Regret buying this stupid house

[Cantbelieveididit]

Not sure what I’m even looking for other than to vent.
I have bought a house and it was a terrible mistake.
I have financially pushed myself to the limit so haven’t got extra cash to do all the things I didn’t realise needed doing to improve things.
I bought the house 4months ago- had a survey done and nothing was flagged so can’t even blame that and we viewed it twice.
since moving in I’ve realised the neighbours directly behind are horrible and noisy- music blasting, screaming at their kids and arguing at 2am with a constant smell of weed.
Neighbour next door is a grumpy old man who is constantly looking over the fence and will only acknowledge my husband. School catchment is awful.
Another neighbour seems to have issues with the trees at the bottom of the garden, before we completed the previous owners through the solicitors said they were going to fell them due to a neighbour worrying about them, my husband stupidly said no don’t cut them. Now it looks like she’s investigating for subsidence due to foliage around her property (our trees and another neighbours it seems) .. nothing official yet so again previous owners didn’t have to do anything , they did cut them yearly I think, the other neighbour didn’t.
when we bought the house I couldn’t believe our luck- it was so cheap and thought it was the dream house.. new kitchen, massive driveway and garden, 5 bedrooms… now I realise why.
why was I so stupid to think we were getting a bargain.
how soon can we put it up for sale?

I’d sell asap.

I wouldn't. The house sounds great, better than you could afford elsewhere I take it.

The things you list are changeable, and possible to happen anywhere you move.

The trees- you say foliage causing subsidence? Sounds like she wants more light, but she won't have a right to have them felled- what does the other neighbour think.

Old man- put up some trellis on the fence so he can't look over- that's cheap- who cares if he is ignorant - either ignore him or he extra cheery.

The other neighbours are more annoying, but unless you can afford to move somewhere with no neighbours then they will be a possibility wherever you go.

Schools, schools change all the time, what is poor now might be great in a couple of years. Plus pupil numbers are dropping so more change to get a school out of catchment.

Moving is always difficult, think about the good things.

Well a survey was never going your way pick those things up.

you could have investigated the school catchment before buying.

you could have discussed the d situation with the trees & the neighbour as she told you about it.

keep reporting the noisy neighbours anti dovish behaviour to the council & the weed smoking to the police.

put trellice up with climbing plants (jasmine) to block grumpy neighbour. It's inexpensive.

focus on the things you loved about the house when you bought it!

You mentioned things need doing to improve the house but then listed lots of things to do with the neighbours. Is there work that needs doing inside the house?

There’s another thread going this week where someone says their lender won’t lend on a flipped property (one that is sold too soon after purchase) and I think posters said lenders get unsettled if the place is sold less than 6 months after purchase so I’d wait 1-2 months yet. Also as a prospective buyer I wouldn’t touch something someone bought then immediately sold, it screams “this house is falling down” or “the neighbours are a drug den one side and a cult the other side”.

Agree with this 👍🏻☝🏻

Rome wasnt built in a day. Keep plugging away. Choose one room/ area to focus on at a time instead of trying to do it all. You will get used to the neighbours and kids /noise changes over the years

None of that sounds too bad. There are grumpy old men all over and they're easy to ignore. There are also always arguments about trees. Again, just ignore until there's a legal imperative.
Noisy neighbours at the back is not great but is it unbearable?
The school catchment is the only thing that could be a worry. You might need to move if that is really a problem for you. In the meantime, try to make the house as nice as you can and enjoy it. This will also make it easier to sell.

Sell it. Life is too short. Simply say you have been offered a job elsewhere.

Agree with @ParallelLimes. Any house being flipped in such a short time screams ‘issues’.

Sorry but it’s totally on you that you didn’t investigate school catchments (very easy to do), or take up the seller’s offer to deal with the trees and the potential subsidence claim. There clearly haven’t been pre-existing conflicts with neighbours or the sellers would have to disclose details.

The best thing is probably to dig in in the medium term until you’ve been there long enough to put it back on the market. Screen off the nosey old guy, do the improvements as cost-effectively as possible, and take some advice on the potential subsidence liability (if there even is one). Don’t engage at all with the screaming weed smokers, so you can truthfully say there are no neighbour disputes when you come to sell.

