Sell house directly again - Prepayment penalty

Hi Kati,

love that you’re asking. Unfortunately no. I’m just finding strategies to "endure it"... I sleep with earplugs and only with closed windows (which for me was actually a no-go even in winter) and during the day I have music playing in the background. Friends have also "objectively" confirmed that it is really very loud and goes beyond normal noise. My husband also confirms it (but it doesn’t bother him). So it remains a mystery how I couldn’t hear it during the 4 viewings?! Well, I hope to be able to laugh about it someday.

So this house here is definitely not our final stop. Mentally, I am ready to "endure" it here now for 2-5 years until we have a final destination. Because the situation can’t be solved tomorrow.

I’m thinking more and more about building in the "old" village or next door (there are plots currently available to apply for there). In the old village a new development area is likely to be developed in the coming years. A friend has contacts at the town hall and will inquire next week about the schedule.

Have you ever measured the decibels with your phone?

I’m coming back to this question once again: without it, one can’t objectively say anything.

I will come back to this question once more: objectively, you can't say anything without it.

so if you measure it with a mobile app, it’s currently 36-38 dB on the balcony. The neighbors’ screaming baby is louder, but it doesn’t bother me nearly as much. Just like the neighbors who are grilling now and their conversations. I even enjoy these sounds. That’s life. Apparently, cars are unbearable for me.

why haven't I heard anything during all those appointments? It must be possible for the noise to fade into the background for me as well

Perhaps the weather was different during the appointments, maybe it was drier. With high humidity, the speed of sound increases—airplanes, highways... everything is then louder. And that should maybe be a glimmer of hope for you too. The weather has been very humid in recent days (at least here), which is why you heard the highway so loudly. In drier weather or in winter, it will be much quieter. All the best for you!

This house is definitely not our final destination. Mentally, however, I am prepared to "endure" it here for 2-5 years until we have a final destination. Because the situation cannot be resolved tomorrow.

I would easily bet that it won't bother you anymore then.

so if you measure that with a phone app, it is currently 36-38 dB on the balcony.

That is truly not high. It is just constant and unchangeable.
A whisper-quiet refrigerator is under 40 dB,
a quiet residential street at night is 38 dB.
If you were hypothetically advised to move to a quiet environment (e.g., forest), then the forest noise would probably be louder.