Would you tell your neighbour that you have sold your house?

[MinnieMountain]

Our neighbours have sold their house, but not told us. We're civil with them rather than friendly but I still find it odd.

They didn't have a sign up, I found out from looking at house prices in our area on Rightmove.

I saw them last week as I needed a chat about having their tree trimmed. Asked how they are generally- no mention of it.

Our neighbours did this. First we knew about it was the lorries turning up and a Sold sign appearing. We were like “You’re moving?!” 😮

There’d been no For Sale sign up, no mention of it. We were friendly; chatted all the time and had been for dinner at each other’s houses.

As they loaded the lorries she asked if we wanted her garden bench, as it wouldn’t fit in her new garden. We’ve still got it, thirteen years later. We still call it ‘Hannah’s bench.’ Never saw her again.

We’re in the process of selling and we’ve not told our neighbours. They are lovely but are real gossips and it’s none of their business why or when we’re moving. The house was sold off market so no-one will see it on Rightmove or the estate agent’s website.

We didn’t have a sign up as sold it to the son of the first estate agent that valued it. It took months as the property we were buying had issues. We were on reasonable terms with the neighbours, take parcels in, chats, etc. But it hadn’t really occurred to us to tell anyone so there was a lot of curtain twitching when the removal van turned up. We only moved round the corner so still bump into them!

No, but I am a Southerner.

I wouldn't deny it but wouldn't make a point of it until I actually had a removal date because pantechnicons can cause problems. I wouldn't deliberately mention it before that because many a slip and all that.

I wouldn't expect them to mention it unless it was relevent to a situation involving both properties. So in your situation I would have expected it to be mentioned when you were discussing the tree trimming.

When ever I've sold a house I have had a board up and that has always been the signal for the whole blooming neighbourhood to discuss the sale with me - even people who I've never really spoken to showing great interest, including where I'm moving to. So I can see the attraction of doing things quietly.

Ha! Yes same.

Nope. I didn’t say anything when we last moved and we didn’t have a sign up.

Neighbours would have buggered off to work in the morning and come back to different people in the house.

It was nothing to do with them at all, but I just see neighbours as people that live in houses around you and nothing more.

A bit strange but perhaps they don't want to talk about the reason for the move or the details, for some personal reasons. Or perhaps the sale has only just gone under offer and may fall through.

We’ve recently sold ours, didn’t tell the neighbours and no sign up. They’re very nosey, have frequently overstepped and generally been rude.

They knew because their daughter is in the same class as my DS and the day after it went on the market she had shouted in the middle of the classroom “HE’S MOVING HOUSE!”

Which proves my point really.

I would once we'd exchanged contracts, but not before. We've seen a house we like, so are in the process of putting our house up for sale, and we've done this a few times over the years, but we're very unsure whether it's the right thing (heart says do it, head says don't!), and the chances of us getting the house we want are slim anyway, so no point telling anyone. If the house goes on the market though, they'll see it on Rightmove and we won't have told them. So maybe they were unsure, or thought it might not go through, but then everything happened faster than they thought?

I'd tell our current neighbour, he feeds our cat, is a generally all round sound bloke and we'd like him to know. May or may not tell the other neighbours around - but they'd definitely ask - all retired and with time on their hands!

I’d definitely tell mine, but we chat most days anyway, feed each other’s cats etc. One side did sell up last year and the first I knew was when the estate agent’s video popped up on YouTube. I mentioned it in passing and they were surprised I knew. We chatted occasionally and were friendly so I was a bit surprised but presumably they had their reasons. I was sorry to see them go but my new neighbour is very nice so all good.

How recently was it SSTC? Our neighbours were trying to sell for 18 months. We saw it finally sold on Rightmove. It was a second home and we only saw them a few times a year. They didn’t officially tell us for several months.

That said, if it’s literally only been in the past few weeks, they’re probably not counting their chickens before they hatch. Sales fall through all the time.

