Buying a house near multiple phone masts

rentykehoe

Hi we are thinking of buying a house in a regional city. It has many upsides,not least its proximity to the city centre. However there is a tower containing at least five mobile phone masts within, I'd say, 75m to the back door. Do you think this would reduce the value of the house and if so, by how much? It is quite imposing on the back garden and the masts have not been screened with trees or prettified in any way. We are concerned about the resale value as we dont see this as our forever home.
Any advice would be really appreciated. Renty

The_Conductor

What do you mean by 'we don't see this as our forever home'..........
Unless you plan to live there longterm- you're making a mistake in buying it at all.

As for will the mobile phone mast affect the saleability of the property- if its not affecting you and your decision to buy the property- you can be certain there will be someone with the same thinking as you.

Realistically- lots of people live near mobile phone masts (or communication towers of one type or another). Perhaps some folk put a monetary cost on the lack of aesthetics associated with them- perhaps other folk don't.

athtrasna

Personally aesthetics would be the least of my concerns living near a phone mast. There's a lot of conflicting information about health risks, and while we can't talk that sort of stuff on boards I can still say that the technology is too new for me to personally feel comfortable about the unknown.

Mikros

athtrasna wrote: »

Personally aesthetics would be the least of my concerns living near a phone mast. There's a lot of conflicting information about health risks, and while we can't talk that sort of stuff on boards I can still say that the technology is too new for me to personally feel comfortable about the unknown.

I don't want to drag this off topic, but mobile phone networks have been in Ireland since 1986... nearly 30 years. Hardly new technology. If you are in a city or built up area or shopping centre you are likely within 100 metres of a cell mast at all times - you just don't see the smaller ones.

I would 2nd the previous comment - if you are happy with the property and the aesthetics there will be plenty of others who will be in the future also. Wouldn't be a major issue in my mind.

drumswan

athtrasna wrote: »

Personally aesthetics would be the least of my concerns living near a phone mast. There's a lot of conflicting information about health risks, and while we can't talk that sort of stuff on boards I can still say that the technology is too new for me to personally feel comfortable about the unknown.

I don't think radio is a new technology

The_Conductor

drumswan wrote: »

I don't think radio is a new technology

X-Rays, are radio waves too. Obviously mobile phone frequencies are not on parr with x-rays- they are prolonged though- and we simply don't have any studies on what prolonged exposure to high intensity radio waves, over years, might be.

Personally I think its safe- we're continually exposed to radio waves one way or the other- however, I would have niggling fears about living next door to a mast.

Mikros

The_Conductor wrote: »

X-Rays, are radio waves too. Obviously mobile phone frequencies are not on parr with x-rays- they are prolonged though- and we simply don't have any studies on what prolonged exposure to high intensity radio waves, over years, might be.

Personally I think its safe- we're continually exposed to radio waves one way or the other- however, I would have niggling fears about living next door to a mast.

Approximately 25,000 research articles have been published over the last 30 years - the scientific knowledge in this area is far more extensive than most chemicals we interact with on a daily basis. There is no credible evidence to suggest health consequences as a result of exposure to low level electromagnetic fields. As well as that, the amount of exposure to radio waves from living near a cell tower is many times lower than the exposure from actually using a mobile phone because of the way the signal attenuates with distance - so unless you also don't have a phone your niggling fears are probably misdirected.

Marcusm

The_Conductor wrote: »

X-Rays, are radio waves too. Obviously mobile phone frequencies are not on parr with x-rays- they are prolonged though- and we simply don't have any studies on what prolonged exposure to high intensity radio waves, over years, might be.

Personally I think its safe- we're continually exposed to radio waves one way or the other- however, I would have niggling fears about living next door to a mast.

Both x-rays and radio waves are forms of electromagnetic radiation but are in completely different parts of the spectrum such that x-rays are not radio waves. An MRI machine uses radio waves, perhaps that is what you are referring to.

rentykehoe

Thank you all for your comments and advice.
I'm more concerned about the value and resale value of the property;they(about5/7 masts I'd say) are fairly unsightly looking.
Renty

Victor

Plant some trees.

athtrasna wrote: »

Personally aesthetics would be the least of my concerns living near a phone mast. There's a lot of conflicting information about health risks, and while we can't talk that sort of stuff on boards I can still say that the technology is too new for me to personally feel comfortable about the unknown.

One is much more at risk from the mobile phone in one's hand, than the mast 75 metres away.

Baked.noodle

Just found this on Google. It's on a NZ Gov web site, but concerns potential impact on property prices.