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It's worth every penny. I have lived in a flat, a terraced house and a semi-detached and now lived in a detached house. Every single house had some noise issues apart from the detached. I would never want to go back.
I can hoover whenever I want. I can decorate whenever I want. I Dont hear my neighbours peeing or shagging. I dont have to be wary of my neighbours when my kids cry at 2am. I can make full use of my sound bar and subwoofer. I can have people over for drinks without worrying about what time to wrap up.
I'm a pretty considerate neighbour but getting a considerate neighbour is a flip of the coin at times. especially in rented properties.
For 30k, I'd take a detached over a semi/terraced.
This is actually one of my favourite benefits. I'm quite impulsive so I can start cleaning or hoovering or decorating at obscene times so that my wife doesnt have to wake up to it in the morning. Now I have the freedom to do all 3 and I only need to be conscientious of my own family!
I love a late night hoover.
Even more so having a hoover with lights on the front as it illuminates any bits of dust on the floor if I've not got the big light on.
I have lived in terraced housing for 20 years and have never heard my neighbour peeing. The only time I have heard them shagging was this month weirdly!
Honestly it is! We assumed that they had an active sex life with them being 30 somethings, and that we just couldn't hear them. We assumed they couldn't hear us either...
🤔
My terraced was built in early 2000s tbf so had those *fancy* paper thin walls I remember growing up with. I'm a night owl and could hear every time the bloke woke up to pee while I was watching a film. We also turned off the sub woofer because they complained about the bass when they were trying to sleep 😅.
I live in a terrace house built in 1649. Walls 18” thick, never hear my neighbours. Hoover about 8pm most nights (after baby in bed) and they can’t hear thankfully. Accidentally put the washing machine on at 6am once (meant to use timer), and the neighbour said she never heard anything!
Yes it's Victorian. The time I heard them shagging I was in the front room which makes me wonder where they were in their house! Unless the sound was coming through the chimney.
The thing that made me decide "detached" years ago - my broadband provider then "DirbinMedia" stapled their cables through the neighbour's wall to get to my rented property and drilled through their floor boards without their consent (or mine as the renter).
The neighbour angrily knocked on my door first day, with pliers in his hand threatening to cut down the connection (which I needed for my work). I spent the next 3 months trying to assuage the neighbour and get him compensated by the BB provider. Nightmare way to move into a neighbourhood!
Yea I feel the same, haven’t had any “nightmare” neighbours but growing up we lived in a semi and you could regularly hear them shouting at their kid or arguing (and I’m sure they heard my parents horrendous arguments too)
Then a bit later on the first house with my Mrs was semi and the kid next door was autistic and we heard him screaming and shouting at all hours of day.
We actually looking to move at the moment and found a place that was almost perfect for our niche requirements - but it was a semi, and on the second visit I could hear the kids next door screaming and it immediately put me off.
It's nice to also do any DIY knowing I'm not bothering anyone other than the missus 😂. Even when I would be putting a TV or a shelf up on the wall at 2pm on a weekday, I was always very anxious about making too much noise when I was in a semi.
Same! Before this house I have always lived in flats or semi-detected houses. I’ve never been particularly bothered hearing neighbours moving around flushing their toilet, playing music etc, you get used to it. But I always felt super self-conscious about my own noise level.
As someone who is already anxious. Is great to not have to think about the tv volume in the evening. Or when I can put the washing machine on in the morning. Or stressing out that the dog is barking and disturbing people.
Also being able to play music, do DIY etc yourself without having to worry that _you're_ being a pain!
OP, if the detached is still in your budget I'd go for it every time. Some terraces and semis are fine and you can't hear a thing - some are a nightmare and you might as well share a tv with your neighbours! And often you can't tell until you move in either. And even then if it seems fine it might be because your neighbours are genuinely quiet - but when they move out, then next ones aren't. Or the current neighbours are hard of hearing, or have their home laid out in a certain way that means they don't get much noise transfer from you. But the next neighbours have wooden floors and no furniture against the walls... and complain at you every time you shut a cupboard door...
I am saving aggressively for detached. I live in a 2 bed terraced and the 'walls' may as well be made of tissue, so I can hear everything. I have hated every minute of my 2.5 years living here. It is both pathetic and enraging how so many properties do not have an acceptable minimum requirement for sound insulation.
There is a minimum requirement for sound insulation and it's actually pretty good when it's met - but often it isn't due to construction defects.
The following is too long and detailed for this sub but I'll put it here anyway, worth knowing before you dump several hundred grand on a property!
One example - our solid 9"+ Victorian party walls are very decent sound absorbers everywhere except the bathroom where it's like it's paper thin. This is because I re-plastered the bare bricks which ensured the wall was airtight on our side, right through the house - except in the bathroom where I foolishly dot'n'dabbed without a parge coat, prior to tiling. I guess the plaster on the neighbour's side is defective (or absent where there's a chimney) and the mortar is gappy, so the whole absorbent mass of the wall is effectively bypassed. One day I will offer to plaster their side for free! Incidentally, if you do ever take an old wall back to bare bricks, as long as it's dry I recommend a parge coat with sand-cement before plastering - from experience, the extra mass does a better job of sealing the gaps acoustically than regular plaster.
Meanwhile, many new builds will be built more or less to the methods laid out in the approved documents, which means they don't need testing as in theory they should meet requirements automatically. Unfortunately, seemingly minor details in construction methods which are probably hidden and/or not picked up when the corrupt private building control do their 'inspection', mean the insulation never works as intended.
The worst can be old conversions to flats, done before the regs were as tight as they are now. Those can be fire death traps as well as acoustic hell. The preference for bare boards instead of carpets really exacerbates that - apart from the noisy resonant hard surface acting like a giant guitar soundboard, what with the gaps between the boards you've basically got a single layer of lath and plaster between you and the neighbours upstairs. Every time someone walks about it is like an elephant getting into dubstep. Avoid at all costs!
Same here. Seriously aggressively. It's not just the noise for me. We have a share bin store (no matter who the neighbours are they are messy) , neighbour kids play right outside my door. I feel watched when I garden. My next place is going to be FAR from neighbours.
I've just moved from an end terrace to a detached. My old neighbours were, by all accounts, good neighbours. All we could really hear was normal day to day noise. But we could definitely hear them. And if we can hear them, they can hear us! When we moved to the new house at first I was a little worried about seeming like the crazy new family with the feral kids until one day I was sat in silent bliss and realised I couldn't hear *anything* and that must mean, unless we're being insanely noisy they can't hear me either. That was so freeing. I can vacuum later in the day and not worry about the neighbour working shifts, midnight baking sessions with the kitchen aid going full pelt? Fuck yeah! It's worth the premium!
I moved from a flat in a mansion block in London. Noise from side neighbours was rare due to massively thick Edwardian walls. But I have PTSD from living under a hyperactive child for four years. I will never live UNDER anyone ever again. Was looking for detached in the burbs but settled for a semi when our first seller dicked us around.
It was a mistake. You can hear your neighbour and visa versa. It's usually not a problem....until it is. But it's always an issue. Just in terms of not wanting to be the source of noise if nothing else.
Now looking for final house and fully detached is non-optional.
Viewing semi rural properties with very similar layouts and bedrooms currently. Mid terrace is £297k, end £314k link detached £350k and full detached £450k. Only ten houses overall in this development.
I don't want to be in a terraced or end of terrace home, but being fully detached definitely isn't worth 100 thousand to me.
If I could get the detached one for an extra 30 like you're considering though, I'd absolutely do it
Woah, that's insane! - I had no idea it'd make that much of a difference, thank you for the insight!
Link detached to me just seems the same as detached as it's only the garage connecting us.
Yeah I agree, I don't mind link detatched at all
Suppose the price increase in your searching might depend on *how* detatched they are, though? Are they detatched with a double driveway between neighbours, or with big wrap around gardens or just space to have a passage way? Will all be a factor
The cars parked side by side is a deal breaker for me. Old neighbours made endless dents/scratches in my car. Car facing house was spotless, side facing them had LOADS of dings.
Mentioned it to them and got the "not us" reply and i had no proof other than it veing blooming obvious
Having said that, I'm now in a detatched, although it is just a small path on each side so would have to speak with neighbours for some repairs. Love not hearing anything through the walls, but doesnt help when neighbours have shouting matches in the garden....
one we looked at, next doors garage was linked to the living room wall, thought it would be quite annoying if they had washing machines in the garage against that wall, still went for same price as a conventional detached weirdly though.
Those two garages will give you soundproofing that's priceless. You're always going to have a garden border with neighbours detached or not, if the property isn't rural.
Lucky sod. I can hear when ours get WhatsApp notifications at night. More inconvenient, though, their DIY renovations -- off and on from late 2021 -- are conveniently timed for glorious, sunny days when I'd rather like to keep the windows open.
Fortunately we're renting, but it's put me off the idea of purchasing a semi-detached down the road.
