House for sale after less than 6 months?

[FingersXrossed]

Saw a house which has only been occupied by the sellers since May. They moved here from England unfamiliar with the area and neither of them drives. So they discovered that the DH has a long commute to work on public transport. They say that this is the reason that they're selling, they want to move closer to his work.

So this place is for sale less than 6 months after they bought it, would you buy it and are there likely to be issues getting a mortgage on a place that was only recently sold?

It's a nice enough house, they say it's quiet, neighbours nice etc but would you be put off? I'm not sure what to think.

[cakeandchampagne]

I doubt the long commute is the real reason.

[Rollercoaster1920]

Don't believe the reasons, but they are entitled to keep a lot of reasons secret (such as lost job etc) because it would alter their negotiating position.

Do ask very specific material questions though, through solicitors. Such as structural house questions, neighbour questions. Then there is some comeback if those are issue. Do you own due diligence.

[notheragain4]

I don't see why the reason isn't reasonable, commutes are often longer than they appear on timetables etc or we misjudge how much we can tolerate them. But I would be more careful scrutinising surveys, area etc.

[JoJoSM2]

So you aren’t in England but the people moved from England? Perhaps they don’t like the area, it isn’t what they expected etc but don’t want to offend potential buyers who do like it. Or it could be the commute if it’s a pain. Tbh, I wouldn’t think twice about it if you know the area yourself and are happy with it. I agree to asking formally about the neighbours and structural issues, though.

[Chocolate1984]

Our friend sold their flat after 6 months- apparently you have you wait until 6 months for money laundering. She bought in a tenement filled with student HMO rentals. The students were noisy and she actually moved out after 3 months. She told her buyers she needed a bigger place because she was pregnant.

[FingersXrossed]

I'm in Scotland, they said that they moved up here for his job. It's not hugely far to commute but must be a faff with public transport.

I don't know the immediate area myself but a bit further out is familiar. It seems ok not fancy but ok.

Noise is the number one thing we want to avoid, have put up with it for years and a bit nervous about ending up in a similar situation.

[Viviennemary]

I'd be suspicious too. You could look up sold houses to see how many times it's been sold over the past 20 years or so. Main reason for people moving so quickly I'd say was noise.

[FingersXrossed]

For some reason it's only showing that last purchase info (Rightmove). They're asking for offers over a few thousand under their purchase price. Looking at 192.com it says that they have info of a couple living there since 2002.

[Rainbowshine]

Maybe the commute was drivable and he no longer has a license, maybe they need to be closer to family, maybe the transport timetable changed?? Rightmove only goes back so far, I think, with the purchase history.

[MikeUniformMike]

Relationship breakdown? Homesickness?

Get a full survey done.

[titnomatani]

Their neighbours are wankers. That's the first thing that came to mind. No one makes the biggest purchase of their lives without doing research on commute to work, etc. beforehand.

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

If you're worried about noise then visit the area at different times of the day, early morning, late evening, night time, etc. I think it's perfectly possible that they did some online research about the commute and have since found that reality didn't match expectation about how easy it would be. Especially in a colder climate, there's nothing like standing at a bus stop in the sleeting rain waiting for a bus that's running 25 mins late to make you want to live closer to work.

[Ltc2020]

There is flat next to me that changed owners every year for 5 years. On paper it looks extremely suspicious but it is the most beautiful flat and there are literally no problems at all, just a series of personal circumstances that led to high turnovers. Most recent owner has been there ten years. I agree to look into structural issues etc. but I think sometimes things are really just what they seem, especially if they moved during lockdown and had some idyllic dream about living far from England and then realised actually having no quick public transport is not sustainable

[Pinotpleasure]

Don’t forget that many bus and train timetables have been drastically reduced since the lockdown.

When they were buying the property there may have been a more frequent public transport service but perhaps it is no longer the case.

[XFPW]

If you don’t mind saying - where abouts in Scotland are you?

I only ask because I used to live in an area with a lot of people who moved up from England due to the prevailing industry. A lot of expats too and there are certain areas which are very popular with English folk, and other areas very popular with ex-pats, other areas more popular with locals.

It is VERY difficult to choose a house if you genuinely don’t know the area - perhaps they were going based on other people’s opinions/advice and have since discovered that it really doesn’t work for them. (If they’ve moved with work then it’s also possible that they had assistance with moving costs the first time, and so moving again isn’t as financially crazy as it sounds.)

[Motherof3Dragons]

I would say, it would be a lot easier to get a car, than to sell a house, but then again, maybe they have an aversion to driving? Or they have other personal reasons, they don’t want to disclose (break-up, loss of job, home-sickness).

Anyway, I would walk around the area and sit outside in a car at different times of day. Perhaps ask the neighbours, too?

Get a survey done.

Good luck.

[WhoWouldHaveThoughtThat]

It would be interesting to find out where they are moving to.

If they have potentially reduced the price and would have paid stamp duty back then they could be out of pocket a lot of money.

I might be cheaper for them to learn to drive and buy a car.

[user1471538283]

I would think it is neighbours or noise and that would put me off. Most people on our street had lived there for years and now four have sold in a matter of months due to lots of different reasons

[FingersXrossed]

It's the central Scotland area. No stamp duty involved. I don't think either of them drive, she also said her DP has bad eyesight. They were wanting to move to Fife. She said one neighbour is elderly, the other doesn't actually live there so the house is usually empty...

So hopefully noise from elderly neighbour would be minimum (unless TV on loud?). It's a 50s house. We also saw another 50s house recently and could hear the neighbour's dog barking loudly the entire time. Not sure if they're all so badly soundproofed or what...