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Original poster

Help - house next door to one we are buying is for sale - is it worth it?

91 replies

Evecob · 28/12/2020 19:46

We really would like everyone's opinion on this issue.

we are purchasing a property that was up for 315k - we bought for 308k. We love the house itself, it is perfect for us and our needs, it has a conservatory off the lounge which will be perfect as a playroom for our 2 children, however our niggle was the driveway. It has private parking beside the house for 2 cars one behind the other. There is parking nearby in a shared carpark for any guests we would have, we could have people park directly in front of the house but would be tight for the house on the end to get by. We have visited the house and area a few times and we both have said "ahh if only next door came up for sale instead" purely for the parking space they have - the house next door has 2 parking spaces to the side like ours except their house is tilted slightly to allow more room to get in and out and at least one private designated space in front of their house for visitors. There could be more room for another car if the whole space was bricked over. They are also on the end, so while we both have field views to the front, their house has it to the side as well.
Their house came up 2 days ago for offers in excess of 300k.

We are due to complete end of january. The lady buying our property is pretty much ready to exchange, we are still waiting on the solicitor forms from our sellers (they are in, but our solicitor wasn't ready, we will be getting them on the 4th when they are back in office). Our sellers are ending the chain.

To compare, the houses are exactly the same structurally in terms of rooms and room sizes, the one we are buying does have nicer flooring throughout, has a kitchen splashback, and has a conservatory, but the house next door has the wider parking to the side and bigger front space for extra parking. We bought for 308K. house next door up for offers over 300k.

If they were happy to end the chain, what would you do? We have had our searches back already, and had a mortgage offer back already, going through a broker. If we decided to go for the house next door, would we have to reapply for searches/mortgage and pay out again for them? is it worth the hassle? I'm worried if it takes longer our buyer might pull out but my husband thinks it is worth asking their situation, as we might regret it in years to come.

OP posts:

VenusTiger · 28/12/2020 22:50

As another PP said, imagine moving in and living nextdoor to the ppl you've just pissed off! I'd leave it.

Northernstar1245 · 28/12/2020 22:52

Getting cars that you interchangeably drive sounds like a good solution OP - possibly less cost and risk involved than starting the buying process again.

JacobReesMogadishu · 28/12/2020 22:54

@Evecob

Just for a little more clarification, the visitor parking would be used often by us, so we wouldnt have to park one behind the other like in current property, as timings for getting home from work make that a bit of a pain. eg. husband leaves for work first so would need to be parked in front, also but gets home first, so its a bit of a niggle, he would have to park outside our house for half hour before i got home to park up cloest to garage then repark infront of me. The front of our house doesnt have a proper spot, it has a big enough drive for a car to get past but its a bit tight, and it might annoy our neighbour.

but like most of you say, it doesn't seem like it's worth the hassle changing last minute, plus too risky, and I would be very upset to lose out on this house. Thank you all for your help, I think it does help in our decision, not sure DH is convinced though lol.

Our parking is like this and you just get used to it. So I park on the road until dh comes home, then after he’s parked I go and move my car. It’s no big deal.

Redglitter · 28/12/2020 22:56

Is the visitors bay definitely owned by the house. My brothers neighbour was told this about a visitors bay which was directly outside their house. It was finally pointed out to them by another neighbour who produced house deeds that it wasn't theirs at all. They were furious.

JacobReesMogadishu · 28/12/2020 22:56

Oh and if you go and view the new one. The estate agent will tell the other estate agent. So you risk pissing the vendors of the first one off.

This happened to me when we bought our current home. While waiting to exchange a previously viewed house came back on the market and we went back to look. Our vendor was furious.

toddlermom1 · 28/12/2020 22:56

Personally i'd go for it! Its your life and i'm sure if its as lovely as it sounds someone will buy the original house. The same thing happened to me 3 years ago when i bought my current home the house directly opposite came onto the market after i'd done searches etc but jt was better in a few ways (larger garden, utility area, garage to the side etc). Although it added a but of time its one of the best decisions ive ever made

Original poster

Evecob · 28/12/2020 23:00

@Redglitter

Yes its theirs, its not really a "visitor" bay, its just designated parking for them in front of their house, as they are the end of drive.

OP posts:

Lightsabre · 28/12/2020 23:02

I'd find out what the new house sellers position is first. It sounds like you're in a short chain at the moment that has progressed well. No telling any new chain would go quite as well and there is the stamp duty pressure as well.

DamnYouAutocucumber · 28/12/2020 23:10

You have no idea if the people next door are serious about moving, or if they're just testing the water to see how far above 300k the offers end up being. My parents neighbours used to do this every couple of years, put the house on the market expecting 50k more than any others had gone for recently and then take it off when no-one offered that amount.
We've never had off road parking, but live in a fairly quiet area. Unless you are unloading shopping, it's really not a big deal to park a bit down the road.

