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Property/DIY

Would you go and talk to the neighbours of a house you wanted to buy?

26 replies

Honey1975 · 14/03/2017 14:03

Just wondering if people do this or is it a bit intrusive?
I would like to see the neighbours house of the house we've offered on as they have done an extension just as we'd like to do and I'd like to be able to visualise it as we're going to have a lot of work to do!

I also have a few questions about living in that road. Should I go round? They're only round the corner.

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Astro55 · 14/03/2017 14:07

Absolutely!! My gran wouldn't buy a house without speaking to the neighbours - seems the right thing to do - and when I offered in a house I always asked about the neighbours and knocked the door!!

Go do it!

RockyBird · 14/03/2017 14:07

Yes, and I have done.

magicstar1 · 14/03/2017 14:10

Definitely. I was approached by neighbours at one house to warn me that the woman was selling up because of trouble in the area...not because she'd changed job as the estate agents told me.

Shadowboy · 14/03/2017 14:10

We've done this for every single house we bought. We basically say 'really sorry to bother you but we are interested in purchasing the house next door but don't know the area, would you mind telling us what you think of the village/street etc, would you recommend living here?'

With one property we looked at we discovered most of the street was tenanted to students (large 3 story Victorian terraced house we thought wouldn't have students in as the uni was the other side of the city)

It's often very revealing of the issues in an area. We found out that one street flooded Pluvially a lot.

StiginaGrump · 14/03/2017 14:11

I did they were racist BNP arses and DH is mixed race. I decided there were better houses!!

Truckingalong · 14/03/2017 14:30

Yep!

Sixoclocknews · 14/03/2017 14:35

My dad did this when I bought my first house. No shame at all!

Sixoclocknews · 14/03/2017 14:36

I am thinking of buying a house and I want to know about parking, sun in the garden and traffic noise but havent plucked up the courage yet. I'm sure people wouldn't mind though.

hellokittymania · 14/03/2017 14:39

my mom was looking for a house for me last year and she did this quite a lot. I have a disability and some special needs so very careful about who lives near me.

LumpishAndIllogical · 14/03/2017 16:28

Yes we did this! Asked neighbours in village, they were happy to chat 😊

TorchesTorches · 14/03/2017 16:31

I did this and she invited me in to look around her house to give an idea about how it looks when it is furnished (it was really helpful!) she also told me about mutual neighbours at the back and generally was very helpful. Would highly recommend it!

kernowgal · 14/03/2017 20:33

I would next time. My immediate neighbours are great but there are others on the street and parking issues that might have made me think twice.

Though with hindsight this is still the best house I could afford by quite some distance, so I probably would have gone ahead anyway. The parking issues can at least be solved by spending ££ on dropping the kerb; the twats opposite and up the road could be 'disappeared', I suppose...

SouthWestmom · 14/03/2017 20:38

The house next door to me is for sale. If any of you bloody knock to ask me about the neighbourhood while I'm stressed out with the kids or work I will not be happy. You won't want to buy the house! I can't imagine if every viewer did this!

DanyellasDonkey · 14/03/2017 20:46

Never heard of anyone doing this and wouldn't dream of doing it myself.

AntiHop · 14/03/2017 20:51

I did this but only once we were serious about buying the place, not for every place we viewed.

We told our neighbours they were welcome to tell viewers to knock on our door if they wished when they were selling.

NotCitrus · 14/03/2017 20:56

Hell yes! We didn't offer on a place after being talked at by the neighbours, about all the other neighbours. They were smelly and hugely rude and racist. Mrs Not-Neighbour shouted abuse at me every time I walked past given we bought instead about 2 min walk away.

Current neighbours were practically a selling point and remain lovely.

fabulous01 · 14/03/2017 22:24

A couple looking at the house beside me asked me questions.
They bought the house.

PookieK · 15/03/2017 12:45

Absolutely. We looked (and bought) in a cul-de-sac so knowing what the neighbours were going to be like was really important. I think after the second viewing the neighbours came out anyway to talk to us as I guess they were just as keen to find out about us. Made a huge difference to wanting to buy. I would be very happy for others to knock on our door if next door went up for sale.

heron98 · 15/03/2017 13:04

I wouldn't do this. Wouldn't know what to say if someone knocked on the door and asked me this and would find it a bit intrusive to be honest.

Lilmisskittykat · 15/03/2017 13:05

My dad knocked on next door when I was buying once offer was accepted. It was a nice ice breaker and was something I'd never thought of.

I would do it for my next house, cause neighbours make or break a home. Obviously not just at a viewing stage

StarUtopia · 15/03/2017 13:06

I would. And I'm surprised at people saying they wouldn't be happy about someone knocking on to ask them.

Do you not speak to your neighbours?

geordiedench · 15/03/2017 13:07

Yes. We did. Poor next door neighbour was on an important work conference call and answered the door to me asking about the flood plain at the back of the house. But they were lovely and still are, and they recommended the area.

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PJBanana · 15/03/2017 13:59

I would 100% do this next time we buy.

When we bought our current house we were blatantly lied to by our vendors who told us that the house next door (semi detached) was owned by a woman who lived alone. We soon discovered when we moved in that it's actually rented, and seems to have new tenants every 6 months (some of whom have been awful). We might have found this out if we'd gone and asked.

We also have friends whose house sale fell through after their buyer knocked on next door and found out the house has been converted into flats and that there's been trouble since the multiple tenants moved in.

Alas, we will definitely be getting to know potential neighbours in the future!

cafesociety · 16/03/2017 14:33

I always do this and have moved a lot. It's put me right off in some cases when the person has appeared defensive, annoyed and unhelpful.
It is such a big undertaking that it's best to get it right without any problems coming up later.
In most cases the neighbour has been just fine. The house next door sold recently and the potential buyer knocked to ask about the gas supply. I knew she was checking me out and was ok with that, just friendly and helpful. Why wouldn't you be?
She has now moved in and we get on fine.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 16/03/2017 14:34

No. But we did view at different times of day and we did drive/walk bys several times to get an idea.

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