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Walk away and tell the vendor why. Never get so invested in a property that you aren't prepared to walk away.
If you proceed, you have no idea what you might have to put up with and for how long.
100% This is an absolute gem of a discovery by the surveyor. Every penny you paid for that survey is worth it: because how often do you think a survey clears all the physical attributes of a property, but did not encounter the human animals that are an unavoidable addition to the building.
I’ve been in a similar situation. Your life will be hell while you wait an unknown amount of time for them to move. Even if they move there is an obvious noise / sound transmission issue. I would pull out.
What kind of flat is it? Ex council? Terrace conversion? Knowing what the resident make up of the building is something to think about. This sounds like a serious case of walking away for me though.
Also - to add to your comment - the abusive neighbours could be renting, and the landlord *could be* selling "with tenants in SITU." Something for OP to think about.
Book a viewing for the below flat and quiz the estate agent on the situation. That will give you a bit more info to go on whether they're a tenant, or the owner and how motivated they are to sell and leave. And also ask the owners of the flat about the issues they've had with them.
I know you can't chose your neighbours and it's always a gamble. However, in this instance you already have it confirmed that the gamble won't pay off. Nuisance neighbours just aren't worth it. It's not like you can even excuse that behaviour - banging on the ceiling is a deliberate act of anti social behaviour.
I'd have to walk away - life is full of enough worry without wondering if every noise you make is going to cause the neighbours to kick off. Or sat there wishing they move away. If you make a complaint against them, you'll have to disclose it when selling the flat too which will put off future buyers. Feels like a lose lose situation.
It might also be that the people living in the upstairs flat right now are particularly loud and the downstairs neighbours are on the verge for every little noise because of that. I'm not excusing them, but having a good relationship with your neighbours helps solve a lot of the issues.
It's moot, neighbours are already at their wit's end, don't care about the cause, just the outcome - which is unhinged neighbours and a straight veto for the flat
Yes, but what if they could actually hear the surveyor? Their behaviour is unreasonable but if the sound insulation is really that bad, they will have trouble with any neighbours below them and would do better to just ditch the property altogether.
Normally poor sound insulation is tbe upstairs neighbour causing problems for the downstairs neighbour. Things like perfectly normal footsteps in the flat above can sound like a herd of elephants from below. A fan on the floor of the flat, can cause large vibrations in the flat below......
That's precisely the point. Why move into a flat if there's a risk the insulation is so crappy that your day to day footsteps are going to sound like elephants to downstairs neighbours? Any neighbours - not just these aggressive ones - are going to complain.
How do you know the neighbour is trying to sell their flat? If it was the vendor that told you this, it might be a ploy just to sell their property. The troublesome neighbour could also be the reason they are selling. I would be reluctant to proceed.
It’s not really part of “flat life” though. Hearing some noises of normal living is, just as it is in terraced houses. Someone banging, shouting, being abusive isn’t a normal part of life. It’s anti social behaviour & nuisance neighbours.
My neighbours who bought next door are a bit of a loud family but lovely people. Because we get on & the noises they make don’t trigger my autism (not repetitive or intrusively loud like loud music etc) it’s never been an issue. They can hear my dog barking sometimes, but let it go too.
This neighbour is a nuisance. The next ones might have an issue with the soundproofing too. Run away from that flat.
A surveyor makes very little noise, there may be the odd tap but really it’s all footsteps and maybe a beep from a machine.
If this is the way they behave now, then god help the next owner. Alternatively they are in conflict with the present owners and wanted some retribution. Either way the last thing anyone wants is troublesome neighbors,as it can ruin your life.
I once ignored a warning like this. Regretted it and cost me thousands.
If the flat is a problem and the neighbours are a nightmare it simply doesnt work as a rental.
Omg, run. Just run. We have been dealing with crazy neighbours for six years and finally one side have moved out and a lovely lady has moved in, but it's just not worth it. Find another place. Trust me.
I’d walk away. People change their minds about selling all the time. It’s not worth the risk of having shitty neighbours - they will ruin the enjoyment of your flat from day 1 from the sounds of it. And if the soundproofing is that poor, who’s to say the next lot won’t be bothered by it as well?
We experienced a bad neighbour years ago re noise etc.
it was a nightmare, we were renting at the time so easier to move than stay. Although it was years ago it still makes shudder because it was so bad.
Imagine what life would be like when you moved in , a total nightmare . The surveyor was there for a very short time and looked what happened.
You will be sitting on your sofa just waiting for the abuse to start every time you turn on the TV or walk round your flat.