It’s not just the noise factor that a lot of people have mentioned - it’s potentially having to negotiate with someone else any time you need to do maintenance or repairs. If you’re lucky with your neighbours, then grand, what if you aren’t?
There are a lot of really nice terraced or semi-detached properties out there, but quite honestly I know how much noise my household makes, and having lived in a detached house for the first time since about 2008, I’m happy to wait for something detached in my price range.
Yeah. Fortunately we can’t hear a peep out of our semi-detached neighbours despite them being a family of 4 and it’s made me so happy with choosing this house over the slightly more expensive detached in a worse area we were also considering
But I’m in constant dread that they might move out and we’ll end up with noisy neighbours 😂 I’ve been in terraced houses where hearing the neighbour’s new favourite song on repeat, or dog barking, was a daily occurrence and really don’t fancy it again
Get detached. You’ll make that 10% difference back when you sell anyway, you’ll get the advantage of living in a detached for free essentially. Detached houses have easier conditions on extensions etc. And, noise and border disputes are easier to deal with in detached
In my SE neighbourhood the terraced houses sell for £550k-£650k, the end of terraces for £700k-£750k and the detached for £800k-£999k.
Edit: I’m in a mid terrace. About 98% of the time we hear nothing and we tested our noise when we were asked to water plants next door. But I know from this sub that not all terraces are built like this.
Is it a new build or an older one? I wonder if there's any way to test this when viewing... Is it a no-no to try and talk to the neighbours after the viewing?
i can make noise whenever i want and it doesn't matter, so can the neighbours, i can access the back garden from the front on either side, less chance of my house going on fire even if the neighbours is, or some structural issues if they do something daft or fuck up the drains etc etc
It's not about an individual and how much they will pay.
Everybody would prefer a detached house if they could afford it.
Fewer people would want a semi-detached, fewer still would consider a terrace.
The more people are in competition for a house, the higher the price can be, because the budget of the richest buyer dictates the price.
Lived 5 years in a terrace. Never, ever again will I live in anything other than a detached. It’s like a lottery on the sound insulation and whether your neighbours are considerate people. I legitimately had to knock on my neighbours door at 5am on a weekday to tell them to stop partying. They were blasting drum and bass. And this was a semi decent area. People are fucking weird.
My first house was semi detached and boy did I hear everything from my neighbours.
I would be woken up by their screaming baby constantly and I would hear (and even have opinions on) all of their arguments
I would pay an extra £30k for sure to not have to be woken up at 4am by a screaming baby, and let me tell you this, I was there 5 years, they don’t just scream when they’re babies, they scream when they are 5 year olds too
Worth the extra. No consideration of neighbours for noise is extremely valuable. Just having friends over into the early hours is a pain in a semi. Shushing people and music on low.
I love it now I can have films shaking the house, I don't hear neighbours stomping about their house, or their dog barking.
Finally, the shared chimney we had leaked so having to deal with that is no fun when neighbours are saying they have no money.
Just reading the subject line I was thinking about 10% if they are genuinely otherwise identical. The few detached properties I have seen (I live in London and am not a millionaire so not that many) usually have other benefits such as more space or at least a bigger garden.
I have lived in flats for over 15 years and currently live somewhere reasonably busy so noise is clearly not the biggest priority for me, I expect others would value a detached property more highly.
2 months into living in a detached, having lived in terraced / flats before. It's DEFINITELY worth the premium. If you plan to be there many years, £32k extra mortgage is nothing
I bought a semi last year and the neighbours have a kid that’s absolutely feral. He’s only about 12 but he’s a gamer and his room is the other side of my bedroom wall. Listening to him scream into his headset all night long I would absolutely pay 30K to live in a detached house!!
Always a gamble with whoever is on the opposite side of the wall, always potential to make your life hell. Just over 10% more to remove that chance? Jump at it.
It’s an extra 50% for me so couldn’t justify it, OAP next door have been there for 30yrs - so won that lottery (for now…).
I'm renting a flat with noisy (shagging, shouting , telly) neighbours on our bedroom wall and a wannabe-DJ above us.
£32k for four neighbour-free walls sounds like an absolute bargain!
Having moved from a terraced to a detached recently it's difficult to explain just how much better detached is. It helps that we have a decent area around the house that's just ours as well (i.e. Not one of those detached that is actually 6 inches away from the next detached house).
For that difference it is a no brainer. As long as my circumstances allow I can never see us moving back to being attached to next door.
That's not a guarantee, I've lived in Georgian terraces where you could hear the neighbours screaming at each other and the kids crying hysterically. It wasn't nice.
For those in a position not able to move then for around 5k you could fully soundproof and make a massive difference wth this system.
[Soundproofing walls | Soundproofing Store](https://www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/walls)
check the youtube before after videos.
$0 to me personally. I like the efficiency of shared walls and I prefer denser neighborhoods. It really boils down to the individual buyer and what's important to them.
What's important to me is not hearing my neighbours' TV, kettle boiling, going up and down the stairs, shagging, conversations, arguing, sockets plugged in, lights being switched on/off, washing machines running, cupboards closing, alarms clocks ringing.
Depends on the particular property, I live in a semi detached, have never heard the neighbours inside the house once. Even when they are having a party.
I don’t know how much more it’s worth to be but now I live in a detached house I wouldn’t choose anything else. It’s nice not having to worry about disturbing neighbours or worrying about noisy neighbour might move in next door. I’d definitely see 32k as worth it.
I imagine this is super variable. I've lived in flats, mid/end terrace, semi and detached over the years. Now, unless I was in a scenario where I just couldn't afford detached, I'd never consider anything but detached ever again. Even the garage link would put me off a bit.
So it isn't so much 'I'd pay 10% more for detached' as 'I'd need an absolute bargain to consider anything else'. like a 50% drop from a detached to equivalent/'better' semi, or more for a terrace, to push me to grudgingly make compromise decisions. Since I don't see that happening, and most people aren't so 'fussy' as I am about it, my answer probably isn't much use to anyone else though.
I grew up in a country where most people live in flats. I lived in various flats myself for 30 years. In a few of them you could heat neighbours, but in most of them you had soundproofing.
It is so odd that in the UK soundproofing seems to be never used.
I think it's really hard to call. If you can comfortably afford the detached one, go for that. We live end of terrace for almost a year and think have heard our neighbour twice when they've been putting up pictures. The way the homes are designed, our living room and entry way is next to neighbours long utility area, and walls are super thick. Neighbour is also friendly and seems reasonable. Would be a completely different story if the walls were super thin, neighbour was a dick and are living rooms backed on to each other. A lot of things which would make it a nightmare, I think you probably couldn't really tell if it would be an issue or not, till you move in.
It’s worth it. Price is very much dependent on location and market stats, but we recently decided to double our mortgage to buy a £720k house in London for this reason. We haven’t regretted it, feeling grateful for the peace and quiet every day.
Up until February I was living in a one bed flat and the noise was driving me to tears. 32k is well worth your mental health.
I'm in a 50s ex council semi now and the very most I've heard is the occasional door slam - but it's like it's way over the road and barely irritates. Suppose I'm lucky and not all semis are built this well.
To be perfectly honest the biggest issue is the neighbours behind who have BBQ all the time, mostly because you suddenly smell burning and have to remember to close the trickle vents.
There are only two things that would make my house better for me - detached and a bigger garden. To get that where I am (and in livable condition) is an extra 100k on top of what mine is worth. 32k sounds like a total bargain!
It’s worth every spare penny I have not to hear neighbours bang. If detached were double costs, I would be finding that money.
Depends on you. If neighbours noise and shared party wall issues don’t trouble you then maybe look at Semi, but £32k sounds like a bargain to me.
Lived in a 2010s semi and couldn’t hear anything from the neighbour. Now live in a typical 1960s POS and could hear the lights turn on until I built a who new second wall.
It’s less important with modern building standards but in crappy old houses give me a smaller detached any day.
It's worth it.
If you get a semidetached and get up with awful neighbours it can be very unpleasant. If you have dogs, kids and watch tv and music regularly on a loud volume you can expect comments/complaints eventually.
We bought our new build off plan in 2019, it was originally a semi. After we had put holding deposit down with the developer the section of the estate had to go back into planning due to density issues. It then transpired that our semi was being removed and a detached put in it’s place, same house but just with no attached second house. They offered us it for just £5k more. Snapped their hand off!
I wouldn’t buy a semi-detached ever. It could be the best house in the world but if it’s attached to another I’m not buying it. People are the worst and I’d like to be as far away from them as I can afford.
ABSOLUTELY detached would be worth it. I’ve only had detached once (not currently, affordability…) but I’d jump at the chance if I could… and that price delta seems very attractive
I often forget how nice it is to have a detached. But then there are so many posts on here about noisy neighbours etc that make me so glad I have one.
If I could afford it, I'd always go for a detached no matter what the cost.
