to want to get out of this house? Really appreciate opinions on what you would do

[bubbleandsqueaks]

Our neighbours have made our life hell since we moved in four years ago. None of them work and they use their back garden and front garden like a car garage to mend vehicles for cash. Their sons (18 and 16) hang around the front of the house in the evenings with all their friends which disturbs us and worst of all my 3yo dd who has to go to sleep listening to their swearing and shouting.

We have had to involve our local councillor to try and solve the noise issues which worked and things are slightly better now. The teenagers are no longer as bad, although I do still feel intimidated when I have to walk past them. All that can be done via official channels has be done and the noise they make now has to be tolerated. I hate using the garden, once they realise we are outside they come outside and start swearing and shouting to each other and I hate dd1 hearing it.

Our other neighbours have been no help in trying to resolve the issues, even though they affect them as much as us and one lot even thanked us for making things quieter They keep their heads down and their mouths shut due to fear of repercussions. I don't blame them, we have had our TV ariel damaged, our house egged, our car had brake fluid poured over it. This was at the height of the trouble about 2 years ago.

We reported every incident and eventually things calmed down. Last week however one of the neighbours sons friends threatened dh and near enough chased him, the following night he broke our front fence and then after the police had been round he came back shouting things at the house. All this was reported to the police and is being dealt with.

But I have had enough, I can't keep fighting and living in fear. The problem is though we are in a mess financially. We are in a debt management plan which will take about 6 years to pay off and on an interest only mortgage.

We had an estate agent round yesterday and to let our house out and rent a smaller one we would just about break even, but it would take us a long time to get into a position where we could a deposit up, pay the letting agent a months rent to let our house out, do minor repairs in our house etc. And we are in such a weak position financially that having a house with no tenant would break us.

If we sell, after fees, we would walk away with about £10,000 which would pay off half our debts but then we would never be able to buy again as we could never save like that again for a deposit - we have 2 dc now! So we would be renting for the rest of our life. Which worries dh, he worries about paying high rent in old age, being forced to keep moving if we rent etc. I think having a big mortgage, which until I return to FT work we won't be able to pay is pointless.

Its causing us to argue, he wants to stay put and doesn't think they should drive us out. I'm not sure how much longer I can live like this - AIBU to think renting for the rest of lives (we are 30) isn't the end of the world.
I think dh needs stability. I need to get out.

If you sell you have to disclose the problems you have had with these neighbours.

Is that going to impact the price even more?

I'm sorry :( It's a horrible, horrible way to be living.

What would happen to your debt management plan if you let the house out and rented? Are you allowed to do that on the plan?

If you sell, do you have to pay back the DMP all of your 'profit' from the sale?

In your position I would sell. If you're on an interest only mortgage you're effectively just renting your house anyway, from the bank. Renting works very well for some people, it might do for you. Hope things improve soon. It must be soul destroying living domewhere where you feel threatened and uncomfortable

Its ongoing problems we have to disclose so the problem with the fence is the only one which is actually ongoing. If we were to sell we would have to wait until this issue was resolved so we could sell.

We would probably have to use all the profit to pay off some of the dmp, but would do that anyway tbh

PuraVida - you are sort of right in that an IO Mtge is like renting from the bank - BUT unless you don't pay your mte they can't just ask you to move out on a whim disrupting your entire life & you can pain the whole place lime green if you want to! Also, you are still on the property ladder and when B&S returns to work they can start paying more off of their mtge - if they sell now, they may never be able to buy again and will always be at the mercy of a landlord.

B&S do you know what the situation is with the DMP if you let the house out?

DMP is an informal one, we use payplan who work out how much money we have left each money and then divide between our creditors so they get the correct %.

As long as we tell payplan of any extra income receive then there shouldn't be a problem

I do work btw, I work PT shifts around dh as we cannot afford childcare

I think find out your DMP position, and also are you 100% sure you don't have to disclose all trouble with neighbours?

I know you are going to think I am barking mad, but I want to say god I wish we were 30 again because that would mean we had an extra 20 years to sort out our financial mess. You certainly will be able to do so because time is on your side.

If there is any way you can get out of that house do so. In 5 years time anything could have happened and can happen, but this is a special time with your child and you won't get those "little" years back. I'd say if DMP etc allows it, get out. Sell if you can. Being on the property ladder isn't everything.

Although I understand your husband's viewpoint, you have absolutely go to let this house go.