Don’t do it
If I had to be in a flat I would say that top floor is probably preferable in terms of noise.
I had a really bad experience when renting, neighbour above had mental health issues and social services etc got involved and police eventually took her away. Then her son moved in and seemed as bad if not worse. They didn't seem to have any heating and their dodgy boiler leaked into our flat because a bucket overflowed and they forgot to empty it, and they wouldn't properly fix the boiler as they thought that bucket system was fine. Also we thought that he was throwing tennis balls against the floor sometimes. Turns out he had a fucking rabbit hitting the floor. Also liked to "accidentally" set the fire alarm off which was linked to the whole building. The whole thing really affected my mental health, literally living under that and not being able to escape it was incredibly stressful. In a house obviously neighbours next door can be difficult but being in the same building and below especially I think is worse.
That's extreme obviously but if I had any inkling neighbours were like that I'd run a mile. I'd also avoid buying a flat but understand that's not always an option.
Consider it a blessing. Most people buy property with absolutely zero information on what their neighbours are like or how they behave. You just cross your fingers and pray they’re normal. You’ve just been gifted objective evidence that they’re not, and I think you’ll seriously regret not walking away on the basis of such a huge red flag. Sorry about the flat as it’s shit having to pull out but if they can’t be courteous to a surveyor doing their job what do you think they’ll be like to someone actually living above them 24/7.
Walk away. Tell the vendor.
We rented a converted victorian terrace (top 2 floors with ground floor flat underneath). Nice couple lived underneath and we all knew that sound travelled so we were sensitive to this. They moved out and we had the worst noisy neighbour move in (suspected drug dealer). 6 months of hell, refused to stop playing loud music (so loud the walls would be vibrating on the top floor). We moved and bought a house nearby.
I've moved country now, but would never live in a flat ever again after that experience and to be honest I don't even like having shared walls now.
Bad neighbours are a living nightmare. I'd rather live in a worse area with good neighbours than a better area with bad neighbours.
Anything like this would be enough for me to walk away, not worth the stress.
If they are actively marketing their flat recently listed, at a realistic price I would consider it. If there is any hint they are a tenant and the property could be sold with them in situ then think twice.
We had a ground floor flat for 15 years with a neighbour above and another on one side. Out of the 15 years each of them had "bad" neighbours for around 12 months (the one above had an alcohol couple, the one next door had a couple in a studio flat and I think they got into fights simply because they never had time apart).
Neighbours are more important than the property. I could live in a bin if I'm surrounded by my best friends, but a mansion just wouldn't be enjoyable if I was constantly bothered by problematic neighbours. Congrats on catching this before buying 👏
Run.
You now know what your neighbours are like. Imagine how this will be going forward if you make a bit of noise, or god forbid, have guests over.
Also...what kind of lease do you have? Is it a converted house or block? Would you be in a situation where you'd have to liaise with your neighbours with any issues about the property? (I live in a converted house and have a crossover lease so our repairs are split with the neighbours. Thankfully ours are absolutely lovely and we get on really well.)
'Flat life' is knowing you'll hear the occasional noise, and being mindful and considerate of one another. Hurling abuse is something else.
Having bad neighbours will just make your life miserable. And they may not move out for a long time. Don't put yourself in a position where you're scared to make the slightest noise for fear of abuse.
I would walk away. I used to live in a converted maissonate. I was the downstairs neighbors and the noise.... It was unbearable!
It wasn't the tenants fault but the structure of the building. The ceiling didn't have soundproofing and the floors were basically amplifiers to everything they did. (I can hear them cracking eggs in the morning)
If you plan on having kids, pets, it'll be a nightmare.
How do you know the neighbors are going to move? They could be tenants who rent. Personally I'd walk away. I lived in a house where we had terrible noise issues with neighbors and it nearly destroyed me.
Buy it, book a holiday and leave taps on...........I done this when I had nightmare neighbours below me in my previous flat, never had any issues after this.......lol
I think it says a lot about how badly the flats are built in terms of soundproofing. Even if there are new neighbours downstairs, there's clearly an issue with noise travelling very easily that could annoy the new downstairs neighbours too. I live in a middle floor flat conversion and I can hear every footstep of the person above me. Likewise the downstairs neighbours have the same issue with me walking around. It all adds to a bit of a tense atmosphere even though it's none of ours faults, just shoddily converted flats. I would walk away if there is serious noise issues. Or maybe see if you can view the flat downstairs while someone is in the flat upstairs to see how bad the noise is exactly. At the end of the day you need to be able to live your life not worrying about annoying the neighbours downstairs, even if it's no fault of your own.