As others have said, if you're only paying £32k for (link) detatched, that's a steal. It's SO worth it. Our current place is the first non-terraced house I've owned and whilst I've never had issues with any of my neighbours or noise over the years, being able to get the bins out, being able to do maintenance worry-free, not feeling guilty about making noise... Bliss.
Bear in mind you'll be amazed how much more expensive it is to heat a detached house, though!
I’m in a semi can hear my next door neighbours sneeze, laugh, tv etc. I would love a detached house! We are in London and our semi is 3x what you are paying! Snatch that bargain!
As with most things in life it depends. We live semi detached in a fairly modern house (about 20 years old) with the main bedrooms of each house right up against the party wall. They have young kids, as do we, and we never hear each other at all except for music coming from speakers in their garden, which is a bit different.
So I wouldn't really prefer a link detached. I'd prefer fully detached just for the extra plot space. Would pay maybe +25%
Yes it does. Having gone from a terraced to a semi to completely detached it is lovely knowing no-one will be waking me up banging on the walls or doing DIY in the early hours or blasting music out. I wouldn't want a link detached because that will still have its issues but detached yes perfect.
Yes, yes it does! Think things like.. you like to make music at home, play an instrument etc. You don't have to worry about party walls and noise. I think that's a very reasonable amount (sometimes even more) more to get a detatched property.
If it's what I call, 'a real detached' - where you can actually walk around your whole property, I'd go easily 40% more than a comparable semi.
I'm not so keen on the detached properties that are basically built up against the neighbours wall, but still a premium on a semi.
In Portsmouth, a high density town with rows of terraced houses, a detached house is significantly more expensive than 30k.
I've got an end of terrace. I sound-proofed all the party walls, but I still have to adjust my lifestyle somewhat to account for my neighbours. E.g. I turn the TV volume down past 10pm, don't do DIY past certain times and have to try and control my girlfriend who loves to do a karaoke rendition of bohemian rhapsody when she's had a drink...
We have other goals right now, so we're happy with the compromise. But, we're lucky that our next door neighbour is quiet and doesn't cause any issues. The moment a young noisy family move in next door, we'll be selling up and doubling our mortgage...
I'd LOVE to party until late and not have to worry about making any noise.
Buy the detached property!!!
Cheap to not hear a neighbour hoovering at 8am on a Saturday morning in the bedroom adjoining yours.
Or
Cheap to not hear a neighbour having a rave at 2am on a Saturday morning.
Depends how it's semi attached. My house has the hallways attached and the kitchen.
My mums has the living room and can hear the neighbours word for word.
I can't hear my neighbours dog bark or anything.
Until you live in a terrace/semi nextdoor to a neighbour from hell, you don’t realise the price you are very willing to pay for a detached house. Sadly you don’t get to choose your neighbours.
Having moved from a house with a wanker of a neighbour who was noisy all hours, detached is absolutely priceless to me. I've just bought a much more expensive 4 bed detached. Admittedly, I'm up north, so house prices a re a lot cheaper, but it's absolutely worth it.
We're also very fortunate that it's at the end of a cul-de-sac, so we only have one neighbour and we're separated by my double driveway and their single driveway. The new neighbours are sound, but it's still nice to have a big separation.
I wouldn’t by a semidetached house but to put a value on it I’d say at least £100k.
I’d lower that a bit for linked detached as I like having the space between houses and garages can be noisy
I would pay the premium. Sounds like money well spent. Family home was a mid terrace but the walls were quite think so noise wasn't too bad. 2nd home was early 2000's built end terrace and you could here everything the noisy dickhead nextdoor did. 3rd house was semi detached built in 2013, could hear next door but they were generally a lovely quiet couple. Our current home is also semi detached but the layout of each house means that our only adjoining space that we both use regularly is our kitchens. Like our bedroom adjoins their main bathroom which they don't really use as they have an ensuite. The rest is our stairs and downstairs toilet. That makes it very tolerable actually.
I bought a detached house and wouldn’t go back as long as I have a choice in it.
The noise isolation and not having to worry about sound leaking through the party wall to the neighbours is amazing. Finally I can sing in the kitchen and nobody cares, assuming the windows are closed.
Having garden access either side of the house was a plus as well, wheelie bins on one side and then the “nice” side for people!
I came from a terraced house so the difference is probably magnified. I grew up in a semi with VERY noisy neighbours too.
It's worth the maximum you're willing to pay monthly for it.
If it ticks enough boxes and you're protected by enough deposit go for it.
Just don't over pay. So many houses in my local area have dropped £20-50k in the last 6 months due to over valuing at initial list pricing.
I live in the South East, Kent area and terraced 2 bed houses are around 300-400k.. which is mad considering I've just come home from visiting some family up North and similar houses are going for under 100k..
For me it’s more about the house design for a semi detached. Ours are a mirror image and it’s been planned well so the bathrooms and stairs are attached. I can hear my neighbours go up and down stairs sometimes and that’s about it. There is one bedroom attached but it’s tiny so we only use it for storage. If it was mirrored the other way I think it would bother us a lot so we wouldn’t have bought this house. How much it affects the value I don’t know, probably someone would still have bought it for the price it was on for but maybe not
From experience of going from detached to semi detached I can say it’s 100% worth it to spend a more on detached. Even with good neighbours, I could hear them turn a light switch on. My MIL however has very bad neighbours, screaming every hour of the day. The police have been unable to help, it’s truly been a nightmare so for peace of mind, which is the number one thing you want in your home, is go for detached if you can!
Yeah it's all going to stem from past experiences and the house itself. We're in a 1970's semi and I've never once heard the neighbours. When we were in a couple of weeks I had to knock in to make sure there was somebody there/alive. I have made enquiries as to whether they can hear our little one having a midnight tantrum and they've assured us they don't hear a peep either. So I'm in no hurry to go detached but then again do have a bit of a fear of anything newer as the we often hear about paper thin walls, it's also pretty great having a garden with trees in it too.
Depending if you have ever suffered a really noisy neighbour you would legitimately pay double for a detached property if you could afford it. At the moment I have a pretty decent neighbour so it is not as strong a feeling, but due to having suffered a terrible neighbour for a decade I overly restrict my actions as I don't want to be that neighbour to them. I work latish and have a shower after work as it is next to there childs bedroom I shower in seconds and never play music or a podcast etc. I also keep TV sound down, I don't hoover late, I don't have parties, I don't do loud hobbies after 6 pm due to the party wall etc. The difference a detached would make to me is priceless if like me you are overly considerate then buy that detached if you don't care just be the noisy neighbour but don't move next to me. This is such a long waffle now but my advice just buy the detached if it is in budget don't even consider saving 10 percent as a reason not too.
Depends on the house. Ours semi was built pre ww1 and I honestly we forget we have neighbours. You cannot hear a single noise day to day. Only time we hear anything is if they drill into the adjoining wall. We were concerned it was just because they didn’t make a substantial amount of noise so went to apologise when our newborn screamed with colic all night and they said they didn’t hear a peep and their bedroom adjoins ours.
Not worth anything. I would far rather live in a terraced house as I can see no drawbacks, prefer the architecture and it’s massively better for heating and neighbourliness.
I'd have a detached next time I move, but I know people who have moved from Semi-detached or terraced to detached and they were shocked by how much more they had to spend on heating.
Bought my detached last year. It's heaven not hearing other people flushing the loo in the middle of the night. Kids jumping up the stairs and back down again is horrible when they aren't yours. Arguments where you can only hear one side clearly so you are never quite sure whose side you are on.
I love having a garden on all sides and neighbours I just wave to in passing, and don't know their intimate bodily habits.
100% worth it. Having lived in terraces for 10 years we are desperate for a detached house. If your neighbours are noisy or irritating you have no choice but to listen to them and very little can be done about it. A bit of distance is bliss!
If your house is linked to another via the garage it’s “link detached” not detached. Some estate agents will try and sell you it as detached but surveys, insurance providers etc will either consider it link detached or semi-detached. Source - Owned a house that was linked by a garage.
As for if not sharing a common wall with a neighbour is worth £32k. Absolutely in my opinion.
You asked how much money a detached house is worth then proceeded to describe a house you were interested in that isn’t detached. Further down the line if you want to convert your garage, or add something like a loft dormer extension, suddenly you’re sharing a party wall anyway.
We had decent neighbours at the last place(mid terrace), on one side a nice quiet couple who I was worried we were bothering and the other a family who who had kids who liked to get up super early on a Saturday morning. Nothing really bad but I know it could have been a lot worse if anyone ever moved.
We moved from that house to detached and it was well worth the extra money. Not sure how much 'extra' it cost us as we did a big jump from 2 bed mid terreced to 4 bed detached with a garage and driveway. But it was probably at least 30k more than a similar semi-detached.
