Regret the house I bought and so unhappy

iwishihadaname

Myself and my husband were 2 years looking for a house and eventually we bought a house off the plans of a new housing development. There was no show house and we couldn't go onto the site at all, and I honestly feel like I made the biggest mistake of my life purchasing this house.

I feel so stupid for not considering that the house was going to face a ring road. All the times we visited the road didn't seem that busy, and I figured they wouldn't have gotten planning permission if there was going to be a problem with noise.

I grew up on a main street of a town, but the noise was nothing compared to what I have to put up with now. It's relentless, 24 hours a day traffic and I feel like I live on a motorway. We spent thousands on new windows but it's still not enough.

It's gotten to the stage where I genuinely wish I was deaf because I am broken from the noise. It's affecting my relationship with my husband because he's so upset that I hate the home we spent so much time saving for. It frustrates me that we didn't think to wait until the second phase and buy a house a row back that doesn't face onto the road. I'm so jealous of my neighbours that don't have to deal with this. I know it sounds stupid, but there is no peace and I feel so depressed over it. I don't know how to accept the noise and move on with life.

mada82

Is selling the house an option?

iwishihadaname

mada82 wrote: »

Is selling the house an option?

We put alot of money into the house with floors and wardrobes etc and a baby on the way so it will be a few years before we could consider it.

Ursus Horribilis

Are you absolutely sure you can't sell? Even if it involves moving to a smaller house?

Sittingpretty

iwishihadaname wrote: »

We put alot of money into the house with floors and wardrobes etc and a baby on the way so it will be a few years before we could consider it.

Why?

Any investment you’ve made in the house should add value.

And in the current climate a house could go up for sale and be sold in days.

It’s not ideal moving with a bub on the way but life is too short to stay somewhere that you are that unhappy with.

Ursus Horribilis

How about making contact with an estate agent and have the house valued? Having a bit of proper information to hand might help you make a decision.

basamin

If it's any consolation, I grew up in a house on the crumlin road and I did get used to the constant traffic noise , fire engines, ambulances and Garda cars 24 hours a day .
It's as if your brain subconsciously blocks out the noise.

Tails142

Something only annoys you if you left it annoy you.

Try to practice mindfulness and focus on the positives, you have very good passive security from traffic to the front of your house at all hours, less chance of break in. Neighbours could be facing you, hounding you to talk every time you leave the house or they could be horrible people and keep their house like a kip, feral children running around for hours, stuck in traffic at rush hours to get out of the estate if you were at the back. Being on the main road might mean you have a bus stop at your door.

Try not to focus on the negatives.

Ursus Horribilis

I wonder is some of this coming from your obvious disappointment at where your house is? I wouldn't go so far as to say it's all in your head but I've a feeling your mindset is not helping. Basamin above me made a good point about where they grew up. I remember going to stay with my aunt and uncle who live near an airport. The first morning or two, I woke up because of the planes.

sReq | uTeK

It's not the noise, subconsciously its something else. I suffer from tinnitus (constant ringing in the ears) I dont notice now. You can learn to live with anything.


Also your probably go sale agreed quickly. As someone said all you've done is added to the sale price of your house

SteM

New floors and wardrobes won't automatically add to the value of the house but you should get it valued either way. Move on if you can, your relationship is more important.

sydthebeat

Downland a decibel meter app to your phone. Take 60 sec readings at various times during the day from your kitchen table and post the results back here please.

It may be possible that you are just hyper conscious of the noise due to other factors.... Or of course the noise may be just ridiculous

How far is the front wall of the house from the actually road?
Is there planting done that hasn't developed yet (as this would significant dampen the noise when mature)?

Kidchameleon

I live right at a main road in front of a bypass and I can honestly say you do get used to the noise. What do your immeadiate neighbours think? Ie. the ones exposed to the road as much as yourself? I have a feeling it may not be as bad as you think. Perhaps you are more sensitive because of the pregnancy? If it really is that bad though, bite the bullet and move. Perhaps wait until the baby is 6 months/1 year

yer man!

I live in an apartment about 10 metres from the hard shoulder of the M50 so I understand what you mean by constant noise. We moved in to the apartment over a year ago and even though I'm aware of the traffic noise every day, it doesn't bother me anymore really. When we moved in, I was incredibly upset for about a week thinking we made a huge mistake. I had to wear earplugs to get away from the noise. I then used the earplugs less and less and got rid of them completely after about 3 weeks. I don't have much advice for you really other than possibly ear plugs every now and again to get away from the noise or to mask it with a fan or white noise speaker, these options worked very well for me. As others have said here, I would get the house valued and look at a decision when you have all the information laid out on the table, it will always be at the back of your mind unless you have the facts.

scarepanda

I grew up on a busy main road and we could barely hear the traffic notice because we became so used to it. Our uncle lived about 150/200m further back from the road from us and even in his newer house, built in the late 90s, you could always hear the noise more for whatever reason. So living in the next row back may not necessarily make a huge difference to the noise level. And if anything, if the back gardens of the second row back are backing onto your back garden chances are you may hear more noise while out in the garden than you may think.

