Buying house - homeless outside

They are not using your water!

You won't pay for any water until you move in and there are easy solutions to lock the outside tap. The property should be insured, you could ask your conveyancer if the sellers have sny security set up.

I wouldn't buy anywhere with a garden opposite a car park. Too much potential for issues arising in general.

That defeats the object of choosing van life which is (in most cases) a choice rather than necessity

That was my first thought. They “looked homeless” from… their legs 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

There was a caravan on an industrial estate road that I used to pass, it probably didn't really bother anyone but I did think it was taking the piss a bit when an awning got put up over the grass verge. It did disappear some after so it was probably reported, the awning did make it look more obvious.

Our outsider tap has a corresponding tap on the inside so that we can turn it off in cold weather.

It's very easy to turn the outside tap off from inside, they all have a screw that you quarter turn as need to turn it off if it's below freezing outside, you don't need to turn the whole houses water off at the stop cock. Couple of bolts and padlock on gate will keep your kids secure👍I have similar set up with council carpark opposite.

You saw legs popping out and they looked homeless? I think you might do well not thinking so hard about this. If there is an issue once you live there, contact the council.

If you want to ensure nobody can use your outside water tap except you, install a stopcock on the inside to specifically shut off the supply to that tap. Then someone outside turning it on will find no water comes out.

I wouldn't report them unless they're doing something antisocial. By "looks homeless" do you just mean scruffy? Because plenty of housed people look like that, and plenty of homeless people keep themselves clean and tidy such that you'd never know their circumstances just by looking at them.

They could be washing inside the van head to toe from a bowl of water or showering at motorway services and using toilets there. Using the toilets in parks, 24hr supermarkets, public libraries, pubs and cafés or places like McDonald's. They could be using a friend's address for vehicle registration, insurance and have tax and MOT on it. Washing clothes at a launderette. They're not necessarily filthy, shitting in your garden, stealing your apples and water or driving an unroadworthy vehicle. If someone has fallen on hard times why make their life harder for no reason?

I'd be more bothered about drug dealers doing their business in the car park after dark, myself. The petty theft and antisocial behaviour that can attract to an area. Some non-druggies living in a van right there is more likely to put people like that off.

💯

If you look on Amazon you can buy a lock for an outside tap.

So.. theres some people living in a van.

They're in the carpark overnight which is not allowed -you can report that, though likely the council are already aware.

Asides from that, you're actually unaware of any other wrong-doing, everything else is assumption.

I know lots of people who live in vans or have, or plan to (and those who live on boats). They would not consider themselves 'homeless' (house-less, yes, homeless, no) and do not peep through peoples gates or steal water (or anything else).

Van lifers tend to try to park where people won't notice them and moan - so that might be why they've parked near an empty property (and is much more likely why than 'to steal water' - most would assume an empty property has had the water cut off).

If you like the house, buy the house. The chances of them still being there by the time you've bought and moved in is pretty low.

IF it turns out someone is peeping through your gate or stealing your water, deal with it then. It is normal to deal with crimes/offenses/unpleasant behaviour WHEN it actually happens... not before!

If you don’t own it yet why would you be paying for the water? Just ignore it until you move in

As PP have said - for your peace of mind get a good strong fence, perhaps a Ring doorbell to monitor who comes/goes.

But also people living off grid tend to not want trouble, will probably leave you alone & respect your space.

Sometimes people live in cars in the week if they work away, are they there all the time, they may not be homeless if they are not.

Not really sure why this is a problem. It’s only a bit of water and if they’re in a van they’ll likely move on soon anyway.

Do the signs / council website have details of what to do if someone isn't following the parking rules? If you report overnight campers on council land where they aren't permitted they'll be asked to move on.
Have you exchanged? When do you complete? Is the house secure? Is there a garden gate?
If it makes you nervous about the carpark it may be better to pull out of the offer though? Will you feel at peace living there in the future?

Squatting isn't legal in the UK any more so you can just get people removed, if they live in a van they might ask you if they can have water from your outside tap. Or they might already have a supply.

Could you speak to the vendor/estate agent and get the tap turned off at the stop cock?

I live in a seaside area and we have lots of van lifers and house boaters OP. We've never had any trouble with them at all - they mostly seem to be quiet folk just living off grid.

Does it explicitly say that?
because we have abandoned vehicles parked on our councils car park that apparently haven’t been abandoned because a notice is served on them every 14 days and every 14 days the owners get in touch to tell us that the cars have not been abandoned and despite the fact that they are near the tax no MOT because they are on private property i.e. council land rather than the highway they are not moved or impounded