About to exchange and I need advice!!!

[AnnaCatherine73]

Hi all

Any advice you could give would be great please? We are in the process of buying a house and were due to exchange today however we have just learned today that there is a serious proposal in place to put in another train line directly behind the house. Currently there is a single track with only 1 train per hour but the proposal would mean an additional line put in for more trains and the introduction of freight trains. I love the house, garden etc and was prepared to live with the single line but I can't help worrying that in the future we could have high speed trains going past every 10-15 mins!! What would you do?

Depends on what is proposed relaly. We lived near the Gatwick Express/London to Brighton line for years and didn't really find it a problem (grease in the air though) but when we stay at my mums the local and freight services disturb me more.

I wouldn't exchange if you are at all uncomfortable. How come this has only come to light on the day of exchange?

Is it possible to wait? Are you a first time buyer or are you in a chain?

It is only at the proposal stage but Network Rail has plans for it to be in place in 2011 so that is why it hasn't come up on the searches etc. I only found out this morning when my Dad called me to say he had seen it on the local news. It seems it will be a main line to London - arragh! I really love the house, garden, etc but this has really put a spanner in the works. I called my solicitor to let him know and he has told the other solicitor that we can't exchange today and I hate doing this to the couple selling, they are very genuine people. We are meant to be completing next Friday and I really don't know what to do!

Just as a bit of background, we are in rented (haveing sold in March) and the other couple are buying somewhere too, which makes matters a whole lot worse!

my friends live on the tube line and have trains going past every 6 - 10 mins

they have got utterly used to it

HOWEVER, i can understand it being a deal breaker for some people

I'd pull out .. sorry

I wouldn't live with a train track at the bottom of the garden .. you'll find it difficult to sell on

you are lucky you found out before exchange

You can apologise to the vendors but really you are in the strongest position being a renter .. I'd hold out for a few months, the perfect house will appear and you'll easily make back the money you've invested so far through price falls

Are you worried about the effect it may have on the value or the environmental (noise, smell etc)?

Try not to let the idea of the nice couple colour your thinking, hard though that might be. The thing is, if you'd known about the rail line from day 1, or it had already been there, would you have proceeded with the sale? There's your answer.......

If in doubt - pull out. We once went through with a house purchase when I had doubts because things had gone too far. It was the worst thing we ever did and moved again 13 months later.