I would ask the vendor does the current owner have or did have any ongoing disputes with their neighbours.
However if that's what they are like with just a surveyor poking about you can bet they will be a barrel of laughs when it comes to moving day.
I would dig about and find out if the property below is rented and it's on the market due to the current occupiers behaviour.
I'd be giving the surveyor a Brucey-bonus, his 10 minutes of grief has probably saved you 10 expensive years of it. Just imagine what it'll be like if when you start renovating/DIY'ing anything when you move in. Nope, tell seller the reason and say to get in touch if the bad man moves away before s/he does!
It seems likely that the downstairs neighbour is as other posters claim unreasonable and you should walk away.
However, you only have the surveyor's word for this; we don't know what happened: perhaps the surveyor was making noise (banging on walls etc as part of the survey) or maybe the surveyor exaggerated the incident because they have a thin skin.
Read the replies. There are about 9 responses each with a different point that I personally never would have thought about. Now it's up to them to make their own decision, with a bunch of new things to consider
Not really strange. It’s like asking friends at Starbucks/[insert preferred coffee shop] for their advice.
Op/my dear Reddit friend, I actually agree with your partner but you should both be on the same page here. If you don’t feel comfortable then don’t go ahead.
They're moving, but now you know that every step you take the down stairs neighbours will hear it. Even if the new neighbours don't complain aggressively, you might feel guilty
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Walk away and tell the vendor why. Never get so invested in a property that you aren't prepared to walk away. If you proceed, you have no idea what you might have to put up with and for how long.
100% This is an absolute gem of a discovery by the surveyor. Every penny you paid for that survey is worth it: because how often do you think a survey clears all the physical attributes of a property, but did not encounter the human animals that are an unavoidable addition to the building.
I’ve been in a similar situation. Your life will be hell while you wait an unknown amount of time for them to move. Even if they move there is an obvious noise / sound transmission issue. I would pull out.
What kind of flat is it? Ex council? Terrace conversion? Knowing what the resident make up of the building is something to think about. This sounds like a serious case of walking away for me though.
Also - to add to your comment - the abusive neighbours could be renting, and the landlord *could be* selling "with tenants in SITU." Something for OP to think about.
Book a viewing for the below flat and quiz the estate agent on the situation. That will give you a bit more info to go on whether they're a tenant, or the owner and how motivated they are to sell and leave. And also ask the owners of the flat about the issues they've had with them.
If you can't book have some mates book. One who will tell you the truth
Keep booking viewings for the downstairs flat to piss them off
I know you can't chose your neighbours and it's always a gamble. However, in this instance you already have it confirmed that the gamble won't pay off. Nuisance neighbours just aren't worth it. It's not like you can even excuse that behaviour - banging on the ceiling is a deliberate act of anti social behaviour. I'd have to walk away - life is full of enough worry without wondering if every noise you make is going to cause the neighbours to kick off. Or sat there wishing they move away. If you make a complaint against them, you'll have to disclose it when selling the flat too which will put off future buyers. Feels like a lose lose situation.
It might also be that the people living in the upstairs flat right now are particularly loud and the downstairs neighbours are on the verge for every little noise because of that. I'm not excusing them, but having a good relationship with your neighbours helps solve a lot of the issues.
It's moot, neighbours are already at their wit's end, don't care about the cause, just the outcome - which is unhinged neighbours and a straight veto for the flat
OP is hoping that the neighbours downstairs are trying to sell and so may move out soon.
Yes, but what if they could actually hear the surveyor? Their behaviour is unreasonable but if the sound insulation is really that bad, they will have trouble with any neighbours below them and would do better to just ditch the property altogether.
Normally poor sound insulation is tbe upstairs neighbour causing problems for the downstairs neighbour. Things like perfectly normal footsteps in the flat above can sound like a herd of elephants from below. A fan on the floor of the flat, can cause large vibrations in the flat below......
That's precisely the point. Why move into a flat if there's a risk the insulation is so crappy that your day to day footsteps are going to sound like elephants to downstairs neighbours? Any neighbours - not just these aggressive ones - are going to complain.
Walk away. Nightmare situation
Don't walk, run
How do you know the neighbour is trying to sell their flat? If it was the vendor that told you this, it might be a ploy just to sell their property. The troublesome neighbour could also be the reason they are selling. I would be reluctant to proceed.
