Can anyone help me - good advice / motivation needed

I-Want-To-Move

Hi everyone,
I currently own a little house next door to some very annoying neighbours, they are actually very nice people but noisy late at night. It's making my life hell as I can't get any sleep and I'm getting so wound up about the situation that it's leaving me feeling anxious and affecting my mood. It isn't loud music so not something I can ask them to do something about, it's a constant background noise from their TV which I can hear in bed (from their lounge) until early hours of the morning, every morning. It is just thin walls in a very small house and I don't feel comfortable approaching them about it.
I've decided I definately want to move and the sooner the better but it feels like a pipe dream that will never actually come true.
I earn £12k a year, have a £10k debt (circumstances at that time but I am paying it back slowly but surely).
All the houses in a reasonable part of the area are around the £125k mark. I need to reach that goal otherwise there is no point moving from what I have now.
How on earth am I going to achieve it? Has anyone else got there when it seemed impossible? How did you do it?

PasturesNew

There are only two things you can do:
1] Earn more
2] Move to where houses are cheaper.

You might have to try to achieve both.

I moved where houses were cheaper and found a way to get paid more over the next 2-3 years, but it was all "luck" and not by design.

I-Want-To-Move

Thanks for replying. Guess no one can tell me more than I already know. I'm just desperate for a quick solution. I've got a lottery ticket ready for Wednesday so will keep my fingers crossed.

There is no chance of payrise or promotion at work. We've had a pay freeze for years, and this is following 4 day weeks and several rounds of redundancies over the years. Have looked around at other jobs but they pay less than what I'm on now for longer hours. I can't increase the hours I work at the moment due to personal reasons but that is something that will change in the future.

Have thought about re-training but have no idea what I could do.. pathetic but true.

I bought my house in a cheaper area which is the reason I'm stuck now.

I moved several miles away to an area where I could afford to buy and got a very little house which is very nice but far too small to raise a family in which is the situation I am in now and not in a area I would have chosen if I'd known what it was like. That's why I've set myself a target of £125k for my next house - I need to make sure it is in a better area. It still won't be the best of the local areas but better than where we are now so I am being reasonable in what it is I want to achieve.

Foxy-Stoat_3

If the neighbours are nice people, ask them to turn the tv down a few numbers after 11pm or something, might make all the difference....it will be free and money saving!

Maybe get them to leave the telly on and ask them round so they can hear it from your place...its probabley a big flat screen on the wall with the base thuding through the wall.

Failing that you could try installing a couple of layers of acoustic plasterboard to the facing wall, but I would try the free option first.

Lord_Baltimore

Bear in mind that you could move from the frying pan into the fire: there's no guarantee that your next neighbour will be quiet. Your first option has to be to try and get your current neighbour onside; don't forget, at the moment they don't even know they are troubling you.

Mention it to them; nicely for starters. This sort of thing goes hand in hand with having a home. Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do.

LADYXXMACBETH

If agree with most of what people say. They probably don't know the tv can be heard through the wall. I think you need to go round in person and tell them that you can hear an awful lot through the wall. It may very we'll be that there is a tv on the wall. Our neighbour had a fish tank pushed right against the wall downstairs and you could here it upstairs they moved it away from the wall no longer hear it.
Have you thought about a bit of sound proofing ? It doesn't have to be expensive. You can buy the tiles cheapish and my neighbour swears by them. Good luck it must be awful.

valerie57

Have you thought of trying ear plugs? You can get them in Boots. They take a little bit of getting used to but are a lot cheaper than a move. If that idea is no good I would agree you should try talking to the neighbours in a friendly way.

Perelandra

Since you say you have nice neighbours, I'd approach them to talk about the situation... with cakes. This shows you're not just being a problem neighbour yourself.

If they were neighbours from hell, then the cakes wouldn't make a difference.

Failing that, the sound-cancelling earplugs is a good option. I once spent a year with these, and eye-mask in a rental flat that I found to be too noisy/too bright (thin walls and curtains) at night. I had some of my soundest sleeps ever that year!

DigForVictory

+1 for a friendly chat with cakes. (Wait til December & take mince pies in season?) See if with a little gentle coaxing they won't come & listen to their TV from your bedroom (you may want to phrase that better.)

One inch between the TV & the wall will make a difference - and then you can get your sleep & keep your nice neighbours.

Which are a rarity - so go for the cosseting & coaxing option as moving is hellish.

ACG

How much is your current property worth?
How much is the mortgage outstanding?

If you have £60k equity and you can borrow say £50k (4x income) then your only £15k off.

lord_tyrannus

a cheaper alternative would be to put some acoustic insulation in. you'd need a builder/handy man if you don't want to do it yourself but acoustic foam or insulation is a lot cheaper than moving house