Sell a home we've just bought

Jaybmw

Ok let me start off with this may be just nerves or remorse. We have moved into our new home about 3 weeks ago. All is well or so I though, herself is struggling a little with a few bits and possibly noisy neighbours. Now before I talk to the neighbours or look at sound proofing a few walls in the house, how big a deal would it be to sell this and buy another house if all went down that road.. 30 odd year mortgage with haven, in a 3 year fix currently. I was a first time buyer but if I had to go down this road I'd be a 2nd time buyer. I'm under no illusions this will cost money but can I sell this, pay off the mortgage, and get another mortgage with haven on the same terms for another house ? Or will this be a 10k mistake..

Or can we sound proof say the sitting room and the bedroom. The rest of the place is fine

Thanks

paulieeye

So off the top of my head...

• Legal Fees (2k??)
• Breakage fee from 3 year fixed (no idea how much but Avant have a thing where if you get your next mortgage with them then there is no breakage fee, not sure about Haven)
• Estate agent fees (e.g. 1.5% of 400k = 6k)

I'd say >10k as you're breakage fee is probably a good bit. Course I have no idea what I'm talking about and just started typing

o1s1n

Unless you've absolute neighbours from hell, 3 weeks might still be cold feet.

How noisy are we talking next door?

Padre_Pio

Breakage fees are based on current interest rates Vs the rate you agreed on.

Since rates have increased there will likely be no breakage fee.

Maybe you could sell it yourself and avoid the EA fees too.

I don't know if it's a new build, but you would have to pay back your help to buy, if you used it, so up to 30k.

If it's a new house, remember the wouldn't get help to buy since the house is now second hand.

Dial Hard

Talking about selling after only 3 weeks seems like the absolute nuclear option. What are the other "few bits" your partner is struggling with?

Jaybmw

I think it may be nerves.. we came from somewhere that was very quite. As far as I can tell it's as if the walls to the one side are a bit thin. It's a semi, so music, or talking in general is what's bugging her, and we have a newborn so maybe that's what's throwing her a little. I don't think there a nightmare, just a bit loud in the day.. fine in the evening, night etc. I don't want to go in and cause a fight etc but I can make a nuisance of myself if needs be. We didn't use help to buy. It was a 250 house so 225 mortgage. Broker was free, the solicitor and all them fees came to 5kish. Looking at acoustic panels for the room or 2. Has anyone use them ?

Dial Hard

Tbh, I'd just give it time. It's amazing how quickly you get used to noise and this doesn't sound like anything approaching unusual or problematic. Is she a bit anxious in general, by any chance?

krusty411

3 weeks is very quick to be making a decision like that. This might sound like a stupid suggestion but maybe get her a pair of the loop experience plus earplugs, I have issues with noise's such as loud talking etc being overwhelming for me because of numerological issues and they work great when I need them, you can get them on amazon for less than €50.

oinkely

if it really bothers you get some acoustic plasterboard, and maybe double up with overlapping joins, on the party walls in the rooms that are problematic. A skim of plaster and coat of paint and it might make a very big difference.

ThreeGreens

Also as a second time buyer, you won't get a 90% mortgage. So you'll need more equity for the next purchase.

10-10-20

@Jaybmw, not medical advice and we don't know all of the circumstances here, but please have a read of this leaflet in case it could help.

https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/postnatal-depression/

It's very common and can manifest especially where there have been dramatic changes, such as a house move around the time of the new arrival. Good luck!

Jaybmw

She was never really anxious but after the stress of the whole process, having a kid in the middle of it and then the change. Not to mention her maternity leave is coming to an end and she hates the job she does I think it's just grinding on a little. Yes I'll look into the plaster board. The other small things then been a new house, needs a few bits as they all do. Which comes with time to be expected. Don't get me wrong, she's not a dog over it. Just looking at options on what we can do to either improve it or rectify

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121255335#Comment_121255335

That's no longer the case. You can still get 90% but you're subject to the original 3.5x salary limit rather than the new 4x.

AndrewJRenko

What happens when you encounter noisy neighbours in the new house?

road_high

A very expensive exercise for not a lot of gain. Best settle for a few years and then see

Dante

Just get it soundproofed.

TheWonderLlama

https://youtu.be/cR76CSJnTk0

artanevilla

The stress of staying with a newborn would be a lot less stress than selling and buying a new house with a newborn I feel.

phormium

Unless you intend moving to a detached then I'd say you'll need to get used to neighbour noise. There is some chance in older houses that seem to be sturdier but anything reasonably new build or even past 20 yrs and I think you will always hear noise from next door unless they are extremely quiet. Add to that the fact that most people no longer use carpets so noise is greater.

wildwillow

Introduce yourself in a friendly manner to the neighbours. They may be finding you noisy too, with a newborn Don't start making a nuisance of yourself. But I think others here are right, it's probably a symptom of post natal depression and maybe general depression and unhappiness with work.

