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Original poster

Would this put you off buying property?

68 replies

LuxyHugs · 20/10/2020 12:49

Just trying to see and probe possible problem areas why my house isn't selling. Its physically in near perfect state, and the price is lower than what a lot of houses around have sold at.

We put the house back on the market after 11 months of buying it. Would this put you off of buying it altogether?

Lower half of the stairs doesn't have a banister and there is no handrail on the wall.
Would this put you off in any way?

After being on the market for about 9 months now and lowered the price before, its getting hard to understand why its not selling and a fresh perspective would be appreciated.

With the market naturally slowing down nearer Christmas we will wait before making changes, but plans are likely to go with a new agent, new pictures and lower price at the same time. So its all fresh come January. Fingers crossed i guess.

OP posts:

Original poster

LuxyHugs · 20/10/2020 13:50

@ChelseaCat

OP what is the issue with the neighbours? Is it something you can be honest about to any potential buyers?

We can be honest to a certain degree, but unfortunately being a 100% honest would even put hard hearing people off. We suspect that the person we bought the house from was running from them too.

Constant drilling, sometimes 10 hours a day multiple times a week, every week, every month for the last year and a half. Slamming doors, stomping, banging and shouting. sitting in their hottub shouting at each other till 11PM underneath my babies window.

As we don't have anything to do with them and haven't reported them or called police at any time, we have plausible deniability, and are moving to a bigger house closer to work.

OP posts:

unfortunateevents · 20/10/2020 13:55

Yes I am afraid that if you can't give a convincing reason why you are selling after such a short time it will put people off. We are in the middle of buying a house while last sold 13 months ago, however sadly the people who bought have to move because the husband has developed Alzheimer's which is progressing rapidly and his wife needs to move him into family accommodation with an annexe quickly. If they hadn't given a good reason for moving, we would have been very wary and would have made it our business to find out what the issue was! Unfortunately if the noise is as constant and loud as you say, some of your viewers will already have worked out the problem for themselves! The handrail (or lack of) is not your issue.

fabulousathome · 20/10/2020 14:03

The estate agent needs to give exactly the same reason that you are moving to everyone that enquires.

Some people may not be worried about the noises from next door or are going to use it as a second home for example.

Flaunch · 20/10/2020 14:11

It’s got to be easier to report them to environmental health hasn’t it? What on Earth are they drilling?

DeciduousPerennial · 20/10/2020 14:18

The lack of bannister would be offputting in pictures and upon viewing.

The short amount of time you’d been there before re-listing for sale (if you hadn’t made significant changes) coupled with repeated price drops (indicating a sincere desire to get rid of it) would make me wonder what on Earth was wrong with it as clearly something must be wrong with it for you to be so desperate to move out.

Since you’ve now said there is a problem with the neighbours then that answers that question.

Unfortunately people who have experience in buying houses will see a house that was listed less than a year after purchase, a long time on the market, repeated price drops and see that you are very keen to sell which clearly shows there is a specific REASON to sell beyond just ‘downsizing’ or ‘we’ve outgrown the house’, and often that will make people wary that there is something wrong with the house itself or the neighbours.

WoodenFox · 20/10/2020 14:26

Yes it is because of the neighbours unfortunately. Is it very obvious that its for that reason given the time its taken to be back on the market?

It's the first thing I thought of.

Poppingnostopping · 20/10/2020 14:26

In the past you could have hidden this, but these days, all previous sales are listed on Zoopla or whatever, so you can see if a house is being sold on, flipped, quickly got rid of or whatever. This is not to your advantage. If you still want to move, I would move agents, tell them you have a fab new job offer and want to live near that location (or have come into money or whatever) and stick with your story, new photos and cross your fingers. Cheap enough it will shift.

Viviennemary · 20/10/2020 14:28

I'd assume it was either big problem with neighbours, other noise such as traffic or sellers splitting up. You might have to disclose any trouble with neighbours.

bigmugs · 20/10/2020 14:30

The bannister wouldn't bother me at all (if the price was right). It can be easily sorted.

Like pps, I would want a convincing reason why you are selling so soon after buying it. If there isn't something more pressing than just looking for a bigger house I'd assume issues with neighbours/the area. Having been through similarly loud neighbours myself I'm afraid I'd not even consider it.

What would you say if someone comes to view and asks what the neighbours are like? I always ask the question.

You have my sympathy.

Poppingnostopping · 20/10/2020 14:31

I would not show yourself for that reason, let the agent deal with any queries. If that's possible in corona times.

JuliaJohnston · 20/10/2020 14:31

@Viviennemary

I'd assume it was either big problem with neighbours, other noise such as traffic or sellers splitting up. You might have to disclose any trouble with neighbours.

You're only required to disclose actual complaints to the council / police, not the fact that their noise drives you mad. This doesn't really help op, though, because the reason she's anxious to sell is blindingly obvious.

ColonSemiColon · 20/10/2020 14:32

Everyone will assume bad neighbours are a likely reason for sale. I wouldn’t be keen on the lack of bannister, but it would depend on whether the design was something that could be easily fixed. I’d never deliberately buy next to bad neighbour though, obviously.

