Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Mother in law wants to buy next door

265 replies

ezzycozzy · 12/07/2018 16:46

My widowed mother in law has repeatedly asked to sell up both houses and live together. (She already lives in the next road to us and her other son lives 1 mile away). I have repeatedly said no in no uncertain terms to her. I have avoided a full on face to face confrontation about it but I have sent a couple of strong worded texts about how it is not an option. At this stage my husband always says he is open to the idea but he will 'talk to me' about it. Anyhow, our elderly next door neighbour has just died and leaves behind a dooer upper of a bungalow. She wants to buy it. Stupid husband wants to do it up. (Basically he sees the plus of having an extra garage and driveway. We also have out buildings with a log burner that we do not have permission for so he is happy to have the easy ride of a non complaining neighbour like his mother). I on the other hand feel like moving out. She would be here all the time Molly coddling him and our kids would constantly choose to be next door at nannies where they can do as they bloody well like!!).......

OP posts:
BackforGood · 14/07/2018 20:30

There is also the point, that, even if you got on famously, and there weren't a particular issue, the fact she has spend thousands moving round the corner to live next to you, would make it very difficult for you to then sell up and move on when you are ready - as many families do move, for a myriad of reasons.

Teacher22 · 15/07/2018 06:00

I had a friend who lived in the nicest part of an area and, when the house next door to her came up for sale, her DS and DIL bought it. They had strict ground rules and she and the DH never went round randomly or without being invited. It is still working famously and the children and grandchildren have had the benefit of wise and generous neighbours.

However, it could have been otherwise and only worked because my friend and her DH were so tactful.

In the OP’s case, the MIL seems to be needy, controlling and encroaching. She has already overstepped boundaries and the DH is not helping by choosing his DM over his DW.

Personally, I think that sorting out the DH’s mistaken priorities is the first task. He needs to know he must put his wife and family first and that the MIL moving next door will jeopardise the family’s happiness and cause continual friction as her behaviour and demands become ever more unreasonable.

Having said that, if the woman can afford to move next door no one can stop her so it might be wise to set up some rules before she does. Are there other siblings? It might be worth stipulating that, if she wants help with the doer upper, she must leave the property to her son and the OP in her will. It would certainly be worth saying that, for her sake (cough cough) you will only be seeing each other at certain times, for example, between three and five and not at weekends or in the evenings. There will be no ‘popping in’ and so on.

Good luck with the whole business.

overduemamma · 15/07/2018 06:42

Your famous - you are in the sun paper :)

morningconstitutional2017 · 15/07/2018 07:58

A thought about the future has occurred to me. Supposing that MIL gets dementia - it may be easier to go round and see her very often with a cup of tea (take your own cup if hygiene becomes an issue) and this could help to keep all of you reassured.

If she needs several visits each day it would be much easier to pop next door than to have to jump in the car each time - my BIL was nearly driven insane by his mother at its worst. Just a thought.

Icanttakemuchmore · 15/07/2018 09:20

A recipe for disaster imo. Also, the time it'll take for your dh to do the place up, I expect she'll ask to live at yours whilst the chaos Is going on too! Put your foot down and say it'll have an impact on the time he spends with you and the dcs and when it's all done up, she'll be living in your pockets.

Motherof · 15/07/2018 10:47

Hi from a mil point of view,I love all my my family,but definitely wouldn’t want to live with or right next door to any of them,I love to see my gc and but also love my own space ,maybe you should sit down with your mil and try to find out why she feels she needs to live right next door,maybe she’s having issues of her own,

raison490 · 15/07/2018 10:52

YANBU. Nightmare.

Jux · 15/07/2018 11:55

In general, the way we treat old people in this society is shameful.

In some ways I can see why some elderly people can be so demanding, sometimes it's the only way to at least seem relevant and considered; so often, the elderly are just shunted aside unless free childcare is wanted or the inheritance is at stake.

At the same time, it is easy to understand why a demanding and pushy elderly parent is left largely alone.

Chicken and egg.

DH couldn't bear to spend more than about 5 minutes with his mum, and therefore didn't. DH treated her completely without respect, so much so that I was shocked often at it. Was that because she didn't show him any respect or because she simply didn't deserve any? I never found an answer to that, but I found her such appalling company, so dreadfully rude and disrespectful that I withdrew from seeing her as much as I could, told dh he had to deal with her himself. But I do still wonder how it had all started...

Anyway, dealing with op's immediate predicament, speak to him about the bathroom issue and if he won't play ball find someone else.

Jux · 15/07/2018 11:57

Ignore my last para/sentence! Grin

thebabysmellsofpooagain · 15/07/2018 12:14

I'm with @dementedmummy on this one as I also have a MIL that moves things because she wants them somewhere else, told us to chop a tree down in our (rented!) garden because she didn't like it etc etc ...... the list goes on!

There is a house on our road for sale, and if there was any noises about the PIL buying it, I'd sell my house and DH too if he agreed to it!

Stick to your guns, a house on the next road is a perfectly reasonable distance (if not a little close). If he wants to be closer to his mother, point out he's perfectly welcome to live in her house instead!

GL! Xxx

Ippydippyskyblue · 18/07/2018 18:31

Omg, you have my deepest sympathies! 😳

Milisapill · 18/07/2018 20:59

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

CyanFatball · 30/09/2025 02:10

I sincerely hope this horror of a situation didn't happen for youI feel for you. I have many teenage kids and a mother-in-law with whom I don't have a great history. We've been getting along swimmingly of late. Our neighbor's house is up for sale and she is so excited. This worries me so very much. I do not want her always expecting my husband to come over to visit her. I do not want her expecting him to do chores at her spotless kidless house ehile we have a mess that needs cleaning up here at our house full of kids. I do not want her to come over more often, invite my kids over to her place more often, or tell me how to parent more often. I do not want her more often to pit my kids against me. She has done much of this to date. I searched for and found this. If anyone can help, please help by giving me ideas. How can I help it to get sold to a non-relative?!?

Elsvieta · 30/09/2025 21:25

CyanFatball · 30/09/2025 02:10

I sincerely hope this horror of a situation didn't happen for youI feel for you. I have many teenage kids and a mother-in-law with whom I don't have a great history. We've been getting along swimmingly of late. Our neighbor's house is up for sale and she is so excited. This worries me so very much. I do not want her always expecting my husband to come over to visit her. I do not want her expecting him to do chores at her spotless kidless house ehile we have a mess that needs cleaning up here at our house full of kids. I do not want her to come over more often, invite my kids over to her place more often, or tell me how to parent more often. I do not want her more often to pit my kids against me. She has done much of this to date. I searched for and found this. If anyone can help, please help by giving me ideas. How can I help it to get sold to a non-relative?!?

Edited

Bribe the seller to sell to anyone but her.

Elsvieta · 30/09/2025 21:26

If she's next door, becoming her carer will be completely inevitable. I'd worry more about that than about her spoiling the kids a bit now. Put your foot down.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page