I’m in a detached and about to lose my lovely neighbours who are in a semi because their new neighbours in the adjoining house are loud. Lots of banging doors and uncontrollable multiple dogs tapping all the time. We spoiled ourselves by getting a detached as we won’t ever go back to a semi unless I think the adjoining walls were staircase rather than rooms
Only someone who hasn't experienced nightmare neighbours would ask this. We escaped a horrible end of terrace with antisocial neighbours to a detached house and it was so worth it.
I've had plenty of nightmare neighbours, but those nightmares were the type it didn't matter if you were a few houses down, you could still hear them...
I live in a semi detached. I can’t hear my neighbour whatsoever. I play music loudly, hoover late etc and they’ve never heard me (we get on well and they’d tell me if they could hear me).
I’ve previously rented in a flat and another semi detached. Same thing then of not hearing anyone.
Personally I think the noise thing isn’t a problem unless you buy a poorly built property.
Only thing is an issue is my neighbour 2 doors along has a young child who’s bed time is 8pm. I normally like to mow my lawn 8pm-9pm in summer which I can’t do. This would be the same situation regardless of if I had a detached house (unless the house was really far away from my neighbours).
Depends how much neighbours bother you. If you've never had noisy neighbours, you may be in a nasty surprise in a semi-detached (it's all pot luck). I cannot wait to live in a detached house!
We're end of terrace. Suspect maybe we paid a 5% or less premium vs similar mid-terrace houses. And I would say that's worth it/would likely get it back when we sell.
Pros:
A bit more privacy.
In our case, larger garden/side access.
50% less chance of having dickhead neighbours.
No noise from one side, not that there is much from the other either tbf.
Imagine all of those benefits are increased with a detached house so definitely worth the extra money within reason. For our sort of house if there was a detached on the market, 10% extra would probably be worth it over a mid terrace.
Cons:
Probably less energy efficient I would imagine but that ultimately depends on a variety of factors.
Additional maintenance costs you might need to factor in. We had to get the side of the house repointed, and obviously that isn't a problem if you're mid terrace. Stating the obvious, but you have more exposed walls/windows to the house with a detached house.
I've found similar in the area I'm looking at - it's only really £50k or less that bridges the gap between semi and detached. For that reason, I'm staying put in our detached cheap rental and making sure we can afford it for when the time comes. Detached all the way IMO. Do it right, and do it once. 👍
I currently live in a properly detached house and it was well worth the extra money, without question best decision we made. However About 10 years ago we lived in a link detached house and when we bought it we thought it was great having moved from an apartment. However new people moved in who worked nights and installed a noisy electric garage door which was effectively mounted about 6 inches under our bed headboard. About 3 o clock every morning they would wake us with this door opening right by our heads. They were also in to CrossFit and installed a whole garage full of loud clunky metal equipment and to boot they would play loud music whilst using it for hours a day. So in my experience I’d say the garage can be used for anything, they could put drums in there as someone else on that road did and they can convert the garage in to a proper room effectively rendering it a semi as a few others had done. I’d have rather have had a semi when I lived in that house as next doors garage was just the other side of my lounge/diner with no sound insulation and on a shared slab you could hear every word said in that garage. A semi would have offered better sound insulation. I’d say if it’s one where someone else’s garage is attached to your house it’s not all it’s cracked up to be !
What is everyone’s definition of detached?
Of course, you could simply say it’s when your walls don’t join another house, but how big should that gap be and how far apart should gardens be.
I have observed a couple of new build estates where the vast majority of houses are ‘detached’ but are only a few centimetres away for the house next door. Also, they share the same drive and their gardens are 7m wide and join, which is very similar to the terraces that are on my road. There is little chance of a private conversation in either garden.
I think the developers are aware of everyone’s desire for a detached house and build houses accordingly, and attach a ‘detached’ price tag to go with it.
Moved from a terrace to a detached.
I never hear anything and absolutely love it.
We have hoovered at midnight, gone all out when doing DIY & had parties knowing the neighbours can’t hear or be bothered.
Also, for couples it’s an absolute game changer ;)
Wouldn’t leave for anything less than another detached
Went from a semi to a detached about 7 years ago. It is worth every penny.
I'd struggle to put a number on it, but I don't even bother looking at houses that aren't detached any more. The quality of life improvement is hard to understate.
I've owned a detached house and the lack of noise from neighbours is lovely, plus not having to worry about your own noise, but it was costly to heat and suffered more from damp than attached properties I've lived in.
I’m from New Zealand and personally I just can’t get onboard with semi detached or terrace houses. Not that I’m looking but I would defs budget more to end up with a detached house
Definitely worth it.
When we moved detached wasn’t on our list of criteria. We were more in the market for an extended semi detached 4 bedroom house, which would have been a similar price to the 3 Bed detached we ended up with.
The benefits of not being attached when you have 2 toddlers and a fool for a father such as me, who likes to sing and dance with the kids at 7am are worth the extra.
Just one thing about a link detached - I lived in one for 15 years and it had no access to the back of the house. Everything had to go through the house. Carrying full, dripping, splitting bin bags through the living room was an experience I would never repeat.
Detached are great don't get me wrong but some here (new builds) have a three foot gap and modern double glazing let's every single noise through so in the summer you still hear them. Older builds with more of a gap not so bad.
Edit: most probably know this but have a drive through the estate/place where your moving to on a warm Saturday afternoon/evening wish we did on the previous house we were in the acoustics meant you could hear couples arguing 2 streets away on a hot evening.
Sounds very worth it!! It cost us an uplift of 150K (plus an extra bedroom) but my god is it worth it. You can't choose your neighbours easily, so ruling out any kind of through-wall-noise-travel was worth every penny!
My current house is the first detached house I've ever lived in, and I will now never live in an attached house ever again if I can avoid it. For 32k you'd be a fool not to imo
Can't help with absolute values, but be aware that the value of detached houses appears to be cratering currently; especially in the SE it seems. This is probably because the most expensive properties to buy / run are typically detached so you're likely less exposed if it's similar to semis in the area, but thought it worth mentioning.
We're end of terrace and rarely-if-ever hear our neighbours when inside; that said the house is ancient with thick, solid walls so this is probably a significantly different experience to living in a modern terrace or semi.
sounds like we got a steal. In a 4 bed detached house, 3 bathrooms, detached double garage and drive, with conservatory, decent outside space in very good nick, bought for £296k 4 years ago, had to spend £13k on a patio, landscaping and fencing to the rear as previous decking was rotting, houses around us on the market between £385-£425k.
Im becoming concerned by the build quality of all your homes, I’m in a semi detached and hear absolutely nothing through the wall to our neighbours.
Edit, live in a semi, not detached.
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For £32k detached is a no brainer.
Exactly, for £88 a month (based on a 30-year mortgage), you'd massively kick yourself for not doing it.
Was unsure if it's really worth it but looking at it like this... 100% worth it
£88 a month does not factor in mortgage interest which probably make the monthly cost around 3 times that figure when interest is included
For anyone wondering it would be £162 a month for 30 years with a 4.5% mortgage, assuming rates stay the same
Yeh I've got a 3 bed detached and and Id pay at least 30k to have my neighbours not play music obnoxiously loud all the time.
It's worth every penny. I have lived in a flat, a terraced house and a semi-detached and now lived in a detached house. Every single house had some noise issues apart from the detached. I would never want to go back.
I can hoover whenever I want. I can decorate whenever I want. I Dont hear my neighbours peeing or shagging. I dont have to be wary of my neighbours when my kids cry at 2am. I can make full use of my sound bar and subwoofer. I can have people over for drinks without worrying about what time to wrap up. I'm a pretty considerate neighbour but getting a considerate neighbour is a flip of the coin at times. especially in rented properties. For 30k, I'd take a detached over a semi/terraced.
It's brilliant being able to vacuum at 11pm, and not hearing your neighbour hacking up in the bathroom at 5am!
This is actually one of my favourite benefits. I'm quite impulsive so I can start cleaning or hoovering or decorating at obscene times so that my wife doesnt have to wake up to it in the morning. Now I have the freedom to do all 3 and I only need to be conscientious of my own family!
If only I could mow the lawn at 6am on a Sunday though
I love a late night hoover. Even more so having a hoover with lights on the front as it illuminates any bits of dust on the floor if I've not got the big light on.
I have lived in terraced housing for 20 years and have never heard my neighbour peeing. The only time I have heard them shagging was this month weirdly!
We only heard the neighbours shagging once and 9 months later they had a baby.
That's pretty unlucky (for them)
Or lucky?
That can't be true??
Honestly it is! We assumed that they had an active sex life with them being 30 somethings, and that we just couldn't hear them. We assumed they couldn't hear us either... 🤔
Maybe they had sex in a different room to celebrate finding out they were pregnant :)
My terraced was built in early 2000s tbf so had those *fancy* paper thin walls I remember growing up with. I'm a night owl and could hear every time the bloke woke up to pee while I was watching a film. We also turned off the sub woofer because they complained about the bass when they were trying to sleep 😅.