PickAChew · 20/10/2020 14:35

A house we viewed went back on the market within a year of the sale and sorry but my first thought was ooh, bullet dodged. The vendor when we were buying had only been in it a couple of years.

Original poster

LuxyHugs · 20/10/2020 14:35

@bigmugs

The bannister wouldn't bother me at all (if the price was right). It can be easily sorted.

What would you say if someone comes to view and asks what the neighbours are like? I always ask the question.

You have my sympathy.

So far we just said that my husband got a promotion and we are moving to a bigger house closer to work. Which is true, so no lies there.

OP posts:

ColonSemiColon · 20/10/2020 14:35

Are you getting viewings or not even that?

Original poster

LuxyHugs · 20/10/2020 14:40

@ColonSemiColon

Are you getting viewings or not even that?

2 views in total, which is a total depressing thought.

OP posts:

CleverCatty · 20/10/2020 14:40

@LuxyHugs

I feel really uncomfortable about putting my address on a forum. I'm not talking the house up in any way, that wouldn't help me. Carpets are new, so is the bathroom, walls are all either newly painted or wallpapered, kitchen is in a good state, even if not brand spanking new, and garden is tidy with a patio area, terraced.

The house is walking distance (5 minutes) from a primary school. Not on a main road. In residential area.

As many people are asking me for my reason to sell. Yes it is because of the neighbours unfortunately. Is it very obvious that its for that reason given the time its taken to be back on the market?

If a few posters on a forum can work out by time you are reselling that it's neighbours then sorry I would be a bit nervous.

Depending on age and how nervous I was e.g. with young kids then bannister would be preferred.

School nearby - I've got one 2 minutes walk away and my parents have one 5 minutes walk away so shouldn't be an issue - even with parents parking in streets! Grrrrr

CleverCatty · 20/10/2020 14:42

@PickAChew

A house we viewed went back on the market within a year of the sale and sorry but my first thought was ooh, bullet dodged. The vendor when we were buying had only been in it a couple of years.

Exactly - parents' neighbours moved after 5/6 years but nothing to do with parents - they'd seen a big detached house nearby opposite the park which they'd always wanted so that was sale reason.

NoSleepInTheHeat · 20/10/2020 14:49

Are you asking for more than what you bought for 11m ago? I would expect a tiny increase but not too much.

The banister thing I would say it depends on the setup, but if you can't put a baby gate than young families would be put off.

I wouldn't necessarily be suspicious of the short ownership, I would imagine divorce TBH - I guess I am naive!

JenniferSantoro · 20/10/2020 14:50

It would definitely put me off buying if you’d only been there 11 months and we’re moving because of the neighbours. Even if you made up another reason for moving, I would still be wondering what the issue really was.
That said though, it only takes one person to like a house enough to buy it, so good luck.

Original poster

LuxyHugs · 20/10/2020 14:59

@NoSleepInTheHeat

Are you asking for more than what you bought for 11m ago? I would expect a tiny increase but not too much.

The banister thing I would say it depends on the setup, but if you can't put a baby gate than young families would be put off.

I wouldn't necessarily be suspicious of the short ownership, I would imagine divorce TBH - I guess I am naive!

We are asking just a few grand more, and just because we did do a few little things around the house, but at this point i think we can live with going at a slight loss to get away.

OP posts:

JuliaJohnston · 20/10/2020 15:04

Decorating to your own taste doesn't add any actual value, op. Things like replacing boilers / roof repairs, etc, don't either.
I wouldn't try to capitalise on any maintenance spends, tbh.
Especially in your position.

2bazookas · 20/10/2020 15:06

I'd certainly wonder why the owner was selling again so fast, ask them why, and do some checks..My main suspicions would be around rhe neighbours and nearby businesses. Are the neighbours running a brothel, Air BNB, party central, do they have noisy dogs, kids, screaming rows at night. Is the road used as a rat run, or pakring, or the drop of and pick up point for nearby school. Is there a noisy bar/pub /railway line; smells from a commercial kitchen. Is there a new set of traffic lights so endless noise from idling vehicles

    Stairs with no handrail;   BTDTGTTS,

We were the buyers; that small thing turned out to be an expensive issue for the vendor. He had built a large extension 20 years earlier and now he was selling, claimed that it had received all required planning permits and building certificates but he'd lost the papers. . . So I rang the Planning Dept who checked their' records and replied that the work had failed inspection (over a missing stairs handrail). The owner refused to install it for aesthetic reasons . Therefore the whole building extension had no Completion Certificate and its Planning Permission had expired. So technically it was illegal .My lawyer refused to go ahead until the vendor sorted out the mess. Not only did he have to install a new handrail , he had to get it inspected and approved by the planning dept, then pay the council a hefty fee for retrospective PP and Completion Certificates.
Once he'd sorted out his lies and cockup we went ahead and bought it.

Bluntness100 · 20/10/2020 15:09

Op if a house isn’t selling and isn’t even getting viewings it’s the price. It is priced too highly.

StitchInTimeSavesNine · 20/10/2020 15:19

I think it's one thing not to disclose it but if I was looking at your house I would ask you why you were moving and then you are going to have to directly lie to them.

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