week at various hours and there's no peak traffic, which surprises me somewhat. I would have expected parents dropping off kids before work and collecting after, but this has not happened enough to notice.

While there will be some noise when the kids are outside, they will not be outside all the time, and the amount of noise should be acceptable. You could even use the DA as a bargaining chip. The reasons the vendors are selling does not matter as much as what you think of the offer. It's possible that they are selling due to the DA, it may be a factor, or it may be unrelated.

 

We have a new one 3 doors down. It operates during limited hours 7-6 and for safety has very strict and large undergound parking. Kids cant enter or leave through the street so parents dont park outside. The "noise" the kids make is minimal and out the back and its a good noise. Little kids having fun. Unlike schools there are no announcements, bells etc. Weekends are silent. This is a new build design from scratch where a converted house may have issues.

 

We are about to have a child care built directly across the road, I see it as a benefit and attractive to future families. Also better then units being built as there will be less people around. Happy to hear others thoughts.

 

Yeah I like kids but probably not THAT much. When they're out in the yard, expect some screaming and squealing.

That said, the benefit is that you are pretty much guaranteed no noise when it counts...after 6pm and before 7am, and I'd much prefer prefer semi-controlled noise from young kids than loud parties and dinner guests.

It's a hard one. Depends where you are really/which suburb. In a medium/high density suburb, Id say go for it to eliminate the potential for ferals but out in suburbia where blocks are 600-1000 plus sqm, perhaps not.

 

Plus there will be a daily supply of free toys thrown over the fence!

 

With the child care still in the planning stages, it may be an idea to see what they have planned. if the child care centre has double glazed windows and the outside play area on the other side of the new building it may work. The OP may be able to see what the traffic and noise are like from, say, 3-5 pm at an existing child care centre.

 

Thanks everyone, these are some very valuable comments.

It will be very similar for us. The property is very close to the proposed childcare building and 2 of our bedroom windows will be overlooking the outdoor play area of the centre. We both work from home as well so its likely that noise may become an issue at least for a few hours say from 2pm to 5pm.

Absolutely agreed, I think in the pre covid world I would not have cared too much about it as we were working from office at least 90% of the time but its a different world now, we WFH pretty much 80% of the time and its not going to change.

Something for us to consider! Its a good location and close to rail but such a shame that this development has made us uncertain about what to do.

 

Could be grounds for council submission on DA approval. That said, in NSW I see NSW Govt wants to relax the rules to allow more child care in resi areas. But as a neighbour there are issues to address. Most people usually buy a house where there are neighbouring houses around them and assume a normal occupancy. Not 30 kids and 6 staff incl a cook. To now suffer the number of kids outside without design considerations for noise, privacy etc may be a leap. If council were approving a new build I am sure they would require parking, privacy and noise as well as waste and other issues to be considered.

Many people apply for day-child care to be knocked back. IDK what the new one up the road can accomodate (council approval suggests 30) costs but it would be MILLIONS (2-3) plus its on three lots...Possibly $6m centre. I have noted too that there is a no mans land to the one adjoining neighbour. He tells me this is so kids do not kick fence etc and CANNOT escape into or through a neigbouring property. Even its permitter fences are double layer. I believe this is a requirement after the Sophie Delizio accident many years ago. eg Imagine if the OP had a pool !! Imagine the issues with fencing. The first external layer is solid blockwork up to around 1 metre plus in height wit a fence on top and the inner fence is a high timber panelled fence.

 

I used to live directly next door to one. It was very noise.
At 6-8am the gate bangs non stop and there's a lot of loud talking, yelling, crying out the front. Then playing of course all day which can be loud. We didn't have traffic issues but the noise was very annoying. Lucky we were renting

 

Thanks everyone for you valuable comments, we have decided to give it a miss as our bedroom windows will be overlooking the childcare and will make it very hard for us to WFH.

 

Whether you would be happy to live there is one thing. Whether it would affect capital growth and future re-sale is another. Personally, as a business we avoid buying next to child care centers. The perfect property comes up most weeks, avoiding such a house is one way to mitigate risk. There are plenty more fish in the sea.