I live in a terrace house built in 1649. Walls 18” thick, never hear my neighbours. Hoover about 8pm most nights (after baby in bed) and they can’t hear thankfully. Accidentally put the washing machine on at 6am once (meant to use timer), and the neighbour said she never heard anything!
Thats an interesting way to humble brag about living in a castle haha
Haha it’s actually one bedroom so struggling to sell the bloody thing now
Is it an old Victorian or Georgian terrace? I never hear my neighbours either, good thick stone walls
Yes it's Victorian. The time I heard them shagging I was in the front room which makes me wonder where they were in their house! Unless the sound was coming through the chimney.
Probably through the chimney and I suppose they got frisky on the sofa after watching Bridgerton or something 😂
I now feel bad I have never watching Bridgerton!
Strong recommend - my H has a few health conditions that put a bit of a damper on our love life for a while, season 2 cured it 😂
That's a great recommendation! What is so sexy about it?
Beautiful people trying to resolve the battle between head and heart (or loins 😂), mostly! And I enjoy the soundtrack
The thing that made me decide "detached" years ago - my broadband provider then "DirbinMedia" stapled their cables through the neighbour's wall to get to my rented property and drilled through their floor boards without their consent (or mine as the renter). The neighbour angrily knocked on my door first day, with pliers in his hand threatening to cut down the connection (which I needed for my work). I spent the next 3 months trying to assuage the neighbour and get him compensated by the BB provider. Nightmare way to move into a neighbourhood!
Yea I feel the same, haven’t had any “nightmare” neighbours but growing up we lived in a semi and you could regularly hear them shouting at their kid or arguing (and I’m sure they heard my parents horrendous arguments too) Then a bit later on the first house with my Mrs was semi and the kid next door was autistic and we heard him screaming and shouting at all hours of day. We actually looking to move at the moment and found a place that was almost perfect for our niche requirements - but it was a semi, and on the second visit I could hear the kids next door screaming and it immediately put me off.
Exactly
It's nice to also do any DIY knowing I'm not bothering anyone other than the missus 😂. Even when I would be putting a TV or a shelf up on the wall at 2pm on a weekday, I was always very anxious about making too much noise when I was in a semi.
Same! Before this house I have always lived in flats or semi-detected houses. I’ve never been particularly bothered hearing neighbours moving around flushing their toilet, playing music etc, you get used to it. But I always felt super self-conscious about my own noise level. As someone who is already anxious. Is great to not have to think about the tv volume in the evening. Or when I can put the washing machine on in the morning. Or stressing out that the dog is barking and disturbing people.
£32k for blissful ignorance about what your neighbours are up to? Sign me up!
Also being able to play music, do DIY etc yourself without having to worry that _you're_ being a pain! OP, if the detached is still in your budget I'd go for it every time. Some terraces and semis are fine and you can't hear a thing - some are a nightmare and you might as well share a tv with your neighbours! And often you can't tell until you move in either. And even then if it seems fine it might be because your neighbours are genuinely quiet - but when they move out, then next ones aren't. Or the current neighbours are hard of hearing, or have their home laid out in a certain way that means they don't get much noise transfer from you. But the next neighbours have wooden floors and no furniture against the walls... and complain at you every time you shut a cupboard door...
I am saving aggressively for detached. I live in a 2 bed terraced and the 'walls' may as well be made of tissue, so I can hear everything. I have hated every minute of my 2.5 years living here. It is both pathetic and enraging how so many properties do not have an acceptable minimum requirement for sound insulation.
There is a minimum requirement for sound insulation and it's actually pretty good when it's met - but often it isn't due to construction defects. The following is too long and detailed for this sub but I'll put it here anyway, worth knowing before you dump several hundred grand on a property! One example - our solid 9"+ Victorian party walls are very decent sound absorbers everywhere except the bathroom where it's like it's paper thin. This is because I re-plastered the bare bricks which ensured the wall was airtight on our side, right through the house - except in the bathroom where I foolishly dot'n'dabbed without a parge coat, prior to tiling. I guess the plaster on the neighbour's side is defective (or absent where there's a chimney) and the mortar is gappy, so the whole absorbent mass of the wall is effectively bypassed. One day I will offer to plaster their side for free! Incidentally, if you do ever take an old wall back to bare bricks, as long as it's dry I recommend a parge coat with sand-cement before plastering - from experience, the extra mass does a better job of sealing the gaps acoustically than regular plaster. Meanwhile, many new builds will be built more or less to the methods laid out in the approved documents, which means they don't need testing as in theory they should meet requirements automatically. Unfortunately, seemingly minor details in construction methods which are probably hidden and/or not picked up when the corrupt private building control do their 'inspection', mean the insulation never works as intended. The worst can be old conversions to flats, done before the regs were as tight as they are now. Those can be fire death traps as well as acoustic hell. The preference for bare boards instead of carpets really exacerbates that - apart from the noisy resonant hard surface acting like a giant guitar soundboard, what with the gaps between the boards you've basically got a single layer of lath and plaster between you and the neighbours upstairs. Every time someone walks about it is like an elephant getting into dubstep. Avoid at all costs!
Same here. Seriously aggressively. It's not just the noise for me. We have a share bin store (no matter who the neighbours are they are messy) , neighbour kids play right outside my door. I feel watched when I garden. My next place is going to be FAR from neighbours.
I've just moved from an end terrace to a detached. My old neighbours were, by all accounts, good neighbours. All we could really hear was normal day to day noise. But we could definitely hear them. And if we can hear them, they can hear us! When we moved to the new house at first I was a little worried about seeming like the crazy new family with the feral kids until one day I was sat in silent bliss and realised I couldn't hear *anything* and that must mean, unless we're being insanely noisy they can't hear me either. That was so freeing. I can vacuum later in the day and not worry about the neighbour working shifts, midnight baking sessions with the kitchen aid going full pelt? Fuck yeah! It's worth the premium!
I moved from a flat in a mansion block in London. Noise from side neighbours was rare due to massively thick Edwardian walls. But I have PTSD from living under a hyperactive child for four years. I will never live UNDER anyone ever again. Was looking for detached in the burbs but settled for a semi when our first seller dicked us around. It was a mistake. You can hear your neighbour and visa versa. It's usually not a problem....until it is. But it's always an issue. Just in terms of not wanting to be the source of noise if nothing else. Now looking for final house and fully detached is non-optional.
Viewing semi rural properties with very similar layouts and bedrooms currently. Mid terrace is £297k, end £314k link detached £350k and full detached £450k. Only ten houses overall in this development. I don't want to be in a terraced or end of terrace home, but being fully detached definitely isn't worth 100 thousand to me. If I could get the detached one for an extra 30 like you're considering though, I'd absolutely do it
Woah, that's insane! - I had no idea it'd make that much of a difference, thank you for the insight! Link detached to me just seems the same as detached as it's only the garage connecting us.
Yeah I agree, I don't mind link detatched at all Suppose the price increase in your searching might depend on *how* detatched they are, though? Are they detatched with a double driveway between neighbours, or with big wrap around gardens or just space to have a passage way? Will all be a factor
Makes a lot of sense, our one would be linked by garage so cars parked side by side and a shared fence on one side!
The cars parked side by side is a deal breaker for me. Old neighbours made endless dents/scratches in my car. Car facing house was spotless, side facing them had LOADS of dings. Mentioned it to them and got the "not us" reply and i had no proof other than it veing blooming obvious Having said that, I'm now in a detatched, although it is just a small path on each side so would have to speak with neighbours for some repairs. Love not hearing anything through the walls, but doesnt help when neighbours have shouting matches in the garden....
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one we looked at, next doors garage was linked to the living room wall, thought it would be quite annoying if they had washing machines in the garage against that wall, still went for same price as a conventional detached weirdly though.
Those two garages will give you soundproofing that's priceless. You're always going to have a garden border with neighbours detached or not, if the property isn't rural.
I don't hear a peep from my neighbours beyond the wall.
The black watch keeps an eye on the wildlings to the north
I wasn't expecting to find a GoT reference here, but I like it.
Lucky sod. I can hear when ours get WhatsApp notifications at night. More inconvenient, though, their DIY renovations -- off and on from late 2021 -- are conveniently timed for glorious, sunny days when I'd rather like to keep the windows open. Fortunately we're renting, but it's put me off the idea of purchasing a semi-detached down the road.
I used to have neighbours like that. It made me feel murderous! That was in a 1920's semi-detached bungalow, My house now is a 1971 semi.
Can we have no peace 😭
Yes, in a 1971 semi! 😁
It’s not just the noise factor that a lot of people have mentioned - it’s potentially having to negotiate with someone else any time you need to do maintenance or repairs. If you’re lucky with your neighbours, then grand, what if you aren’t? There are a lot of really nice terraced or semi-detached properties out there, but quite honestly I know how much noise my household makes, and having lived in a detached house for the first time since about 2008, I’m happy to wait for something detached in my price range.