It might also just be buyer’s remorse, and if you accept you need to stay there for a year or so, you may find you don’t feel as bad about it as you do now. If you’re overwhelmed by the expense and worrying you’ve made a bad decision, it’s easy to find lots of reasons to chuck fuel on that fire.

Repeatedly report your new noisy aggressive neighbours to the police for smoking weed in their own house?!

That's not going to end well.

How old are your DC as the school catchment is the only issue that would really bother me. If they are very young I would try and stick it until you reach the year/18month mark.

I would also think about how you deal with any neighbour issues in terms of how you may need to disclose anything when selling.

It sounds like you've got buyer's remorse - the house doesn't sound all that bad. Just fell the trees. That'll sort that problem (and I wish the neighbour at the bottom of my garden would do the same so I don't have to enter any disputes with him!). Stick a fence up between you and Grumpy Bollocks. Ignore the weed smoking - it's not ideal but there are worse things. And get your kids into a school outside the catchment area - hardly anyone round here seems to go to the school within their actual catchment area anyway! You've got a lovely big house to play with and that's great. Good luck with it all.

You need to wait a year and you need a good story but you still struggle and people will be suss.

Old guy next door - who cares, ignore him and put up trellis.

Scroat neighbours - can you do screening (trees and bushes block out a lot!) Also ignore and do not engage.

Tree neighbours - ignore if you think its not a problem or just chop them down. Id chop it - they were basically promised this by previous owners, its causing them issues and you'd feel aggrieved too tbh.

The school thing - is it really a problem or another thing to add to your i hate this house because....???

It sounds like it has a lot going for it so id.try and make it work.

I'd look to set up an annex to let or rent a room and bring in some ££££ if money is tight.
I assume stamp duty was a fair wedge and finding 10s of thousands isnt easy.... so I would really see if I could make it work.

You can decorate a room yourself for £300-500 if you are thrifty and wallpaper /paint yourself.
I get a lot of stuff off free cycle or fb market place.

It will make it feel more "yours" and improve saleability if you do decide its a no.

Fwiw I HATED our house for.almost 2 years. I really like it now. Redecorating helped a lot and made it ours vs living in a strangers house

This, definitely.

The trees aren't an issue. How tall are they? if within reach of a step ladder, send your dh out with a saw on the next warm weekend, and have him prune back anything the thickness of his wrist or less. Try to do it before March 1st.

Even if you need a tree surgeon, it will still be less than moving house.

Be breezily polite to the old man, and ignore his rudeness. Get to know the noisy neighbours and then let them know you can hear every word.

Explore the local schools in more detail. They might improve on closer acquaintance

How would foliage cause subsidence?
You've listed lots of good things op. I would stick it out and don't make a rushed decision. It's a really strange time after a move and it's very normal for me anyway to feel completely discombobulated and anxious.

no don't fell the trees. That can cause more problems than leaving them alone and managing them. You might need to get something done and you might not but wait and get factual information. trellis on the fencing will deal with grumpy neighbour. The nise might be a problem but there is no guarantee that it wouldn't be worse somewhere else.

Don’t just fell the trees that could create more issues but do speak to those neighbours and ask what their surveyors etc have suggested needs to happen.

Noisy neighbours plant a thick hedge in front of a solid 6’ fence to maximise sound proofing. Do your research on which combination will work the best.

Same for elderly neighbour 6’ fence with trellis.

We had similar regret. Told ourselves well we can't move out right now so must do our best with the issues until the spring. By the spring we had solved some and some were not so irritating so held off and now love it here.
Making the effort to solve some issues while having an end point was helpful to us

@DallasMajor what a lovely positive post.

And do some small things to love and nurture the home eg hang up some pictures, make your living room cosy with rugs and throws. Time spent looking after your home will endear it to you.

I was just thinking the same thing!

@DallasMajor is right. There are things you can do. We made a big move a few years ago and it took me 9 months before I really started to settle. Change the small things you can now, and think about what’s great. Sounds like you have lots of space!

My recommendation, make a book of the house exactly how you want in. Cost and comforting. Then hide there with a cuppa when you need to remind yourself why you moved.

Be very very thankful you have a grumpy old man next door.

Before buying a house, always walk around the area multiple times at different times of the day, morning, evening, even take a late night walk. Also at weekends. Get a feel for the area, listen to the noises, before you commit yourself