You have planned your finances for the next 25 years, lost on weekends after the weekend and you finally found the house of your dreams.
And then, during your first night after getting the keys, you hear it: the drums of drum and bass through thin walls of paper. At 11:23 p.m. A Tuesday.
It turns out that you have spent an obscene sum of money by buying a house next to a public nuisance.
It is probably little comfort, but you are not alone. In a survey of 1,000 owners per Good movement64% said they had “problems” with the neighbors and one in 10 said it was so bad that they complained to the council.
Buyers take care of
Sellers are legally obliged to disclose the details of previous or undergoing disputes with the neighbors in an information form on property (TA6) – the fact of not doing so could lead to legal action.
The questions are limited, however, and how will you prove that your seller knew the drum and the bass?
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“In reality, you have very few rights,” a real estate agent told Money.
“You will never know if an agent has neglected to tell you about harmful neighbors or if the seller has not said to the agent. A seller is barely likely to wear the information if there has been disputes. ”
So maybe this is the case for all the roles you had to master in the purchasing process – organize surveys, browse legal documents, pack everything you have – there is a role that you should have devoted a little more time to: detective.
We talked to the best purchasing agents to get their advice on how to sniff the neighbors of the problem – and gathered some of the least known tools that could save you a literal and figurative headache …
External indices
Henry Sherwood from Purchasing agents said most disputes arise from noise or money problems.
“If the property or the neighboring building seems neglected, it probably means that the neighbor does not have the funds to maintain it or does not want it,” he said.
“If (it is) an apartment, consult the common rooms on the floors above and below. Look for excessive landons and bikes that may indicate howling babies or flat shares. ”
The apartments with a doorman / concierge are better protected, says Sherwood, because they are controlled by a management company and have someone on site. Most of the dishes also have sections relating to the type of authorized rental.
List of noise complaints
Some local advice keep a public register of noise complaints by postal code.
Here is a Example of the register of noise complaints of the municipal council of Leeds.
Next door application (and local groups)
This is an application where local residents publish events, lost cats, dates of collection of bins and, inevitably, noise problems.
A simple search for “noise” in an area in northern London found all these complaints in the last month – and in each case, the exact street was named:
• A second noisy party for a weekday evening in a small residential street;
• A resident renovating his house in a noisy and disruptive way. In addition to a photo of a huge bunch of thrown bricks, the complainant says: “It is now more than six weeks of disturbance during the summer holidays without clear end date and the neighbors are ignored”;
• Another resident living in a final terrace wrote that his walls were thin from the paper and that he could hear his neighbor slamming doors and running and descending the stairs;
• A photo of the construction of works, with a resident complaining that it was happening until midnight on a Sunday.
Far from the application, search for local groups on social networks and see if you can join. There is a good chance that serious problems will have been raised there.
Talk to the neighbors
Everyone is not confident enough to knock on the doors – but our investigation into social media suggests that most people think it is perfectly acceptable.
91% of around 5,000 respondents said they would invent an excuse to talk to a neighbor to put out what they have.
“Say simply that you plan to buy the property next to it and that you wondered what the parking lot looked like at 4 p.m., etc., said Sherwood.
He says that Sundays are a good day to come up against the neighbors.
Internet is full of tales of people who have not done their research.
In a thread on this subject on Mumsnet, Mombear20 wrote: “Certainly knocking on the doors!” We didn’t do it and regret it so much! Have a neighbor (on the road, rue à la Terre, who threatened to explode his house at least six times in the last three years, causing an evacuation of the whole area each time!
If you hit, be polite.
Sam Edington, director of Edingtons purchase agentsaid: “We recommend that you do it with casualness and respectfully, simply presenting you, ask friendly and open questions to the region and observe daily life.”
Can you locate the clues? Pic: Istock
Airbnb
Henry Sherwood advises to search for locks combined at the entrance to the apartments – it is a gift that someone inside listed on Airbnb.
Having a rolling distribution of night guests may not be a problem, but you should consider if it is a risk that you want to take.
You can also search on Airbnb the area you are looking to buy – you can be lucky and find one of your immediate neighbors, in which case you can have a virtual spy around their house for indices on their lifestyle.
Crime statistics
Although it does not provide information on your specific neighbors, sites such as Police.uk You allow you to check and map crime statistics in a region.
Find out if your neighbor is the owner
Many advice retains a public register of approved owners or multiple occupation houses.
For example, Enfield Council Allows you to enter your postal code – all the owners of your street will appear. Buckinghashire Council Allows you to download An Excel hmos spreadsheet.
Sam EDINGTON treats in a higher market ulton and recalls only one Neighborhood Scenario of Nightmare in its 23 years in industry – it involved a tenant.
“We acted for a charming client buying a beautiful apartment right next to Hampstead Heath, and shortly after moving in, a belligerent tenant with drug addiction problems arrived in the building, causing several months of distress.
“Fortunately, with our advice, complaints to management agents and the advice helped resolve the situation and restore calm.”
Ask questions to the seller
Henry Sherwood says that it is essential to ask if a seller knows his neighbors and if they are occupy owners or tenants.
If you meet the owner, ask them questions – there is a good chance that they do not reveal negative details, but the more questions, the more a lie is difficult to maintain.
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Ask them questions like: are you friends with your neighbors, have you ever had noise problems, are there resident WhatsApp groups.
“If you do not meet the owner, do not be afraid to prepare a list of questions for the seller on the neighbors and be precise,” said Sherwood.
Ask your lawyer to ask questions
An experienced property lawyer is essential to ask the right questions as the purchase progresses.
Sherwood said: “During the transfer request phase, you can ask your lawyer to ask if there have been disputes or altercations. The seller is less likely to lie if they go through legal channels and there is a recording.”
How many times has the house recently sold?
“Stability is a good sign,” explains Sam Edington, so it’s worth asking or trying to discover how long the neighbors have lasted.
Sites such as Zoopla and Rightmove have historic sales and registration data that could help establish whether the property you buy has had trouble selling or sold several times in recent years.
The latter could be a red flag that deserves a more in -depth investigation.
Building permit
The Local Advice Planning Section will inform you of any proposal or active plans in the region where you buy.
This will cover things like extensions that could change your point of view or cause a construction work period.
Google Earth / Street View
You can use this tool to find out how the region has changed over the years …
It is unlikely that this provides you with this crucial information, but you are trying to create an image.
Golden rules
Henry Sherwood has a golden rule that he shares with customers: “Never buy without seeing a minimum of twice, once during the week and once the weekend.
“If possible, also take a look outside late at night after the agents closed at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. Discover the times that are important to you.
You might be unlucky
In the end, there is no way to guarantee peaceful and quiet coexistence.
Sherwood said: “There is no guarantee that your neighbors will be long term because the current owners could sell, rent it, turn into HMO or Airbnb.”
Back on the mumsnet thread that we mentioned earlier, a poster entitled Thirtytimesround illustrated the point: “We have repelled several times at different times of the day to sit in the car near the house and listen to see if someone noisy. It helped. But honestly, so lucky is involved.
“Like, we bought in a quiet road in a smart neighborhood and my neighbors are a nice nice and generous couple in their forties. And their room is on the other side of the wall and they have a very noisy sex 😐 more little time after moving forward, they bought a dog that barks all the time that we have been lucky.
“We are likely to move because of them !!”