Big Bag of Chips

A baby on the way isn't a barrier to moving house. If you are so stressed that it is affecting your relationship and affecting your health then moving might be the most sensible, and stress free option.

Being pregnant isn't an illness or hindrance. But if you are getting so worked up about constant noise, your blood pressure will be high which is a risk factor in pregnancy. If you're not sleeping you will be less likely to be able to cope during the day.

Moving just seems like the no brainer option.

Tired Gardener

If you have a front garden you can plant a hedge to try to mitigate the noise. It won't be a quick solution, as a he hedge will take a while to establish. However it might help with adding value to the property as a means of tackling noise pollution.

If annoyance from it are spilling into your relationship, then I think it would be better to sell the property and find somewhere else. Houses are just a collection of bricks after all and can be replaced. A relationship is something that takes a lot of care and effort and isn't easily replaced.

punisher5112

What type of vents are fitted as you can get humidity type ones that open when needed....

I find a huge amount of noise travels through the vents.

kbell

You see these installed alongside motorways and dual carriageways.
Could you get all the residents together and have a word with the developer to see would they help you?

https://www.irishfencing.com/steel-cladding-timber-fencing/acoustic-fencing-noise-barrier/?cn-reloaded=1

Noo

Tired Gardener wrote: »

If you have a front garden you can plant a hedge to try to mitigate the noise. It won't be a quick solution, as a he hedge will take a while to establish. However it might help with adding value to the property as a means of tackling noise pollution.

If annoyance from it are spilling into your relationship, then I think it would be better to sell the property and find somewhere else. Houses are just a collection of bricks after all and can be replaced. A relationship is something that takes a lot of care and effort and isn't easily replaced.

The appearance of a hedge may give the perception of reducing noise but in reality it doesn't do anything.

Twenty Grand

iwishihadaname wrote: »

We put alot of money into the house with floors and wardrobes etc and a baby on the way so it will be a few years before we could consider it.

What's more important? Your relationship with your husband or a few thousand you may not even lose on the house.

Get the house valued, throw it up and it could be gone before you know it.

Cuddlesworth

basamin wrote: »

If it's any consolation, I grew up in a house on the crumlin road and I did get used to the constant traffic noise , fire engines, ambulances and Garda cars 24 hours a day .
It's as if your brain subconsciously blocks out the noise.

I think its safe to say that after 2 years that getting used to the noise is off the table.

Sheepdish1

Hi Op, why would it be a few years before moving? if it is honestly making you that miserable I think it could be good to consider moving if you feel you can never get used to the noise. Even get the place valued and then you could feel better knowing you have options.
Do some research and ask other people could they get used to it and eventually not hear it.

I stayed away last year for weekend. Noises don’t irritate me, eg people having parties, playing music etc but I couldn’t sleep as there was a road with traffic lights outside the room. The cars were slowing and accelerating so I was very aware of it and found it frustrating trying to sleep but didn’t notice it during the day.

I was driving in a country area recently and noticed a lot of lovely houses but when I opened the window the noise of the motorway was much louder than I thought. I was wondering if it would be really loud outside their house in back garden but didn’t think that they’d be able to hear it inside the house.

Is there such a thing as white noise speakers you can put in your house ?

iwishihadaname

We would take a loss on the house - the development isn't finished and people can still buy a new house, first time buyers can get HTB scheme with the developer but not with us and people will ask why we're selling so soon which will raise red flags. This was advice we got anyway. So we at least have to wait until the development is finished. We can't afford to lose any more money on this (windows, floors etc have spent 20k on top of purchase price) especially with starting a family so I'm really asking for some coping techniques I suppose.

We did measure noise levels a few months back - 75db generally. It has been reduced somewhat with the new windows but we'll never be able to open a window during the summer. We also stuffed the vents but had to undo that because no air was getting into the house at all.

Our neighbours are bothered by it too and we were onto the council who admitted both the old road surface and speeding (50km zone but people generally do 70-80km) is causing a noise issue but they also said they won't do anything about it for now.

Someone suggested mindfulness so I will try this. Also got a white noise machine for our room and it is helping a bit.