Blankscreen · 28/12/2020 23:36

For everyone saying parking isn't a big deal it clearly is to the op and her dh.

I would ring the agent of the other house and find out the position of the sellers.

If there is a chain assume you won't complete to take advantage of the SDLT holiday and go and view it

You can then make a comparison of house a at price a and house b at price b plus stamp duty .

You can then make an informed choice.

New searches won't take long- they will have to be done on the new house

Mortgage offer should be relatively painless as you are clearly good for the money of an offer has been issued on the other house already

Newyearnewrule · 28/12/2020 23:37

If they are friendly with their neighbours, the neighbour may refuse to sell to you when they learn that you have shafted their friends next door. They will find out about it and out of principle they may either decline your offer or take advantage of your desperate situation further down in the process.

It’s up to you to weigh the pros and cons. For extra guest space, it does not sound like it is worth it.

Sway19 · 28/12/2020 23:38

Word of warning, conservatories do not make good play rooms!

BenoneBeauty · 28/12/2020 23:46

I think you need to view the house next door to satisfy yourself that you're buying the right property otherwise you'll forever wonder.

I do agree with PPs though in that you do risk pissing off your current sellers but when spending over £300k, you do need to be 100% sure it's the right purchase.

Pipandmum · 29/12/2020 00:02

Too much risk for not much gain. You may not secure the second house, your buyers may not want to wait longer, you may miss stamp duty deadline, the sellers most likely will be buying so chain will be longer, or they may not even have started looking...

Persipan · 29/12/2020 08:25

You're considering, at the last minute, abandoning your current sellers, who in the worst case scenario you would need to then live next door to (and even in better scenarios you'd have to live by all their other neighbours, who would quite probably know about it)? Over marginally preferable parking spaces? And in order for this plan to work you'd also need the new sellers to move into rented accommodation, essentially for your convenience? Honestly, that sounds completely mad to me.

sunshinesupermum · 29/12/2020 10:35

I really wouldn't worry about the visitor/driveway parking issue - the conservatory is what you need more.

Chanandlerbong01 · 29/12/2020 11:30

If you don’t complete in time for the SD holiday you might find people in the chain drop out as that’s their reason to be buying.

Baxdream · 29/12/2020 12:00

If the owners of both houses talk to each other, it's likely that even if you view, you could lose both houses.
I'd be furious if I was the vendor and you did that.
I think you'd have to split your chain if you had any chance of keeping your buyers and getting the new house.
I absolutely understand what you're saying and there's nothing wrong with it as such but moving is so so stressful it's just a bold move. It sounds like the new house will work out at least 20k more (adding in stamp duty etc) so you'd have to weigh it up.
I'd definitely look to have shared cars so you don't have the faff of switching cars.
Can we have a diagram to understand the difference?

RainingBatsAndFrogs · 29/12/2020 12:14

Yes you will have to do surveyors, searches and mortgage again, and that will cause a delay that will likely cause you to lose your buyer, or at least at the current offer price, because of the stamp duty holiday ending. In our area it is taking at least 2 weeks to get a surveyor appointment and another week / 10 days to get it returned to the mortgage co.

So, it depends how important parking is to you. It wouldn’t bother me at all to leave the car in the road outside while I was in and out during the day.

Original poster

Evecob · 29/12/2020 14:02

@Baxdream

If the owners of both houses talk to each other, it's likely that even if you view, you could lose both houses. I'd be furious if I was the vendor and you did that. I think you'd have to split your chain if you had any chance of keeping your buyers and getting the new house. I absolutely understand what you're saying and there's nothing wrong with it as such but moving is so so stressful it's just a bold move. It sounds like the new house will work out at least 20k more (adding in stamp duty etc) so you'd have to weigh it up. I'd definitely look to have shared cars so you don't have the faff of switching cars. Can we have a diagram to understand the difference?

Heres the 2 houses from an old satelite view

Help - house next door to one we are buying is for sale - is it worth it?

OP posts:

Persipan · 29/12/2020 16:23

Oh, those people for sure talk to one another. Also that does not look even slightly like a road where parking is really a significant issue.

KirstenBlest · 29/12/2020 17:40

If you miss the stamp duty holiday, it will cost you a few K.

unassortedthoughts · 29/12/2020 21:10

If you get home before dh. Just park in front of your house? Honestly I think you are way over thinking this. The road also is a dead end, I doubt any parking issues will arise

timeforanother1 · 29/12/2020 21:54

I'd choose the end one!

A conservatory can be added later on.

GrumpyHoonMain · 29/12/2020 22:22

Are they being listed by the same estate agent? If so be prepared for them to refuse to show you the property if you pull out at this late stage. We had a number of offers from people who did this that never got put in front of us as the estate agent flagged them as not serious - it was even on their marketing report lol.

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