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Original poster

What would you do - stay put, move house or sell up and rent?

39 replies

jumpyjan · 04/11/2007 17:42

What would you do in this situation?

Have a nightmare neighbour that has made our life a misery so would love to move plus house not suitable for us to have another child in.

But have debts that won't be cleared till 2009 so would find it hard to take on bigger mortgage at the moment.

Also in order to take step up and cover moving costs would need a mortgage that is bigger than I am really comfortable with and would prob have to spread over 25-30 years (19 left at mo).

Am sick of mortgages and house prices and considering selling up, paying off debt, putting the rest of the equity in the bank and renting for a year or two but not sure if this is irresponsible.

Also would have to pay mortgage company to get out of (v good) fixed rate deal if we sold up.

Arrrrrghhh - indecision. Been mulling this over for months and not come to any conclusion. I know we are lucky to be on the property ladder at all but I wish we could just move.

OP posts:
tissy · 04/11/2007 17:45

if you sell, you'll be obliged to mention any disputes with neighbours, I think

Jenswish · 04/11/2007 17:49

I work in the mortgage business at the moment and my honest opinion is to wait till after xmas at least as the rates are meant to be coming down then and house prices lifting again.

Also as mentioned, if you move you'll have to tell them about the neighbours otherwise the buyers can sue.

Also if you rent you're paying someone else's mortgage!! Might as well pay your own and get some money at the end of it.

Original poster
jumpyjan · 04/11/2007 17:50

I know tissy this is part of the problem. We will have to be up front about it so it might take a while to sell anyway. Although its unlikely whoever buys it will have a problem with neighbour - think its just us he has got it in for.

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becklesparkler · 04/11/2007 17:51

TBH I would try and stay on the property ladder if you can - maybe try to extend your mortgage term? Some companies will let you extend up to 40 years!!! Might be worth having it over a longer period now and then look at seriously reducing the term once your DCs are older and you perhaps have more money coming in?

I don't know what it is like where you are but here it is as expensive to rent (and more) as it is to buy. We have considered selling and renting but without knowing what house prices are going to do in the next few years it is hard to know if we would be any better off long-term.

PestoPyromaniacMonster · 04/11/2007 17:53

Could you not look for another house to buy/rent which is more suitable for your needs and let the first one out?

Original poster
jumpyjan · 04/11/2007 17:54

Thats interesting jenswish - I don't have a clue about the housing market and what is predicted to happen.

I do feel that I may worry about not getting back on the property ladder if we rent but also worry that we will have to live here forever - would prob worry even more if we have a big mortgage though .... I am a worrier!

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Jenswish · 04/11/2007 17:57

I agree with the idea before - Extend your term so you can put a little more away each month so that in a year or even a few months you have a nice deposit to get a new house.

BUT I wouldn't get off the prop ladder - make that a last resort if you can.

Original poster
jumpyjan · 04/11/2007 17:59

becklesparkler - extending the mortgage term is something we are considering but being clueless about this sort of thing I am not sure how much financial sense that makes - guess it means you are paying lots more interest.

I don't know if I am being too afraid of the figures but to take a step up and cover our costs our mortgage would be about 3.5 times our salary and spread over 30 years I guess realistically.

Pesto - we have considered renting this place out but think the neighbour problem would be an issue.

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Original poster
jumpyjan · 04/11/2007 18:01

Jenswish - I see what you mean - extend the term now and save what we can - thats really interesting and definitely something we have not considered.

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Jenswish · 04/11/2007 18:02

If you think that the behaviour from your neighbour is directed at you then the new tenant wouldn't be a big deal.

If you extend your mortgage term then you would end up paying more interest overall BUT if you extend it for a year or maybe 2 then its not going to cost you that much.

When does your fixed term run out? Can you aim for the end of that as being when you're going to move?

Me & DP live in a crappy area and our term runs out Feb 2009 so we're making a plan to make a good deposit by then and move. Why don't you try something like that?

PestoPyromaniacMonster · 04/11/2007 18:03

Oh, sorry to hear that.

It's just when dh & I were setting up home, we both had flats with negative equity that we couldn't sell. So we let them both out and moved into a rented house together. It solved the problem for us at the time as we would have made a loss on both flats and therefore wouldn't have been in a position to buy a place together.

Original poster
jumpyjan · 04/11/2007 18:06

Our fixed term runs out in 2009 - the same year that all of our debts will be paid off so perhaps aiming for that as a move date could be a good idea. It would definitely help if we had a plan - at the moment we just keep going over the same ground all the time and not making any decision.