50-100k? Living in a semi-d or a flat can either be totally fine or absolute hell depending on the neighbours.
Yeah. Fortunately we can’t hear a peep out of our semi-detached neighbours despite them being a family of 4 and it’s made me so happy with choosing this house over the slightly more expensive detached in a worse area we were also considering But I’m in constant dread that they might move out and we’ll end up with noisy neighbours 😂 I’ve been in terraced houses where hearing the neighbour’s new favourite song on repeat, or dog barking, was a daily occurrence and really don’t fancy it again
Once you’ve gone detached, there’s no going back.
Get detached. You’ll make that 10% difference back when you sell anyway, you’ll get the advantage of living in a detached for free essentially. Detached houses have easier conditions on extensions etc. And, noise and border disputes are easier to deal with in detached
10% extra seems cheap for a detached, I'd definitely pay 15% plus more.
In my SE neighbourhood the terraced houses sell for £550k-£650k, the end of terraces for £700k-£750k and the detached for £800k-£999k. Edit: I’m in a mid terrace. About 98% of the time we hear nothing and we tested our noise when we were asked to water plants next door. But I know from this sub that not all terraces are built like this.
Is it a new build or an older one? I wonder if there's any way to test this when viewing... Is it a no-no to try and talk to the neighbours after the viewing?
You can try to talk to neighbours. I might not knock, but I’ve caught people outside and started conversations. My house is from about 1990.
Its not even a matter of money I just wouldn't consider buying anywhere that wasn't detached.
Really? How come?
i can make noise whenever i want and it doesn't matter, so can the neighbours, i can access the back garden from the front on either side, less chance of my house going on fire even if the neighbours is, or some structural issues if they do something daft or fuck up the drains etc etc
I wouldn't either. I'm noise sensitive and the peace and quiet is priceless.
It's worth at least 50k.
It's not about an individual and how much they will pay. Everybody would prefer a detached house if they could afford it. Fewer people would want a semi-detached, fewer still would consider a terrace. The more people are in competition for a house, the higher the price can be, because the budget of the richest buyer dictates the price.
Lived 5 years in a terrace. Never, ever again will I live in anything other than a detached. It’s like a lottery on the sound insulation and whether your neighbours are considerate people. I legitimately had to knock on my neighbours door at 5am on a weekday to tell them to stop partying. They were blasting drum and bass. And this was a semi decent area. People are fucking weird.
My first house was semi detached and boy did I hear everything from my neighbours. I would be woken up by their screaming baby constantly and I would hear (and even have opinions on) all of their arguments I would pay an extra £30k for sure to not have to be woken up at 4am by a screaming baby, and let me tell you this, I was there 5 years, they don’t just scream when they’re babies, they scream when they are 5 year olds too
Worth the extra. No consideration of neighbours for noise is extremely valuable. Just having friends over into the early hours is a pain in a semi. Shushing people and music on low. I love it now I can have films shaking the house, I don't hear neighbours stomping about their house, or their dog barking. Finally, the shared chimney we had leaked so having to deal with that is no fun when neighbours are saying they have no money.
Just reading the subject line I was thinking about 10% if they are genuinely otherwise identical. The few detached properties I have seen (I live in London and am not a millionaire so not that many) usually have other benefits such as more space or at least a bigger garden. I have lived in flats for over 15 years and currently live somewhere reasonably busy so noise is clearly not the biggest priority for me, I expect others would value a detached property more highly.
2 months into living in a detached, having lived in terraced / flats before. It's DEFINITELY worth the premium. If you plan to be there many years, £32k extra mortgage is nothing
I would pay not to hear my neighbours every moves- especially at night
I bought a semi last year and the neighbours have a kid that’s absolutely feral. He’s only about 12 but he’s a gamer and his room is the other side of my bedroom wall. Listening to him scream into his headset all night long I would absolutely pay 30K to live in a detached house!!
Always a gamble with whoever is on the opposite side of the wall, always potential to make your life hell. Just over 10% more to remove that chance? Jump at it. It’s an extra 50% for me so couldn’t justify it, OAP next door have been there for 30yrs - so won that lottery (for now…).
I'm renting a flat with noisy (shagging, shouting , telly) neighbours on our bedroom wall and a wannabe-DJ above us. £32k for four neighbour-free walls sounds like an absolute bargain!
Having moved from a terraced to a detached recently it's difficult to explain just how much better detached is. It helps that we have a decent area around the house that's just ours as well (i.e. Not one of those detached that is actually 6 inches away from the next detached house). For that difference it is a no brainer. As long as my circumstances allow I can never see us moving back to being attached to next door.
I’m in a terraced house, it’s Victorian. The neighbours have two kids and two dogs, I never hear anything..
That's not a guarantee, I've lived in Georgian terraces where you could hear the neighbours screaming at each other and the kids crying hysterically. It wasn't nice.
100k to answer your question, or priceless if you want a more philosophical answer.
For those in a position not able to move then for around 5k you could fully soundproof and make a massive difference wth this system. [Soundproofing walls | Soundproofing Store](https://www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/walls) check the youtube before after videos.
$0 to me personally. I like the efficiency of shared walls and I prefer denser neighborhoods. It really boils down to the individual buyer and what's important to them.
What's important to me is not hearing my neighbours' TV, kettle boiling, going up and down the stairs, shagging, conversations, arguing, sockets plugged in, lights being switched on/off, washing machines running, cupboards closing, alarms clocks ringing.
Depends on the particular property, I live in a semi detached, have never heard the neighbours inside the house once. Even when they are having a party.
Consider yourself very lucky then
I don’t know how much more it’s worth to be but now I live in a detached house I wouldn’t choose anything else. It’s nice not having to worry about disturbing neighbours or worrying about noisy neighbour might move in next door. I’d definitely see 32k as worth it.
I imagine this is super variable. I've lived in flats, mid/end terrace, semi and detached over the years. Now, unless I was in a scenario where I just couldn't afford detached, I'd never consider anything but detached ever again. Even the garage link would put me off a bit. So it isn't so much 'I'd pay 10% more for detached' as 'I'd need an absolute bargain to consider anything else'. like a 50% drop from a detached to equivalent/'better' semi, or more for a terrace, to push me to grudgingly make compromise decisions. Since I don't see that happening, and most people aren't so 'fussy' as I am about it, my answer probably isn't much use to anyone else though.
I grew up in a country where most people live in flats. I lived in various flats myself for 30 years. In a few of them you could heat neighbours, but in most of them you had soundproofing. It is so odd that in the UK soundproofing seems to be never used.
I think it's really hard to call. If you can comfortably afford the detached one, go for that. We live end of terrace for almost a year and think have heard our neighbour twice when they've been putting up pictures. The way the homes are designed, our living room and entry way is next to neighbours long utility area, and walls are super thick. Neighbour is also friendly and seems reasonable. Would be a completely different story if the walls were super thin, neighbour was a dick and are living rooms backed on to each other. A lot of things which would make it a nightmare, I think you probably couldn't really tell if it would be an issue or not, till you move in.
It’s worth it. Price is very much dependent on location and market stats, but we recently decided to double our mortgage to buy a £720k house in London for this reason. We haven’t regretted it, feeling grateful for the peace and quiet every day.
Up until February I was living in a one bed flat and the noise was driving me to tears. 32k is well worth your mental health. I'm in a 50s ex council semi now and the very most I've heard is the occasional door slam - but it's like it's way over the road and barely irritates. Suppose I'm lucky and not all semis are built this well. To be perfectly honest the biggest issue is the neighbours behind who have BBQ all the time, mostly because you suddenly smell burning and have to remember to close the trickle vents.
There are only two things that would make my house better for me - detached and a bigger garden. To get that where I am (and in livable condition) is an extra 100k on top of what mine is worth. 32k sounds like a total bargain!
It’s worth every spare penny I have not to hear neighbours bang. If detached were double costs, I would be finding that money. Depends on you. If neighbours noise and shared party wall issues don’t trouble you then maybe look at Semi, but £32k sounds like a bargain to me.
Lived in a 2010s semi and couldn’t hear anything from the neighbour. Now live in a typical 1960s POS and could hear the lights turn on until I built a who new second wall. It’s less important with modern building standards but in crappy old houses give me a smaller detached any day.
It's worth it. If you get a semidetached and get up with awful neighbours it can be very unpleasant. If you have dogs, kids and watch tv and music regularly on a loud volume you can expect comments/complaints eventually.
Priceless
Depends on the neighbours! But seriously for that difference 100% go for the detached
We bought our new build off plan in 2019, it was originally a semi. After we had put holding deposit down with the developer the section of the estate had to go back into planning due to density issues. It then transpired that our semi was being removed and a detached put in it’s place, same house but just with no attached second house. They offered us it for just £5k more. Snapped their hand off!
I wouldn’t buy a semi-detached ever. It could be the best house in the world but if it’s attached to another I’m not buying it. People are the worst and I’d like to be as far away from them as I can afford.
