Should We Buy a House Next to a Cemetery? (Your Advice)

When purchasing a house, there are a lot of considerations to take into account before making the purchase. This reader writes wondering if their dream house is ruined by a single (but major) fault.

We have been looking for a new house for about six months now. We finally found what I would consider to be our dream house in every aspect except for one problem. The house is located right next to a cemetery.

This does not bother me or my husband in the least bit, but I have heard from other people that it is considered an “incurable defect” that may make it very hard to sell in the future. Because we consider it to be our dream house, we have no thoughts of selling, but I also know that things change and we may have to sell years down the line if our circumstances change.

Do you think that having a cemetery next to the house will greatly reduce the appreciation value for future years? We know that it will have some impact on the price since the sellers are offering it at a lower price than comparable houses in the area. I think that we can even negotiate the price down more if we want. But if the house appreciates at a similar rate as other houses in the area and we give the discount that we receive, I don’t see how this could be a bad thing. Am I missing something in the equation?

Would you advise this couple to purchase their dream house even with it being next to a cemetery? Why or why not?

Jeffrey Strain

Jeffrey strain is a freelance author, his work has appeared at The Street.com and seekingalpha.com. In addition to having authored thousands of articles, Jeffrey is a former resident of Japan, former owner of Savingadvice.com and a professional digital nomad.