But if it’s come up on a house value website, that would indicate to me that the sale is complete. That information would come from the land registry I believe If your neighbours are still living there (you talked to them, so appears they are), then I would assume they are tenants and the house has been sold to new landlords with them in situ, or it’s a private sale within the family (selling to children to avoid losing it to care costs). That’s why they didn’t mention it, because they’re still living there. They can’t both have completed on a sale and still be living in the house if it’s a traditional sale.

Our previous neighbours didn’t tell us their house was up for sale and we were very friendly with them. Not friends as such but helped each other out and exchanged Christmas cards/presents and generally got along well. They didn’t tell the neighbour on the other side of me either, despite having a really good relationship with her. They didn’t put up a for sale sign. I found out their house was on the market because they suddenly started getting loads of work done and I just had a lightbulb moment and checked Property Pal (that’s our local online selling platform in NI) and there it was. They only told us when the house was sold. And they didn’t tell us where they were moving to which I found strange. But I bumped into the husband one day in Sainsbury’s and he told me (without my asking) that they were living a couple of streets away from my mum, so just a few miles down the road. It all seemed a bit weird at the time. I wasn’t annoyed or offended or anything, just a bit curious about why they kept it secret. I’d still love to know🤣

I'd have to tell mine as they are my leaseholder (despite my house being 100 years older than theirs!).

My neighbours, 2 doors down, left without telling anyone. I'd known them for 30 years and we shared many BBQs and drinks parties etc. The wife had also worked for me on and off over many years. So we were all friends. First I knew about it was when they knocked at my door first thing one morning asking me to move my car so the furniture van could park (it's a bit of an odd shaped cul de sac). I was staggered. It was almost like they were doing a moonlight flit. It upset me to be honest.

We didn't tell ours but we are civil rather than friendly. We tell them when we're away but they don't tell us, they tell their other neighbours. But ours is the house attached to theirs.

Anyway, we didn't tell our neighbours because we weren't sure we'd find anything and even move a d also, I just didn't want to invite people to look at Rightmove and nose at the inside of all of our house. We didn't tell friends for the same reason. I'm quite a private person. In the end we didn't move.

If your relationship with your neighbours has always been 'civil' instead of 'friendly' then no, I don't think it's odd that they have sold up and not mentioned it to you.

You say you 'needed a chat about them trimming their tree' so it does sound like your relationship to them is more business-like.

You say they have tried, and failed, to sell before, perhaps they didn't wish to share their desire to move again, really, it's none of your business is it.

The only concern for you would be the same whether or not they did share their intentions to move, and that is that no one can predict who will be moving in next, which could possibly end up being your business depending on how well, or not, you get on with them.

Our neighbours did the same and we were friendly, had each others keys, looked after each others pets etc. Found it very odd but in their case, there was a bit of a neighbour dispute on their other side and I think they just wanted to keep it quiet so the buyers wouldn't find out.

Well I would because my neighbours and I are all good friends and support each other but not all neighbourhoods are like that.

Neighbours are just randoms who happen to live next door! Why should I tell them anything?

I used to rent this house. Then I quietly bought it from LL in a private sale and she went to live abroad. There was no for sale board and the property was never advertised publicly. I had never got on with NDN who was a snitch and a tittle tattle. LL eventually blocked her number. A couple of years went by before she found out. She asked me for LLs phone number and I told her I had no idea as LL now lived abroad.

"But who is looking after the house?" "I am, I bought it from LL 2 years ago."
The neighbour stared ar me. "I dont believe you"
"What you believe is immaterial to me. Now you have no one to snitch to."

That conversation made my day.

I've got a watch on Rightmove on my street. I am incredibly nosey.

Nobody here has a sign as we live down a dead-end unadopted road so nobody would see it. But we have been told. I’d think it a bit odd they didn’t mention it.

Our neighbours sold up and moved out without a word. They’d been their 5 or 6 years we had the odd chat in passing, how’s things etc. They never said a word even when we saw them the week before. Found it odd as surely you would just say oh, we’ve sold the house and we’re moving next week.