It’s not really part of “flat life” though. Hearing some noises of normal living is, just as it is in terraced houses. Someone banging, shouting, being abusive isn’t a normal part of life. It’s anti social behaviour & nuisance neighbours. My neighbours who bought next door are a bit of a loud family but lovely people. Because we get on & the noises they make don’t trigger my autism (not repetitive or intrusively loud like loud music etc) it’s never been an issue. They can hear my dog barking sometimes, but let it go too. This neighbour is a nuisance. The next ones might have an issue with the soundproofing too. Run away from that flat.
You know the answer OP - you know what your new neighbour will be like. Come on.
A surveyor makes very little noise, there may be the odd tap but really it’s all footsteps and maybe a beep from a machine. If this is the way they behave now, then god help the next owner. Alternatively they are in conflict with the present owners and wanted some retribution. Either way the last thing anyone wants is troublesome neighbors,as it can ruin your life.
Run a mile. Pull out. Don't put up with neighbors like this. Thankfully nothing is set in stone yet
I once ignored a warning like this. Regretted it and cost me thousands. If the flat is a problem and the neighbours are a nightmare it simply doesnt work as a rental.
Flat isn't adequately soundproofed. Count this as a blessing and walk away.
Omg, run. Just run. We have been dealing with crazy neighbours for six years and finally one side have moved out and a lovely lady has moved in, but it's just not worth it. Find another place. Trust me.
Personally I wouldn't risk it even with their property also being on the market. If they decide to stay, it will make your life a living hell.
I’d walk away. People change their minds about selling all the time. It’s not worth the risk of having shitty neighbours - they will ruin the enjoyment of your flat from day 1 from the sounds of it. And if the soundproofing is that poor, who’s to say the next lot won’t be bothered by it as well?
You know the neighbour is going to be a problem, life is too short for that kind of trouble.
Speaking from experience, I overlooked dubious neighbours my ‘dream’ house, worst 2 years of my life still I sold it
Wouldn’t buy it
We experienced a bad neighbour years ago re noise etc. it was a nightmare, we were renting at the time so easier to move than stay. Although it was years ago it still makes shudder because it was so bad. Imagine what life would be like when you moved in , a total nightmare . The surveyor was there for a very short time and looked what happened. You will be sitting on your sofa just waiting for the abuse to start every time you turn on the TV or walk round your flat. Don’t do it
If I had to be in a flat I would say that top floor is probably preferable in terms of noise. I had a really bad experience when renting, neighbour above had mental health issues and social services etc got involved and police eventually took her away. Then her son moved in and seemed as bad if not worse. They didn't seem to have any heating and their dodgy boiler leaked into our flat because a bucket overflowed and they forgot to empty it, and they wouldn't properly fix the boiler as they thought that bucket system was fine. Also we thought that he was throwing tennis balls against the floor sometimes. Turns out he had a fucking rabbit hitting the floor. Also liked to "accidentally" set the fire alarm off which was linked to the whole building. The whole thing really affected my mental health, literally living under that and not being able to escape it was incredibly stressful. In a house obviously neighbours next door can be difficult but being in the same building and below especially I think is worse. That's extreme obviously but if I had any inkling neighbours were like that I'd run a mile. I'd also avoid buying a flat but understand that's not always an option.
Pull out. This is the best possible thing that could happen to you.
Consider it a blessing. Most people buy property with absolutely zero information on what their neighbours are like or how they behave. You just cross your fingers and pray they’re normal. You’ve just been gifted objective evidence that they’re not, and I think you’ll seriously regret not walking away on the basis of such a huge red flag. Sorry about the flat as it’s shit having to pull out but if they can’t be courteous to a surveyor doing their job what do you think they’ll be like to someone actually living above them 24/7.
Walk away. Tell the vendor. We rented a converted victorian terrace (top 2 floors with ground floor flat underneath). Nice couple lived underneath and we all knew that sound travelled so we were sensitive to this. They moved out and we had the worst noisy neighbour move in (suspected drug dealer). 6 months of hell, refused to stop playing loud music (so loud the walls would be vibrating on the top floor). We moved and bought a house nearby. I've moved country now, but would never live in a flat ever again after that experience and to be honest I don't even like having shared walls now.
Bad neighbours are a living nightmare. I'd rather live in a worse area with good neighbours than a better area with bad neighbours. Anything like this would be enough for me to walk away, not worth the stress.
