Would you buy a house next door to one with 2 tramps living in it?

[Washersaurus]

So, we aren't really looking for a house properly, but with DC3 on the way and DH working from home more often than not, we need a slight upgrade (slight is all we can afford)

We went to view a quite nice house the other day, but there are 2 stinky old geezers living in the house next door. Their house is run down and dirty looking - we believe social services may be involved.

The houses are semi's and the doors are right next to each other, but the back gardens are totally fenced off.

Am I being totally unreasonable to be put off? Would you mind living next door to them?

DH is sulking, and I have agreed to go back for a second viewing on Thursday.

[hf128219]

I would want to try and find out a bit more about your prospective neighbours before signing on the dotted line.

[Snowstorm]

Will it mean that you can negotiate the price downwards? I was then going to add that if you could get the price down and then hope that the tramps get moved on, then that'd be fantastic for you ... the problem being that you can't guarantee who or what would follow them.

That to one side, if you thought the house was only 'quite nice', and it had tramps next door, then that'd probably be a no for me.

[Washersaurus]

We have been trying to find out about them. The neighbours on the other side said that they haven't had any problems with them for a long time (which makes me wonder what problems they were). They said they would go for it...but that is easy for them to say from a safe distance .

The estate agent was cagey when asked.

[Washersaurus]

The house was 'quite nice' - it isn't as big as we really need or in the area we are in now...BUT we only have 2 bedrooms currently and space wise it would be an improvement. We can't afford a bigger house in this area.

I currently have quite nice neighbours.

DH hates this house because it is all backwards - despite having freakin' enormous loft, we can't even do a loft conversion as the blardy stairs are in the wrong place.

[BaronessBarbaraKingstanding]

If it's putting you off it would put others off too, so be harder to sell in the future.

That would put me off tbh, more than actually living next to them. They may be very nice shambolic old men who'd be no trouble themsleves, but resell would bother me.

[postal]

no I wouldn't

[NorbertDentressangle]

Congratulations on no.3!

Who owns the house the tramps live in? Is it social housing that may house similar people if/when these guys move on? Or does it belong to them?

Are they drinkers who may become loud/abusive/destructive? Or are they quiet reclusive types?

I'd be asking the other neighbours more questions to find out more TBH

[Washersaurus]

The house is privately owned. The men are recluse types, apparently their mother had gangrene and refused to have foot amputation and rotted to death. Since she died they have been unable to look after themselves.....men ey?

DH's friend lives 2 doors down and has been gathering information for us.

[NorbertDentressangle]

eurgh, gruesome!

I'd keep gathering info from your DH's friend.

Also get DH to walk past at night to see if theres any noise or anything. Get an idea of what you might be next door to

[preciouslillywhite]

a bit like this perhaps?

[sassy]

Jeez. Whereabouts do you live Washy, Twin Peaks???

(Yes I know it is not v far from me really but the gangrene story is weirrrrd)

I'd be put off myself. Sorry if that is not what you want to hear.

[paisleyleaf]

I wouldn't be immediately put off I don't think.
In fact I can think of worse neighbours (thinking loud RnB music etc).
But I would be wanting to know more from your DH's friends.....although be a bit careful they haven't got their own agenda, in that they would personally love to have you living nearby, so might play down any problems.
Like Baroness said though, it's the reselling in the future (if that's what you might be looking to) that could be a problem.

[Washersaurus]

Am not looking at that link ....

Yes, gangrene story is horrible...I would worry about rotting corpses etc next door in the future...urgh!

I can't get DH to see this though. He sees beatiful carpentry in all the rooms, a bigger kitchen, and space for 3rd child, an office and a loft conversion.

He even said he dreamt he was shaking me upside down by the ankles the other night because he wanted the house so much. He sulked like a teenager for 24 hours after the first viewing.

I was totally put off right at the start as the big dirty hairy man ambled past me with his shopping trolley bag thing and loitered in his doorway watching us go in to the house.

[NorbertDentressangle]

Are the men about to kick the bucket soon themselves very elderly?

[edam]

I'd be worried about whether they would be problem neighbours. Would they allow rubbish to pile up in the garden? If they can't/won't look after themselves, will their house attract rats (if they don't dispose of food waste properly, for instance)? Will they maintain their property - especially if it's a semi, what if they get a broken gutter, for instance, and don't deal with it - you could suffer from damp problems... And obv. resale is a big issue.

[hellsbelles]

I would say no - neighbours can be the bane of your life if they problematic and it sounds like these have the potential to be.

And if you do get problems with them (that require reporting) you'll have to declare that if you want to sell on - which will probably lower the value and make it more difficult to resell

Sorry - if that's not want you want to hear.

[preggersplayspop]

That's really sad. Poor blokes.

There were a couple of alcoholics living in my road, their house was a bit of an eyesore and you would often see them staggering down the road, one collapsed in the street another time. They were pretty harmless (but then I wasn't next door to them so not sure how noisy they were), but it was the unpredictability of them which was slightly alarming. It would definitely put other people off if you were looking to sell in the future (if you are debating it, others wouldn't even contemplate it).

Can't you move the stairs in your house so you can extend? It's probably cheaper doing that than moving.

[NorbertDentressangle]

Actually, I started off quite open minded but now I'm thinking "No way". There are too many uncertainties in what the future might hold

[TimothyTigerTuppennyTail]

A fence in the garden won't stop the rats....

[Washersaurus]

lol Norbert, I was wondering that myself, but knowing my luck they both will live in happy squalor until they are 130yo!

This has the potential to cause total stress with DH, he doesn't like not getting his own way and we can't afford anything else without a lottery win.

BTW I don't like our current house much either tbh, but it is good school catchment and neighbours are mostly friendly. The house we are looking at is marginally out of catchment and I would also worry that DS2 and DC3 wouldn't get a place at the same school as DS1 is attending.

DH has already planned where our chickens would live in the new garden etc

[Washersaurus]

Actually, that sounded terrible. I am just grateful to still have a roof over my head, even if it is too small for us - my parents managed a 3 bedroom house with 6 children and my senile nan!

[hellsbelles]

Washer - it always feels like that is the 'only' house there will be - but there WILL be another one without two old geezers festering next door soon enough.

[preciouslillywhite]

Washy you're not looking in Nunhead, are you? It's full of stinky old geezers round 'ere

[preciouslillywhite]

...and rofl at dh's ankle shaking dream

[Washersaurus]

I think I'll mention the risk of rats in the garden as DH will worry about the chickens (hopefully)...will that be enough to distract him from beautiful bespoke cupboards and shutters, stripped wooden floorboards and original sash windows, do you think?

I like sash windows to look at but double glazing keeps me warm.