selling/buying/renting/doing nothing angst.

tomstickland

I'm in a bit of a quandary really.
I bought a 1 bed flat 3.5 years ago and have lived in it since then. I love the location, it has great views over a communal garden, loads of open space and is conveniently located.

However, there was a really miserable 6 month patch last year when an idiot moved into one of the flats and had his suspicious looking friends coming and going at all hours. They created a lot of noise and mess: doors banging, music, cars with loud exhausts, shouting in the early hours etc

I'm more and more aware that I'm at the mercy of whoever chooses to move in to the nearby units and it makes me feel nervous.

So I'm sort of thinking about moving somewhere else. I've started to see 1 bedroom coach houses come onto the market for reasonable money. These are essentially a 1 bed flat with a garage built above a set of 3 garages. They have the advantage of being detached.

I spoke to my lender today and I could borrow twice as much as such a place would cost me. The monthly mortgage cost would be around £700. I pay around £600 pcm at the moment once I include management fees on top of the mortgage. I'm thorougly fed up with the management company for our block of flats anyway, so getting rid of them is appealing.

I've found a coach house that's in a reasonable location, maybe not the most inspiring place, but tidy enough. It needs a bit of decoration work, but is basically in sound condition. It's slightly further away from work though. The agent said that if I wanted a similar place but in a closer town then it'd be £20K more. I went to take a look today. I asked a neighbour what it was like on that road and they said "I've been here 14 years, it's really nice and quiet", which sounded promising.

I've also had a look at rental properties and there's loads of really nice places for £600-700 pcm. I'm talking about cottages surrounded by fields and such like. I'm quite tempted by the idea of renting a place with a friend and just enjoying that feeling that I could move if I wanted to. None of the worry of negative equity etc.

My head says that I should stay where I am, pay off more mortgage and see what happens over the next year.
My heart says to get on with it and make a move. I think I've sort of fallen out of love with my flat and want to plan my next move.

Now I know that I could borrow more I wonder whether it'd be better use of the money to buy somewhere slightly more expensive, but that gives me something more. ie: pay more and get something better for the money.

So, lots of questions. I think I'll get my current place valued and see where that takes me.

poppysarah

Can you see back here but living in a coach house saying

"
However, there was a really miserable 6 month patch last year when an idiot moved in and started using the garages which created a lot of noise and mess: doors banging, music, cars with loud exhausts, shouting in the early hours etc"

tomstickland

Yes, but you could see me back here saying "I bought an end of terrace but the neighbours were lunatics" or "I bought a detached house but the neighbours drove me mad with their endless noise from the garden".
So I accept that there's a risk everywhere, but I think the risk of noise from being over 2 garages is lower than the risks from being in a ground floor flat with a bedroom by the front door.

Doozergirl

Presumably a coach house is going to be leasehold as well because you can't have a flying freehold. How does the upkeep/maintenance work with the garage owners? Do they contribute at all? Is there any need to?

I would pay to escape the clutches of a managing agent. Life is certainly simpler without them. And leting agents for that matter. I've never felt tied down by ownership though.

poppysarah

I think if you've got your eye on one you should drive past the area/coach house at about 7pm on Friday night and then at 9pm. If it's like the ones I've seen it's where the kids hang out.

With only one person to annoy and phone the police you will get no where if it is a problem area.

tomstickland

It's freehold and the 2 garages are leased off the owner of the coach house. I really am totally fed up with the management company. Why they have to be so difficult to deal with I'll never know.

The location is actually quite tight - there's no grass area around it for children/youths to congregate on. Who would have thought that that was a good thing?

Yes, I plan on making several surprise visits to the location and to have a good think about it.

Fire_Fox

Seems to me like you are running away from your present situation rather than you actually want this coach house, which you admit is not inspiring! How much is it going to cost you to move - estate agents, removals, survey, solicitors fees, extra interest, decoration, additional time to get to work? How long is another one bedroom place going to suit you, most really aren't for couples and you will have no outside space? How much effort have you made to chivvy up or oust the current management company through the proper channels? Did you complain to the proper authorities about the neighbour noise and complete a noise diary?

There are apartment complexes which do not have the problems you mention, my parents have been in theirs about twelve years without major issues. They now own a share of the freehold so appoint their own management company, they have a top floor end of corridor duplex so no passing footfall, the block is a mix of young-ish retired and young-ish professionals with very few BTLs. The difference really is they aren't starter flats - not many one bedrooms.

tomstickland

To a degree that is true. Sorting the nusiance neighbours was a major hassle because the landlord wasn't interested, so I had to talk to environmental health. My good neighbour from above moved out as a result of the inaction in dealing with them. Once the police started turning up then I knew it was moving towards the end.

It's resolved now, but I'm all too aware at how fragile my peace is.

There are other reasons too. This isn't a sudden thing, it's a longer term plan too. I've been looking at coach houses for a good while. It's just that the prices have started coming down towards what I'm prepared to pay recently.

Fire_Fox

tomstickland wrote: »

To a degree that is true. Sorting the nusiance neighbours was a major hassle because the landlord wasn't interested, so I had to talk to environmental health. My good neighbour from above moved out as a result of the inaction in dealing with them. Once the police started turning up then I knew it was moving towards the end.

You should have been dealing with Environmental Health from the start, they have far more 'teeth' than a landlord and don't have a vested interest in keeping the money rolling in. A landlord cannot evict within the AST period unless there are major breaches of the tenancy agreement; if they gave notice on the grounds of noise nuisance they'd need proof ... from EH.

I can't see the point in moving to somewhere else of the same size when you can afford somewhere larger, unless you see yourself long term in a one bedroom place? Two bedrooms have so much more flexibility - you can take in a lodger, have overnight guests, use the second bedroom as an office/ dining room, get married and have a baby, let the entire place to professional sharers or another couple.

tomstickland

Well, there were several things to consider regarding the nuisance neighbours.
Either way, this isn't all doom and gloom. It's about me deciding that the time has come to move on.

silvercar

Thinking ahead, will it be difficult to sell the coach house?

I know you find it attractive, but I doubt many people would be attracted to a cold one bed with no garden. (I say cold because you are on top of unheated garages).

How is the price of your property doing? Weren't you the person that "found" a garage on completion?