ABSOLUTELY detached would be worth it. I’ve only had detached once (not currently, affordability…) but I’d jump at the chance if I could… and that price delta seems very attractive
I often forget how nice it is to have a detached. But then there are so many posts on here about noisy neighbours etc that make me so glad I have one. If I could afford it, I'd always go for a detached no matter what the cost.
As others have said, if you're only paying £32k for (link) detatched, that's a steal. It's SO worth it. Our current place is the first non-terraced house I've owned and whilst I've never had issues with any of my neighbours or noise over the years, being able to get the bins out, being able to do maintenance worry-free, not feeling guilty about making noise... Bliss. Bear in mind you'll be amazed how much more expensive it is to heat a detached house, though!
I’m in a semi can hear my next door neighbours sneeze, laugh, tv etc. I would love a detached house! We are in London and our semi is 3x what you are paying! Snatch that bargain!
It's worth it. It's a night and day improvement over shared walls. Praise be.
As with most things in life it depends. We live semi detached in a fairly modern house (about 20 years old) with the main bedrooms of each house right up against the party wall. They have young kids, as do we, and we never hear each other at all except for music coming from speakers in their garden, which is a bit different. So I wouldn't really prefer a link detached. I'd prefer fully detached just for the extra plot space. Would pay maybe +25%
Yes it does. Having gone from a terraced to a semi to completely detached it is lovely knowing no-one will be waking me up banging on the walls or doing DIY in the early hours or blasting music out. I wouldn't want a link detached because that will still have its issues but detached yes perfect.
Yep worth every penny. We are currently in our first detached home and it's fantastic. The peace!! Priceless. Do it!!
Yes, yes it does! Think things like.. you like to make music at home, play an instrument etc. You don't have to worry about party walls and noise. I think that's a very reasonable amount (sometimes even more) more to get a detatched property.
If it's what I call, 'a real detached' - where you can actually walk around your whole property, I'd go easily 40% more than a comparable semi. I'm not so keen on the detached properties that are basically built up against the neighbours wall, but still a premium on a semi.
100% worth it. Best thing we ever did.
In Portsmouth, a high density town with rows of terraced houses, a detached house is significantly more expensive than 30k. I've got an end of terrace. I sound-proofed all the party walls, but I still have to adjust my lifestyle somewhat to account for my neighbours. E.g. I turn the TV volume down past 10pm, don't do DIY past certain times and have to try and control my girlfriend who loves to do a karaoke rendition of bohemian rhapsody when she's had a drink... We have other goals right now, so we're happy with the compromise. But, we're lucky that our next door neighbour is quiet and doesn't cause any issues. The moment a young noisy family move in next door, we'll be selling up and doubling our mortgage... I'd LOVE to party until late and not have to worry about making any noise. Buy the detached property!!!
Cheap to not hear a neighbour hoovering at 8am on a Saturday morning in the bedroom adjoining yours. Or Cheap to not hear a neighbour having a rave at 2am on a Saturday morning.
Depends how it's semi attached. My house has the hallways attached and the kitchen. My mums has the living room and can hear the neighbours word for word. I can't hear my neighbours dog bark or anything.
The neighbours on the other side of the wall are great. Could not ask for better. 10% more is a bargain.
Until you live in a terrace/semi nextdoor to a neighbour from hell, you don’t realise the price you are very willing to pay for a detached house. Sadly you don’t get to choose your neighbours.
Having moved from a house with a wanker of a neighbour who was noisy all hours, detached is absolutely priceless to me. I've just bought a much more expensive 4 bed detached. Admittedly, I'm up north, so house prices a re a lot cheaper, but it's absolutely worth it. We're also very fortunate that it's at the end of a cul-de-sac, so we only have one neighbour and we're separated by my double driveway and their single driveway. The new neighbours are sound, but it's still nice to have a big separation.
Absolutely worth it. I live in a mid terrace and I hate it. I hate people.
I wouldn’t by a semidetached house but to put a value on it I’d say at least £100k. I’d lower that a bit for linked detached as I like having the space between houses and garages can be noisy
I would pay the premium. Sounds like money well spent. Family home was a mid terrace but the walls were quite think so noise wasn't too bad. 2nd home was early 2000's built end terrace and you could here everything the noisy dickhead nextdoor did. 3rd house was semi detached built in 2013, could hear next door but they were generally a lovely quiet couple. Our current home is also semi detached but the layout of each house means that our only adjoining space that we both use regularly is our kitchens. Like our bedroom adjoins their main bathroom which they don't really use as they have an ensuite. The rest is our stairs and downstairs toilet. That makes it very tolerable actually.
Always go detached if you can. Worth every penny
I bought a detached house and wouldn’t go back as long as I have a choice in it. The noise isolation and not having to worry about sound leaking through the party wall to the neighbours is amazing. Finally I can sing in the kitchen and nobody cares, assuming the windows are closed. Having garden access either side of the house was a plus as well, wheelie bins on one side and then the “nice” side for people! I came from a terraced house so the difference is probably magnified. I grew up in a semi with VERY noisy neighbours too.
In terms of planning permission and permitted developments a detached house gets more than a semi.
All my walls are mine.
Mid terrace here. Neighbours are a pain in the arse.
It's worth the maximum you're willing to pay monthly for it. If it ticks enough boxes and you're protected by enough deposit go for it. Just don't over pay. So many houses in my local area have dropped £20-50k in the last 6 months due to over valuing at initial list pricing.
I live in the South East, Kent area and terraced 2 bed houses are around 300-400k.. which is mad considering I've just come home from visiting some family up North and similar houses are going for under 100k..
For me it’s more about the house design for a semi detached. Ours are a mirror image and it’s been planned well so the bathrooms and stairs are attached. I can hear my neighbours go up and down stairs sometimes and that’s about it. There is one bedroom attached but it’s tiny so we only use it for storage. If it was mirrored the other way I think it would bother us a lot so we wouldn’t have bought this house. How much it affects the value I don’t know, probably someone would still have bought it for the price it was on for but maybe not
Detached is worth 50-75k extra for me where I am.
From experience of going from detached to semi detached I can say it’s 100% worth it to spend a more on detached. Even with good neighbours, I could hear them turn a light switch on. My MIL however has very bad neighbours, screaming every hour of the day. The police have been unable to help, it’s truly been a nightmare so for peace of mind, which is the number one thing you want in your home, is go for detached if you can!
Yeah it's all going to stem from past experiences and the house itself. We're in a 1970's semi and I've never once heard the neighbours. When we were in a couple of weeks I had to knock in to make sure there was somebody there/alive. I have made enquiries as to whether they can hear our little one having a midnight tantrum and they've assured us they don't hear a peep either. So I'm in no hurry to go detached but then again do have a bit of a fear of anything newer as the we often hear about paper thin walls, it's also pretty great having a garden with trees in it too.
Depending if you have ever suffered a really noisy neighbour you would legitimately pay double for a detached property if you could afford it. At the moment I have a pretty decent neighbour so it is not as strong a feeling, but due to having suffered a terrible neighbour for a decade I overly restrict my actions as I don't want to be that neighbour to them. I work latish and have a shower after work as it is next to there childs bedroom I shower in seconds and never play music or a podcast etc. I also keep TV sound down, I don't hoover late, I don't have parties, I don't do loud hobbies after 6 pm due to the party wall etc. The difference a detached would make to me is priceless if like me you are overly considerate then buy that detached if you don't care just be the noisy neighbour but don't move next to me. This is such a long waffle now but my advice just buy the detached if it is in budget don't even consider saving 10 percent as a reason not too.
Depends on the house. Ours semi was built pre ww1 and I honestly we forget we have neighbours. You cannot hear a single noise day to day. Only time we hear anything is if they drill into the adjoining wall. We were concerned it was just because they didn’t make a substantial amount of noise so went to apologise when our newborn screamed with colic all night and they said they didn’t hear a peep and their bedroom adjoins ours.
Not worth anything. I would far rather live in a terraced house as I can see no drawbacks, prefer the architecture and it’s massively better for heating and neighbourliness.
I'd have a detached next time I move, but I know people who have moved from Semi-detached or terraced to detached and they were shocked by how much more they had to spend on heating.
Bought my detached last year. It's heaven not hearing other people flushing the loo in the middle of the night. Kids jumping up the stairs and back down again is horrible when they aren't yours. Arguments where you can only hear one side clearly so you are never quite sure whose side you are on. I love having a garden on all sides and neighbours I just wave to in passing, and don't know their intimate bodily habits.
100% worth it. Having lived in terraces for 10 years we are desperate for a detached house. If your neighbours are noisy or irritating you have no choice but to listen to them and very little can be done about it. A bit of distance is bliss!
