A great financial deal, the property’s condition and the local amenities are the top factors that influence people buying a home in the UK, according to new research, but for many the dream turns sour quite quickly.
But once they move in it is not necessarily their dream home with noisy neighbours and unexpected issues, including heavy traffic, spoiling their enjoyment, the study from home interiors specialist Hillarys found.
It shows that one on three buyers realise it’s not their dream home within a few months of moving in and they admit they have considered selling and moving with 5% actually looking for a new home.
The research looked at people who had bought their current home within the past two years. They were asked about their new home, their decision to buy and their current feelings towards the purchase.
The research shows that the average time from finding a home to buy to moving in was 10 months and the biggest group, 27%, chose the property because it was a good price and they felt they had obtained a great financial deal.
Some 26% bought their property because of the condition it was in and 23% were swayed by the local amenities but the research suggests that they may not have done enough research before buying.
Indeed, 35% of those taking part in the research said there were issues that arose that made them regret buying their home. When asked how long it had taken for them to realise their home wasn’t as perfect as they’d thought, the average response was revealed as five months.
The top reason for disliking their new home was noisy and disruptive neighbours with 41% citing this as the main reason, followed by 36% finding the property was in a worse condition than they realised.
The study also found that 33% found there was heavy traffic outside their new home and this put them off while 24% were annoyed by parents parking outside when dropping off and picking up children from school and 20% found litter everywhere on the street.
When asked how they dealt with noisy, disruptive neighbours, some 73% confessed that they didn’t say anything to their neighbours out of fear of making the situation worse.
‘There’s nothing more exciting that finding your dream home, but then there’s nothing worse than moving into your dream home and realising it’s not as much of a dream as you had hoped,’ said Tanya Irons, spokesperson for Hillarys.
‘Whether your neighbours are unbearable, the house is falling down around you or the traffic outside is loud and constant, the smallest thing can make the dream come crashing down. It’s always worth being realistic as nothing’s ever perfect and you need to make the most of the situation,’ she added.