You say things had improved, but what you describe still going on sounds like hell. You must be tense all the time and this will impact upon your little one.

Your husband is right that you should not be driven from your home, but what are the positives about remaining? Your home is your sanctuary and where you should feel safe. You also cannot use your outside space and are even fearful to leave the house in the evenings.

What else is there to say - cut your losses. We have rented and come back from this and believe it or not, I enjoyed renting and the feeling of not being trapped if anything went wrong. After a few years, we bought again.

You have to declare all trouble not just ''ongoing''

Really feel for you - had a situation where the house we bought is opposite an HA haouse where the family behaved similarly to your neighbours in mnay ways but we weren't directly involved (luckily) except for a few instances of shouting and swearing and looking at the police raids now and again. WE provided some evidence tot he HA and finally they got he family out.

Can't really help directly but do sympathise - one issue though any neighbour disputes and stuff would have to be legally provided in the contrcats stuff if you sell the house. If you handed the keys back tot he mortgage company that would not be your issue but you'd ber left probably with more debt.

Can local councillors do anything to help you out? A really dire position to be in - shows how some people don't care about how their behaviour impacts others.

As a landlord, I would be a bit concerned about your plan. I would worry about whether or not tenants would stay in your house given that you are having problems there and the situation is unlikely to change. Can you afford to be renting somewhere else while yours stands empty for months? If not then sadly that option isn't a very safe option.

If we rented and sold in say 5 years would we have to declare the issues we had when living here?

There was a case where a woman won a case as the judge ruled the problem was not ongoing - it was to do with banging on walls in the night.

Haven't got time to google as I have to go and pick dd1 up from nursery.

Is the neighbours house owned/rented/HA?

Being on the 'Property Ladder' is not the 'be all and end all', that's true - however, it does give you a lot of security knowing that no-one can just give you a months notice to move at which point you have to try to find something affordable, preferably near the school your kids are at etc People do it, but if you have another option I don't know why you would want to do it.

Sorry B&S, I wasn't implying you weren't working, just as you said in your OP, in few years time you will be able to work FT and pay more back than IO on the mortgage. So it wont be like renting from your bank forever.

I think Myleetlypony brings up a very good point that the rest of us had 'missed' (well I had and no-one else has mentioned)... how rentable is your house really when you are having problems with your neighbours and you are the owners - surely they would make a tennants life even more unbearable! You have already said you couldn't afford for it to be empty at any stage.

Although I think selling would be a mistake, I think trying to let it out would be the biggest mistake.

I'm sorry, I dont have any advice, but wanted to say that sounds dreadful and an awful way to live. I think , to an extent, you have to put a value on your quality of live before any future problems with money. But thats easy to say and much harder to do. Hope someone comes with better advice soon.

Sorry to be blunt but you will have problems renting your house with neighbours like that. Even if you can get them in, they will probably leave as soon as they can.
I hope you can find a solution.
If your neighbours are renting you can probably get them evicted, if it is their house I am not sure what can happen but keep getting the police involve. Hope someone with some legal background come soon to help you.
Have you try posting in legal matters/ property?

If the sons are 18 & 16, is there any chance they may move out soon? (clutching at straws emoticon).

Keeping tenants would be an issue and something I have mentioned to dh.

The worse problem, the mending of the vehicles has stopped as they no longer have access to do that - thanks to the council. So that noise issue has gone. And the noise they create to annoy us would hopefully stop with new tenants. Like I said things are better than they were.

They are HA, no chance of the sons moving out - they don't work, no one in the house does. The daughters have fallen pregnant and moved out so on that front it's a bit quieter as well.

If they are HA can't you get them moved out due to their behaviour?

I really think you are best to sit tight and work on getting them moved. It's 'improving' rather than getting worse - that's something at least.

I would hate to think of the repercussions if they got evicted because of us - I once heard the mother tell one of the sons that she would starting houses on fire if she ever got evicted - I'm guessing she would start with ours.

*start setting houses on fire

I'm afraid it's a rock and a hard place, but I'm with DH. Moving sounds like more of a hell than staying.

If its HA then you can go to the HA people and make a complaint - it wil take ages and hopefully it will be done. Our street is so much nicer since the family there were evicted and new tenants in. You may need to keep records of noise / abuse etc - involving local councillor too if needed - usaully these families are well known. Of course the problem just moves on to somewhere else but if they are in breach of their tenancy it can be done.