Being noisy during the day shouldn't be such a problem and you will soon get used to it. At least it's quiet at night.

event

And if you try to sell it, potential buyers will know its up for sale so soon and want to know why. Give it time

Patrick2010

What kind of house did you live in before? Was it detached?

Rubberchikken

A baby a house move nearing end of maternity leave to return to a job she's unhappy. Any one of these is stressful, combined they're enough to send a.person mad so any little things can be enough to upset.

Soundproof by all means but your wife might need to talk to her go.for starters. And then look at each issue when she has a chance.

I know I'd hate any sort of noise especially at night so to come from peace and quiet to even some noise can be stressful.

FledNanders

We had something similar with our old house. Moved into a 3 bed semi beside a family with 3 teenagers. They weren't overly loud or anything it was just normal day to day life but having 5 people next door naturally there was noise.

It used to annoy me a good bit at the start but then we just got used to it for the most part as it was only occasionally annoying really.

MrsBean

Sorry to hear it OP, I'm sure this isn't what you had hoped for when buying the house. I would definitely leave it a little while longer before you think about selling. Try let yourselves settle in some more and look forward to your first Christmas/NYE there. It does sound like your partner has a lot of stressors in her life and it's a time of several big life changes. Sometimes worries about the bigger issues can manifest as focussing on the smaller things. I'm sure you're being supportive to her but she might need to talk to someone else and as others have pointed to her GP. Is there scope for her to have a day off, a spa day as a treat so she can switch off? I know not a solution but can be part of a holistic approach.

We are 3 weeks into our own home that we just bought, also a semi-d. We are over the moon and excited every day and it is slowly starting to feel like our own. That being said we don't have a newborn so I'm not sure I would be any different to yourselves if we did have a baba in tow! A few times I was jarred by the sounds of kids and teenagers slamming doors and running up and down the stairs next door - sounded like they all had concrete boots!! But in the grand scheme of things they seem like nice people to live beside and kids/teenagers making that noise is par for the course. In my own head I said, sure some day it will be our kids and teenagers annoying them with their concrete boots! I wouldn't go approaching the neighbours about normal living sounds at this early juncture as you risk souring the relationship in its infancy, can be very difficult to come back from that.

AyeGer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121255494#Comment_121255494

A proper soundproofing job would not be cheap and imo might not help as much as you would hope.

3 weeks is early days. But your family’s happiness is worth 10 or 20k. I’d say give it a few months anyway,

I’ve sold a house in the past due to road noise and I have no regrets. I stayed in that house for 2 years but I knew from very early on I wouldn’t be staying there long term. The new owners are very happy in it, they don’t seem to notice the noise as much as I did.

AyeGer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121255735#Comment_121255735

A good estate agent would handle that, it could be due to a split, a job move or any number of reasons.

Kurooi

Others mentioned money, the other drawback is that you don't want to be a chain buyer if you can help it. If you sell your house first then look around, that will take a darn long time. realistically 3-6 months on either transaction, it'll be 9-12 months until you get your new keys. That or you can search and buy right now, but you will find it more difficult to than you did as a first time buyer. agents prefer first time buyers.

I was somewhat in your situation once, paper thin walls you could hear people talking. but I found because I didn't mind the neighbors personally (they were a family, loud during the day, dog and activities and all, but super nice and respectful of night time) I respected them, so I sort of just got used to it. I'd have people coming over and they would be bewildered by how much I filter the noise out. I think it becomes a bigger problem when you grow resentment.

I'd be worried about your alternatives. it's hard to find a detached house at 200k range. Anywhere. So you will likely get another semi-d and roll the dice hope on better neighbors? Or get a newer house, newer build, sound insulated and all. Again more expensive. Check the market before you make any moves.

RichardAnd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121256573#Comment_121256573

Agreed. There are multiple reasons why someone would sell a house quickly after a move. Simply put, circumstances change.

SharkMX

I think you will get used to it.

And dont worry about the baby and noise. My mother told us we were brought up without anyone ever told to be quiet around us. We would all now sleep through a war next door.

One friend had a baby and you werent aloud to even knock on the door when the baby was asleep. They even blacked out the windows of the room and sound proofed it. That baby is now 13 years old and the last I hear has severe sleep issues. Probably cant sleep unless totally silent and totally dark.

Your baby will sleep when they need to. Dont go being silent around the baby. That will only lead to trouble in the future.