The neighbour issue is so complicated but basically as long as we own the property he would make trouble so if we rented out I am sure he would continue to cause us problems (its been a nightmare).

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Jenswish · 04/11/2007 18:09

Ok, can you report him? Is he in rented or own accomodation? If he is rented you can report him to his landlord.

If it's owned it's a little more trouble but I'm sure if you speak to Citizens advise (free advice) they can let you know more about what you can do.

What exactly is he/she doing that's making life so much hell? Can it be ignored?

Original poster
jumpyjan · 04/11/2007 18:10

Just wanted to say thanks for the replies - its so great to get some ideas on this.

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Original poster
jumpyjan · 04/11/2007 18:12

Jenswish - we have exhausted all options in trying to sort the neighbour probem out. He owns the property. We have been to citizens advice, council, police, mediation people - basically all to no avail. He's been arrested a couple of times but it never resolved the problem. I am convinced now that there is no more that can be done and the best thing we can do is move and put it all behind us.

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PestoPyromaniacMonster · 04/11/2007 18:12

I agree with Jenswish, it's the neighbour you need to sort out really, then you will have more options.

PestoPyromaniacMonster · 04/11/2007 18:13

God, how awful!
So sorry for you.

Jenswish · 04/11/2007 18:14

I think then you're best bet is going to be to ignore him.

Aim for 2009 as you're freedom year!!

If he does something really bad, call the police again otherwise just pretend he's not there, keep smiling.

Original poster
jumpyjan · 04/11/2007 18:15

Thanks Pesto - I could write an essay on all the things he has done to us - a very unpleasant character but I really think there is no more that can be done. Really don't want to bring up DD anywhere near him let alone think about having another one as it feels like a bit of a timebomb living next door to him - you never know when he is going to start causing trouble again.

You can see my dilemma!

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Original poster
jumpyjan · 04/11/2007 18:17

Thanks jenswish.

Yes 2009 seems to be the date to focus on.

We have nothing to do with him unless it is through the police and will def continue to ignore him.

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Jenswish · 04/11/2007 18:18

If you really can't handle your neighbour then move.

Look at having a longer term for a while (see if your mortgage is portable so you don't have to pay loads to get out of your fixed term) once you've settled in to the new house and managed to sort your money etc out, reduce the term.

Original poster
jumpyjan · 04/11/2007 18:25

Have checked with the mortgage company and we could move the mortage over to the new property so thats all fine.

I guess it comes down to how much we want to get away from our neighbour.

I like the 2009 plan but I also want to enjoy life now.

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inthegutter · 04/11/2007 19:36

Jumpyjan - your neighbour sounds hellish and tbh in this situation I'd make moving my priority. You only live once - why put yourselves through more years of misery? Some people might say stick to your guns, because he's in the wrong and you shouldn't feel driven out - but I honestly think there are situations when you're better off cutting your losses and getting out. I think you have serveral options. Renting out this house might not be such a bad idea, specially if you believe the neighbour problems are directed at you, as a tenant may not have the same hassle. Also, I don't know what the root of the problem is, whether it's noise or so on, but everyone's different and some tenants may not mind whatever it is your offensive neighbour does. I think I'd also consider selling up and renting - the housing market isn't going to go anywhere fast I wouldn't have thought. Even if interest rates drop, I reckon people have been stung by the last year's rises and general cost of living, and I think house prices will maybe stabilise but not go shooting up. Do try to get out though, as I'm sure the minute you're out, you will start to feel more positive about life.

Original poster
jumpyjan · 04/11/2007 21:23

Thanks inthegutter. This is part of the dilemma, its all very well being financially shrewd but we have put up with this situation for 3 years and it has affected so many areas of our life. I can't describe how bad it can be to have a problem neighbour of this kind.

When I think about living in a different house I just think it would be a wonderful new start, we would be able to relax and feel happy in our own home again. We would have a big mortgage but I guess we can always address that later in life when we don't have young children etc.

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Fizzylemonade · 05/11/2007 09:42

Your home is meant to be your sanctuary so despite the bigger mortgage, if it were me, I would extend the term and move.

We extended our term back to 25 years from 21 years as I am a sahm with 2 young boys so we did it to keep the payments the same when our fixed rate came to an end earlier this year.

I also have not very nice neighbours but they are nothing like yours. I know what it feels like to dread the next thing they are going to do.

Life is for living, not existing. It would be a fresh start, something for you to look forward to. I would look at moving after Christmas and in the meantime keep a very close eye on the market, what houses are going up for and actually selling for. We currently look at property snake and our property which shows what houses actually sold for