Ursus Horribilis

What harm will asking for valuation do? You're full of reasons why you can't sell. Maybe you're in such a negative mindset you can't see ways out of this.

mickuhaha

A neighbor of mine had a hard time with the noise from the main road. He changed the wall vents, windows ( windows installed incorrectly and reinstalled to prevent vibration) attic insulation changed , doors changed and his bedroom walls redone with sound absorbing panels. He said for him the wall vents were the cheapest and the best at reducing noise so far. He might down the line put in a heat exchanger to allow him block off all the vents. You could also look at putting structures in the way of your home to deflect noise. Another way to go is to have an alternative noise in your home to distract from the noise like a radio. For awhile myself I need the radio to go asleep.

otnomart

iwishihadaname wrote: »

We would take a loss on the house - the development isn't finished and people can still buy a new house, first time buyers can get HTB scheme with the developer but not with us and people will ask why we're selling so soon which will raise red flags. This was advice we got anyway. So we at least have to wait until the development is finished.

Can you put your house up for rent,

and then you rent somewhere else - till the development is finished and you can finally sell?

Bassfish

If selling up and moving is in any way feasible, do it. Even if you have to compromise on some things in a new house. Life is too short to be so unhappy. Our first house was a bungalow on a country road which is what we thought we wanted. The road outside turned out to be way busier than we thought. In silage season we'd be woken from 5:30 by tractors and you couldn't even walk outside our gate because the road was lethal. We spent a fortune putting external insulation on. A small one came along and we realised he would grow up very isolated there.
We eventually had enough, had a chat with the bank manager and got the house valued. Thankfully the economy was picking up so the house had gone up in value and the work we did added substantially to the value. We decided feck it, and put the house up for sale and sold it with little bother for the asking price.
We bought in a new development in an area we really like and compromised by going from detached to semi-detached. Moving was a pain in the ass as it always is and we had to rent a tiny place as a stop gap for a few months. We eventually moved in to our new place and couldn't be happier. Now, looking back we can't believe we stayed as long as we did in the other place. It was the best thing we ever did moving. Life is too bloody short. You live and learn and won't get caught out like that again. Best of luck, I hope it works out for ye.

Sheepdish1

iwishihadaname wrote: »

We would take a loss on the house - the development isn't finished and people can still buy a new house, first time buyers can get HTB scheme with the developer but not with us and people will ask why we're selling so soon which will raise red flags. This was advice we got anyway. So we at least have to wait until the development is finished. We can't afford to lose any more money on this (windows, floors etc have spent 20k on top of purchase price) especially with starting a family so I'm really asking for some coping techniques I suppose.

We did measure noise levels a few months back - 75db generally. It has been reduced somewhat with the new windows but we'll never be able to open a window during the summer. We also stuffed the vents but had to undo that because no air was getting into the house at all.

Our neighbours are bothered by it too and we were onto the council who admitted both the old road surface and speeding (50km zone but people generally do 70-80km) is causing a noise issue but they also said they won't do anything about it for now.

Someone suggested mindfulness so I will try this. Also got a white noise machine for our room and it is helping a bit.

Was the noise level 75 db in the house or outside? Are you able to sit outside and relax in the back garden for example?

It could be helpful to get the house valued even if it means takes taking a loss on it. The loss won't be that significant when spread out over the years versus your own happiness. The fact that you will have the option to move in the future may help you cope with this problem as you will feel you aren't ''stuck'' there for good.
You may even find you'll get used to it and not want to move even because you have the option to move if you want to

Do you think this will bother you when the baby comes along when you are at home trying to sleep after being woken up at night with baby for example?

My neighbours smoke alarm that was chirping every 30 seconds for three months because they wouldn't change the battery. Its in the hall so 10ft from my front door, I could hear it day and night throughout my house.....it drove me crazy. I got to the point that I was considering staying in my relatives house for a weekend.It didn't bother them at all and took me three times to call in for them to change it It has started again now

Different noises affect different people......I would sleep soundly with a party of 50 people next door for example but the chirp got to me. I had an neighbour who used to ask me to turn tv down on a Sat night, would report me to landlord for hoovering after 9.30. He called in on a Friday night because of kids laughing in my house and even asked me to close the front door quietly:eek:

Look at the options of moving at at least you won't feel ''stuck''

punisher5112

Vents will be a big thing as I said and we'll worth looking at wired or non wired ones that can open close when needed and have mufflers installed to stop the loud noises entering.

Do the windows have vents on them???

Did you get triple gaze? Were they sealed correctly....

Shefwedfan

At night time, buy a amazon Alexa, you can do rain noise which is really relaxing,,,,might be option

Apart from that no idea why anyone would say not to sell while new houses are for sale? Other agents will be gagging to get in selling houses in the estate. Loads of people don’t get the grants, get it values and get it up

I have friends building an estate in Dublin area, they have huge competition selling new house to estate agents in the estate selling houses against them....

Especially if people have moved in, done renovations and then leaving, they can’t start renovating a base house as everyone will want it that way