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?

that's not how it works, I think you need to ask a legal professional as you are not listening to anyone here

I just googled it for you OP.

1. Grounds for Suing the Vendor

If the vendor lied or concealed the truth, you may have a claim for misrepresentation.

• Active Misrepresentation: If the seller stated "No" to questions about subsidence or tree-related damage in the TA6 form or pre-contract inquiries, but knew about it, they are liable.
• Negligent/Fraudulent Concealment: If they were aware of cracking, insurance claims, or previous investigations into tree root damage and did not disclose it, you may be able to sue.
• Time Limits: You typically have up to six years from the date of completion to bring a legal claim for misrepresentation.

1. When You Cannot Sue the Vendor

If the seller did not know about the problem, or if you failed to perform adequate checks, your claim may fail due to Caveat Emptor ("buyer beware").

• Hidden Defect: If the damage only appeared after you bought the house and was not previously detected by the seller, it is difficult to prove they should have disclosed it.
• Negligent Survey: If your surveyor failed to notice obvious signs of subsidence (e.g., large trees very close to the house on clay soil), you may have a claim against the surveyor for professional negligence rather than the seller.

OP - you need to look at the facts:-

• The previous owners offered to cut them down and your husband declined.

• You don’t want them cutting down as you’ll be more exposed to your nightmare neighbours

• There is currently no evidence they are causing subsidence - it sounds like the other neighbour is just using this as an excuse as they want them removed

• You are bang out of order continuing to contact the previous owners about this and your husband is right to be furious about it.

Thats a crazy way of looking at it! So when the trees were first planted however many years go, however many house owners ago, it should be the person who planted them who rectifies the issue with your logic?
You bought the house, refused the sellers offer, job done, papers signed, responsibility signed over with the house deeds!
As pp has said, contact a lawyer & waste some money to be told the same thing as you are v clearly in denial. I hope you realise soonest what your options are moving forward, instead of trying to reverse time and your decisions you’ve signed up to!

You’ve had a ton of really practical, helpful advice here @Cantbelieveididit, but you seem unable to accept any of it.

Why? Why do you still think your opinion on the trees is correct and worth pursuing, despite being told clearly dozens of times that’s it’s not?

You’ve admitted that on the house purchase you had tunnel vision - you saw what you thought was a bargain and did no due diligence, down to not even considering schools for your children, and ploughed on through your DH’s resistance, ignoring his reluctance to move there because the area’s rough.

Now you’re doing the same thing here. Ignoring everyone else and ploughing on through because you think you’re right. What more are you hoping to gain from this thread, because not one single person is going to give you the answer you want to hear.

Einstein’s definition of madness was someone who just keeps doing the exact same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. But by all means keep on at the vendors’ solicitors about the trees if it makes you feel better 🤷‍♀️

You're flogging a dead horse OP. The house and all it's problems are yours now. You need to shift your mindset, it's not helping.

I kinda think you're doing this to wind ppl up - YOU TURNED DOWN the felling of the trees by these people, that ship has sailed!

I feel sorry for your husband that you respect him so little as to carry on this crazy behind his back.

No you can't. The trees became your problem once you bought the house. If indeed there is a problem as subsidence is by no means there at all. She just wants the trees cut down.

If you don't believe all the pp who have told you the trees are not the previous owners issue then speak to your solicitor!

Forget the trees, just leave them, don"t make complaints about the weed smoking neighbour as you will have to declare when selling, get it on the market and see what the interest is, start packing as this will distract you and put you in a "moving on" mood.

Also agree with this. As for the noisy neighbours, buy noisemakers for your rooms. They have different sounds on them, so you could have your choice of forest sounds, rivers, waterfall etc.

We went this route back when we were living in a horrible flat with screaming neighbours. After we moved, we found we enjoyed having soothing sounds in our rooms to block other noises. DC each have one, we have one in our room and for a long time had one in the main part of the house.

One on Amazon is called: White Noise Machine Easysleep Sleep Sound Machine 25 Sounds 5 Timer 32 Volume Baby Kids Adults for Sleeping with 4 Adjustable Brightness

I have never heard of foliage causing subsidence. There is every chance this is absolute rubbish. Insurance would also cover this and your insurance usually would have legal cover in the case that there is any liability for your house/the trees. I honestly would not pay this much attention, it does sound as if she just doesn't like the trees.

The trees are oak and fern

RHS Home Gardening Advice Trees near buildings

Well if you are on clay soil more at risk - London soils being really bad but as PP have said on here if there were actual problems you should have been given have been given reports by neigbours insurers.

At minute as I understand it you just have a neighbour complaining about trees she dislikes.

Personally I think the secondary school and noise are bigger problems that need some action and research - to see best way forward - where else can you apply to - have you been to see round secondary in special meaures - how likely is it that they'd get in elsewhere - what can you practically do about the noise.

The previous owers have no libality here - you bought the property and trees became yours - unless you know they lied and didn't disclose information then it's on you.

If you can't afford to move or take a loss - then you need to make where you are work.

By this logic, then surely the person who planted the trees are responsible?

Do you see how ridiculous that is? Please just STOP. The trees now belong to you and your husband. The previous owners have not duped you in anyway regarding the trees. Just leave (pardon the pun) the issue alone now.

Wait for any subsidence reports, then deal with it from there. In the meantime, start saving for an emergency fund £3-5K, just in case any urgent maintenance with the house (including trees) crops up.

Emergency fund is a good idea, people should have this BEFORE they move/buy house though.

Fern?

I assumed they meant 'fir'?! It would have to be a huge fern to cause subsidence!

I can't believe (lol!) that @Cantbelieveididit thinks the previous owners are still responsible for the trees 🙄😳

As pp have said its your problem now. You knew about it and still bought the house. If you pursue the previous owners against your husbands wishes its another nail in your marriages coffin im afraid

OP please, you need to chill!

You also need to look at your buildings and contents insurance as there may be cover there IF your trees are found to be causative of subsidence.

What have you decided to do @Cantbelieveididit ? Hopefully things with your husband have calmed down now.

If a mineshaft was there before you bought the house, would you expect previous owners to be responsible? It is your house; you are responsible.

The old man.
Hopefully he won't live till 110 like the horrid man opposite me, he is 86 but walks about 10 miles a day.
They have a limited life span so 5 years from now with some luck he won't be an issue

If you can purchase high fences

And stand up to them when they get fitted because nosey swine is guaranteed to complain.

You have blocked out his entertainment. (Watching you).

Price to sell and get out! Really not worth all the drama with neighbours, can"t imagine that someone of 110 can cause much bother though?

There is no subsidence, most likely. The neighbour is just trying to scare you into cutting down the trees because she doesn't like them.

Even if there is subsidence with her house, your house insurance will cover it. Don't panic and be bullied by your neighbour.