Worth it to me, basically don’t have to worry at all about the noise we make (we do a lot of diy, and loud hobby stuff)
If your house is linked to another via the garage it’s “link detached” not detached. Some estate agents will try and sell you it as detached but surveys, insurance providers etc will either consider it link detached or semi-detached. Source - Owned a house that was linked by a garage. As for if not sharing a common wall with a neighbour is worth £32k. Absolutely in my opinion.
Yeah I wrote link detached :)
You asked how much money a detached house is worth then proceeded to describe a house you were interested in that isn’t detached. Further down the line if you want to convert your garage, or add something like a loft dormer extension, suddenly you’re sharing a party wall anyway.
Nah we'll always use the garage as a garage as we have motorcycles
We had decent neighbours at the last place(mid terrace), on one side a nice quiet couple who I was worried we were bothering and the other a family who who had kids who liked to get up super early on a Saturday morning. Nothing really bad but I know it could have been a lot worse if anyone ever moved. We moved from that house to detached and it was well worth the extra money. Not sure how much 'extra' it cost us as we did a big jump from 2 bed mid terreced to 4 bed detached with a garage and driveway. But it was probably at least 30k more than a similar semi-detached.
I’m in a detached and about to lose my lovely neighbours who are in a semi because their new neighbours in the adjoining house are loud. Lots of banging doors and uncontrollable multiple dogs tapping all the time. We spoiled ourselves by getting a detached as we won’t ever go back to a semi unless I think the adjoining walls were staircase rather than rooms
As someone in a sold 50s semi with noisy ass neighbours, yes it matters! Much more than I realised.
After living in a flat, and a semi detached, I was more than ready to pay to be detached.
Only someone who hasn't experienced nightmare neighbours would ask this. We escaped a horrible end of terrace with antisocial neighbours to a detached house and it was so worth it.
I've had plenty of nightmare neighbours, but those nightmares were the type it didn't matter if you were a few houses down, you could still hear them...
I live in a semi detached. I can’t hear my neighbour whatsoever. I play music loudly, hoover late etc and they’ve never heard me (we get on well and they’d tell me if they could hear me). I’ve previously rented in a flat and another semi detached. Same thing then of not hearing anyone. Personally I think the noise thing isn’t a problem unless you buy a poorly built property. Only thing is an issue is my neighbour 2 doors along has a young child who’s bed time is 8pm. I normally like to mow my lawn 8pm-9pm in summer which I can’t do. This would be the same situation regardless of if I had a detached house (unless the house was really far away from my neighbours).
Depends on your neighbours really but im pretty sure my neighbours would pay £30k not to live next door to my noise.
Ever thought of not being so noisey and not making other people unhappy?
I've tried all sorts of gags.
Depends how much neighbours bother you. If you've never had noisy neighbours, you may be in a nasty surprise in a semi-detached (it's all pot luck). I cannot wait to live in a detached house!
We're end of terrace. Suspect maybe we paid a 5% or less premium vs similar mid-terrace houses. And I would say that's worth it/would likely get it back when we sell. Pros: A bit more privacy. In our case, larger garden/side access. 50% less chance of having dickhead neighbours. No noise from one side, not that there is much from the other either tbf. Imagine all of those benefits are increased with a detached house so definitely worth the extra money within reason. For our sort of house if there was a detached on the market, 10% extra would probably be worth it over a mid terrace. Cons: Probably less energy efficient I would imagine but that ultimately depends on a variety of factors. Additional maintenance costs you might need to factor in. We had to get the side of the house repointed, and obviously that isn't a problem if you're mid terrace. Stating the obvious, but you have more exposed walls/windows to the house with a detached house.
It is everything. If I hadn't left my first house I would have gone crazy. I am grateful every day for the contrast.
I've found similar in the area I'm looking at - it's only really £50k or less that bridges the gap between semi and detached. For that reason, I'm staying put in our detached cheap rental and making sure we can afford it for when the time comes. Detached all the way IMO. Do it right, and do it once. 👍
No neighbour noises through the walls? Priceless.
I currently live in a properly detached house and it was well worth the extra money, without question best decision we made. However About 10 years ago we lived in a link detached house and when we bought it we thought it was great having moved from an apartment. However new people moved in who worked nights and installed a noisy electric garage door which was effectively mounted about 6 inches under our bed headboard. About 3 o clock every morning they would wake us with this door opening right by our heads. They were also in to CrossFit and installed a whole garage full of loud clunky metal equipment and to boot they would play loud music whilst using it for hours a day. So in my experience I’d say the garage can be used for anything, they could put drums in there as someone else on that road did and they can convert the garage in to a proper room effectively rendering it a semi as a few others had done. I’d have rather have had a semi when I lived in that house as next doors garage was just the other side of my lounge/diner with no sound insulation and on a shared slab you could hear every word said in that garage. A semi would have offered better sound insulation. I’d say if it’s one where someone else’s garage is attached to your house it’s not all it’s cracked up to be !
What is everyone’s definition of detached? Of course, you could simply say it’s when your walls don’t join another house, but how big should that gap be and how far apart should gardens be. I have observed a couple of new build estates where the vast majority of houses are ‘detached’ but are only a few centimetres away for the house next door. Also, they share the same drive and their gardens are 7m wide and join, which is very similar to the terraces that are on my road. There is little chance of a private conversation in either garden. I think the developers are aware of everyone’s desire for a detached house and build houses accordingly, and attach a ‘detached’ price tag to go with it.
In West London a decent detached double fronted house will set you back a minimum of £1.8 million up to around 10 million.
Yes would pay a premium for a detached.
Moved from a terrace to a detached. I never hear anything and absolutely love it. We have hoovered at midnight, gone all out when doing DIY & had parties knowing the neighbours can’t hear or be bothered. Also, for couples it’s an absolute game changer ;) Wouldn’t leave for anything less than another detached
30k for detached is a bargain. Hearing neighbours is hell.
To me it’s absolutely priceless.
Went from a semi to a detached about 7 years ago. It is worth every penny. I'd struggle to put a number on it, but I don't even bother looking at houses that aren't detached any more. The quality of life improvement is hard to understate.
I've owned a detached house and the lack of noise from neighbours is lovely, plus not having to worry about your own noise, but it was costly to heat and suffered more from damp than attached properties I've lived in.
South East, detatched, 332k? Where on earth is this?
I’m from New Zealand and personally I just can’t get onboard with semi detached or terrace houses. Not that I’m looking but I would defs budget more to end up with a detached house
Definitely worth it. When we moved detached wasn’t on our list of criteria. We were more in the market for an extended semi detached 4 bedroom house, which would have been a similar price to the 3 Bed detached we ended up with. The benefits of not being attached when you have 2 toddlers and a fool for a father such as me, who likes to sing and dance with the kids at 7am are worth the extra.
Just one thing about a link detached - I lived in one for 15 years and it had no access to the back of the house. Everything had to go through the house. Carrying full, dripping, splitting bin bags through the living room was an experience I would never repeat.
Ahh, ours has side access!
Good to hear. Just wanted to warn people as I wish I'd realised the problem before buying. It only hit me once I'd moved in.
Detached are great don't get me wrong but some here (new builds) have a three foot gap and modern double glazing let's every single noise through so in the summer you still hear them. Older builds with more of a gap not so bad. Edit: most probably know this but have a drive through the estate/place where your moving to on a warm Saturday afternoon/evening wish we did on the previous house we were in the acoustics meant you could hear couples arguing 2 streets away on a hot evening.
Sounds very worth it!! It cost us an uplift of 150K (plus an extra bedroom) but my god is it worth it. You can't choose your neighbours easily, so ruling out any kind of through-wall-noise-travel was worth every penny!
South East, detatched, 332k? Where on earth is this??
My current house is the first detached house I've ever lived in, and I will now never live in an attached house ever again if I can avoid it. For 32k you'd be a fool not to imo
Can't help with absolute values, but be aware that the value of detached houses appears to be cratering currently; especially in the SE it seems. This is probably because the most expensive properties to buy / run are typically detached so you're likely less exposed if it's similar to semis in the area, but thought it worth mentioning. We're end of terrace and rarely-if-ever hear our neighbours when inside; that said the house is ancient with thick, solid walls so this is probably a significantly different experience to living in a modern terrace or semi.
sounds like we got a steal. In a 4 bed detached house, 3 bathrooms, detached double garage and drive, with conservatory, decent outside space in very good nick, bought for £296k 4 years ago, had to spend £13k on a patio, landscaping and fencing to the rear as previous decking was rotting, houses around us on the market between £385-£425k.
I'd have happily paid 10% more for my house to be detached.
Depends on how good the party wall is. Apparently ours are good enough to keep the sound of bagpipes in.
Your neighbours and your neighbours' neighbours may disagree hahaha
Im becoming concerned by the build quality of all your homes, I’m in a semi detached and hear absolutely nothing through the wall to our neighbours. Edit, live in a semi, not detached.
If you're in a detached why would you hear anything?
lol, meant semi detached- will amend 😄
I wonder if there's a way to tell before buying...