Sell now or hold off?

kittex

Just looking for some opinions on this.

I live in a modern flat, in Glasgow, 5 minutes walk from the city centre. It is an area where prices are creeping up.

The street is lovely and quiet, rare for the area.
But I have been thinking of moving at the end of the year as I need a bigger place and the sound leakage in modern flats is driving me nuts.

There are 2 empty fields surrounding the street, making things look rather derelict. These are being turned into flats and offices soon. I think the building starts next year.

I’d expect any development like this would help the value of my property.
From the planning request and similar developments in the area, most likely they will be about the same size but 50% more expensive.

So would I be right in thinking that financially, it might be a good idea to postpone the move, to stay as long as I can to get the best out of my investment?
Maybe there are (affordable) steps I can take to soundproof the flat in the meantime?

In other people’s experiences, would that be the right thing to do?
I’d be gutted if I sold only to find the price rocket a year later.

lomb

if u sold and bought something else it would be the same thing wouldnt it?
in any case soundproofing can be done VERY effictivaly by bonding using a bonding compound 2 thicknesses of gyproc 15mm soundbloc partition board to the party walls. the roof space is more complicated if sounds are coming from above or below but this is unlikely as the roofs and floors must be reinforced concrete. u should be able to get 55 DB sound blocking at least i reakon.

kittex

Cheers for that advice lomb. I may ask you more about that in the future.

Regarding it being the same situation anywhere else - I would be looking to move a step up, into a more established area.
Basically I think that the development here will increase the value on our street at a higher rate than the general property price rise. I'd hate to miss out on that due to noisy neighbours.

I guess I'm just looking to see if my thinking about the development being a good thing, is generally sound.

PS: Yes the noise issues are coming mainly from above.

Lex Luthor

move anyway and rent it

iguana

kittex wrote:

I need a bigger place and the sound leakage in modern flats is driving me nuts.

There are 2 empty fields surrounding the street, making things look rather derelict. These are being turned into flats and offices soon. I think the building starts next year.

While the development may increase the value of your property, there is a lot to factor in. First off how long do you think think these developments will take to complete? They could be years, if the neighbour noise bothers you now, how will you cope with the sounds of the building works. Imagine a Saturday night in summer, you come home after a night out, it's so hot you leave your window open. You're awoken at 9am to the sounds of hammers, drills diggers. You close you're window, it doesn't really help and you realise that this is just the start. How much is it worth to you not to deal with that?

What if you decide to sell in the middle of the development? Every single potential buyer is going to be imagining that exact scenario, even if the reality isn't that bad.

Also once the development is complete how do you know if and when your property will rise in value? Remember if there are a lot of new flats built in the area it is possible supply will outstrip demand. That could mean a loss in value of your flat because unless it is wonderfully unique why would someone pay more for yours? Sure if you play the long-game and can wait until the new flats fill up you could see a significant rise in value, but this is your home and you already feel it doesn't meet your needs. Are you prepared to wait a potential 5 years to see this rise in value.

It could be worth doing as Lex Luther suggested and renting out your current flat, while buying a new home. You could do this if you have savings for a deposit for your new home, or you could investigate releasing the equity on your flat. Talk to a financial advisor about this option. But remember to thourougly research every angle of this. Expected rental, maintainence costs, void weeks/months, can you afford an interest rate hike and how likely would it be to get tenants willing to live next to a building site. But it is a possibility.

Depending on your situation I would suggest that you put your energy into researching other areas which look as if they could rise in value in the future. And concentrate on finding a home there that is suitable for your current needs. Or find a house that needs cosmetic improvement so you can add value yourself. There are no guarantees about how property may rise in the future, so you should make finding a place you are happy to live in your priority.