Semi-D living comes with noise from next door. It would be rare that there wouldnt be noise, especially if their are children. The only real solution is a detached house, which are more expensive for that reason. But probably after a while you will all settle in and wont even notice the noise from next door.

listermint

Sound proofing is cost friendly if your any way handy. Read up properly in the boards and installation of them via manufacturers spec though.

Peregrinus

Noisewise, newborns can sleep through anything. They sleep a lot, but in shorts bursts; they wake regularly in the night as well as in the day, but it is rarely noise that wakes them.

This happy state of affairs doesn't last for ever. At some time after 3 months (but it might not be for up to a year) they will start to react to loud or sudden noises by waking. But muffled noise coming through a wall — particularly steady noise like a television or music playing — tends not to be a problem.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121257484#Comment_121257484

+1. I was one of those babies. I can't sleep on buses, trains or planes. Has to be complete silence.

pc7

Give it more time OP, I remember when we moved in first we thought our neighbours kids were feral, I couldn't get used to the noise, shouting (kids being kids), running up the stairs etc. Now I don't hear a thing and honestly mine are noisy, its all come full circle. I'm sure the new baby, facing going back to work are all part of the bigger issue, its a tough time. Try make the house as cosy and homely as you can and enjoy it and the build up to a first Christmas with the baby, its a special one. Best of luck with it all.

RichardAnd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121257910#Comment_121257910

Good advice.

OP, few people these days get the house that really suits them, so we have to make the best of what we have. However, remember that things could change in the future. Try to pay as much of the mortgage as you can, and in 5-10 years, you could move to a more suitable house. A "forever home" is a nice idea, but the reality is that needs change. My own parents moved house four times before I was 20!

awec

You would have to pay back 100% of your help to buy money, and you wouldn't be eligible for HTB on the next house.

The reality is unless you're sitting on a pile of cash you won't be able to afford to sell and buy again right now.

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121258138#Comment_121258138

He said they didn't use Help to Buy.

I still think it's absolute lunacy to be even considering selling up after 3 measly weeks because of what sounds like absolutely bog-standard noise from next door, though.

rob316

Lunacy, settle in, maybe if you can get away for a few days with her and clear ye're heads. I just moved from our house of 14 years, its incredibly stressful.

Wheety

Have you met the neighbours? How is the area in general? It could be a lot worse than a hearing some noises from next door. You could have proper neighbours from hell in your next house.

Bio Mech

I really wouldnt call into the neighbours to ask them to be quiet if its just talking and the radio on during the day. Especially as they are quiet during the evening and night. They arent doing anything untoward and if you ask them to talk quietly during the day its just going to risk a bad relationship with them.

We had new neighbours move in behind us in our last house and they used to have weekly BBQs in their garden with about two dozen people over and Romanian music blaring out until 4am, wood smoke from their BBQ and fires they would light, screaming and shouting, arguments and fights breaking out between them,bottles smashing, then all driving home drunk. So your situation could be a lot worse. Its bad enough with a newborn, dont get on the bad side of your neighbours.

Mr.Wemmick

Living in a new place is a shock to the system part delight, part disappointment when you come across something unexpected. We’ve moved around a lot because of work and I know that first rush of disappointment only too well - you need to give it time.

First thing’s first, you both need to settle yourselves down and get to know the house properly.

Noise is a strange one.. I once lived beside a partially deaf neighbour who initially drove me absolutely bonkers with the loud tv, radio and alarms. Amazing how I got use to it - partly down to the fact I got to know him. He was elderly and the most wonderful human being. I use to call him the old gentleman.. kids didn’t bat an eye or wake up with the noise. We accepted it and got use to it, quite happy living there as there were lots of advantages & positives we soon found out.

You need to give it time and tell yourselves it’s not forever.

endofrainbow

If her maternity leave is coming to an end, she will be back in work and (presumably) won't be there during the day when you say the noise is the worst?

But 3 weeks is not enough time for things to settle.

Jaybmw

Thanks lads all very helpful.. I've been onto the acoustic panelling people to see if we can dampening the sound a bit. But yes there appears to be quite a lot of stress all of a sudden. Not helped by me working during the day and at times working away Monday to Friday. I shall keep you updated on what happens . Thanks again

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121256573#Comment_121256573

So a 'good' estate agent would lie to buyers? Wouldn't want to meet a bad estate agent I suppose.

AyeGer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121266406#Comment_121266406

You seriously believe estate agents won’t bend the truth within reason to sell an house? All they’d have to say is due to personal matters. The OP doesn’t even need to tell the estate agent the reason if he doesn’t want too.