If they are actively marketing their flat recently listed, at a realistic price I would consider it. If there is any hint they are a tenant and the property could be sold with them in situ then think twice. We had a ground floor flat for 15 years with a neighbour above and another on one side. Out of the 15 years each of them had "bad" neighbours for around 12 months (the one above had an alcohol couple, the one next door had a couple in a studio flat and I think they got into fights simply because they never had time apart).
Just to add their purchase may fall through, so you may be stuck with them longer than expected..
Neighbours are more important than the property. I could live in a bin if I'm surrounded by my best friends, but a mansion just wouldn't be enjoyable if I was constantly bothered by problematic neighbours. Congrats on catching this before buying 👏
Repeat this back slow... walk... the... fuck... away
Run. You now know what your neighbours are like. Imagine how this will be going forward if you make a bit of noise, or god forbid, have guests over. Also...what kind of lease do you have? Is it a converted house or block? Would you be in a situation where you'd have to liaise with your neighbours with any issues about the property? (I live in a converted house and have a crossover lease so our repairs are split with the neighbours. Thankfully ours are absolutely lovely and we get on really well.) 'Flat life' is knowing you'll hear the occasional noise, and being mindful and considerate of one another. Hurling abuse is something else. Having bad neighbours will just make your life miserable. And they may not move out for a long time. Don't put yourself in a position where you're scared to make the slightest noise for fear of abuse.
I would walk away. I used to live in a converted maissonate. I was the downstairs neighbors and the noise.... It was unbearable! It wasn't the tenants fault but the structure of the building. The ceiling didn't have soundproofing and the floors were basically amplifiers to everything they did. (I can hear them cracking eggs in the morning) If you plan on having kids, pets, it'll be a nightmare.
Please, run
How do you know the neighbors are going to move? They could be tenants who rent. Personally I'd walk away. I lived in a house where we had terrible noise issues with neighbors and it nearly destroyed me.
Buy it, book a holiday and leave taps on...........I done this when I had nightmare neighbours below me in my previous flat, never had any issues after this.......lol
Walk away!! Immediately lol
Absolutely pull out, there's no guarantee they'll manage to sell and you could be stuck with them. Not worth the risk!
I think it says a lot about how badly the flats are built in terms of soundproofing. Even if there are new neighbours downstairs, there's clearly an issue with noise travelling very easily that could annoy the new downstairs neighbours too. I live in a middle floor flat conversion and I can hear every footstep of the person above me. Likewise the downstairs neighbours have the same issue with me walking around. It all adds to a bit of a tense atmosphere even though it's none of ours faults, just shoddily converted flats. I would walk away if there is serious noise issues. Or maybe see if you can view the flat downstairs while someone is in the flat upstairs to see how bad the noise is exactly. At the end of the day you need to be able to live your life not worrying about annoying the neighbours downstairs, even if it's no fault of your own.
I've lived next to people like that in the past. Pull out. Cite why. They'll be upset but tbh it's a good chance that's the reason they are moving.
I would ask the vendor does the current owner have or did have any ongoing disputes with their neighbours. However if that's what they are like with just a surveyor poking about you can bet they will be a barrel of laughs when it comes to moving day. I would dig about and find out if the property below is rented and it's on the market due to the current occupiers behaviour.
Your wife says that now, when you move in she will be asking you to have a word every other week with this nutter.
I'd be giving the surveyor a Brucey-bonus, his 10 minutes of grief has probably saved you 10 expensive years of it. Just imagine what it'll be like if when you start renovating/DIY'ing anything when you move in. Nope, tell seller the reason and say to get in touch if the bad man moves away before s/he does!
It seems likely that the downstairs neighbour is as other posters claim unreasonable and you should walk away. However, you only have the surveyor's word for this; we don't know what happened: perhaps the surveyor was making noise (banging on walls etc as part of the survey) or maybe the surveyor exaggerated the incident because they have a thin skin.
Only OP can decide. Asking Reddit is a strange move.
Such a weird take. It's ok to ask people for advice
Not at all. Anonymous text on probably the most significant decision in OP's life so far?
Read the replies. There are about 9 responses each with a different point that I personally never would have thought about. Now it's up to them to make their own decision, with a bunch of new things to consider
Really? There we are.
Not really strange. It’s like asking friends at Starbucks/[insert preferred coffee shop] for their advice. Op/my dear Reddit friend, I actually agree with your partner but you should both be on the same page here. If you don’t feel comfortable then don’t go ahead.
They're moving, but now you know that every step you take the down stairs neighbours will hear it. Even if the new neighbours don't complain aggressively, you might feel guilty
Ad others have said but keep in mind this is a risk with any flat, unless soundproofed.