Do I pull out of house purchase.?

[Highfivemum]

Purchasing a new property for our ever increasing family brood. Love the property, location and we have had an offer accepted on it. All going well until this morning when I was chatting ( within distance ) to a friend, Just general lockdown chitchat. She knew our house was on the market and asked how it was all going. I said we had accepted and offer and had placed one on another house. I then told her where it was. She didn’t say much but made her excuse and left rather quickly. She has just called me to say that she has to tell me as she thinks I should know but she knows the people selling the house we are after through a work collegue and they are moving as hey have the neighbours from hell !!!! The house is detached and is near the end of a cul de sac. The so called neighbours from hell are next door and she says that it has involved Police in the past. Apparently it has been going on for years. Loud parties. Damaging their property. Etc. It is the first we have heard. Nothing has been disclosed by the sellers. Not even in the form where it asks is there any issues. I would have thought police being involved would be an issue !!! What would you do ? I have called solicitor who isn’t in work but at home and not available. We are due to exchange by the end of the week and I don’t know the best way forward. I know there are two sides to every story etc. The sellers came across lovely though. Very quiet and in their 60’s. They said they were downsizing. Can we check somewhere of any incidents at the property ?

I know it sounds a bit ridiculous, but could you not go round and speak to the neighbours?

You have nothing to lose so I would go and knock on the neighbours door (obv then retreat back to a safe distance) just explain that you are looking to buy next door and thought you'd say hello and ask what they thought of the area - don't mention any disputes. Just see what impression you get of them.

Did you and DH discuss plans for what happens if it comes back there were problems. I'd pull out if I were you, the costs sunk in surveys are nothing compared to the costs sunk if they are the neighbours from hell.

There's quite a disparity between police being called and a dispute about balls going into gardens/broken fence panels. The stories aren't tallying, yet given it's taken this for them to own up to anything then I'd suggest your friend is telling the truth. Does you friend know if there are still children next door?

This is so stressful for you, I'm sorry you are going through this.
So your friend was right, there were problems.
Your call, but my alarm bells would be going.
Perhaps the children are now grown into neighbour-from-hell adults?
Have you a name for the alleged nfh? Engine search of second name plus address?

If you are unsure then be cautious and pull out.

Simple as that, just not worth the risk.

Although I would move to rented so the chain did not collapse.

I probably wouldn't go ahead, and I'd be so annoyed at them trying to hide the issues, and downplaying it. However if the sellers will lie on forms and not disclose info they are legally obliged to, maybe it's actually them who are the nightmare neighbours?

We lived in a converted flat above a woman who would complain about all our parties (2 a year, not going on late, plus we'd give her advance notice along with chocs and flowers to apologise in case there was any noise and in case she wanted to arrange to stay at her sons as she often did), we had the police turn up on a couple of occasions (they quickly left after telling us to have a good night). We also had complaints send to the council about rubbish (one of our bags was ripped open by foxes).

I'd be doing as suggested above and go and speak to the neighbours, you might get a good feel as to what is actually the issue.

The problem is that the vendors are not really being truthful as the forms that you have to complete clearly state that ALL disputes must be declared. They really do seem to not being truthful. Somebody telling me there have been continuous problems over the years is a MASSIVE RED FLAG. Though I realise this is very difficult when one wants to sell. How long have the vendors been there as this does give an indication as to whether they can stand living there or not? Is it say 15 years or so?
I really would trust your friend who is completely impartial in this process and not the vendor sadly.

I lived next door to a very unpleasant neighbour in a previous property and believed the altercations with the previous owner were due to her children playing in the garden. No all altercations were due to the nasty, nasty neighbour that everybody in the road were fully aware of. It really can make for a very unpleasant and insecure feeling in your own home which is the biggest purchase you will ever make.

Unless the sellers come back with something in writing (you need this so it's a representation that you can rely on though see below......) it's not much use to you - you'd be better off going and talking to the buyers as at least then you can ask follow-up questions and see if they look shifty!

The problem with this all - even if the buyers misrepresent the position - is that the purchase plus all the others in the chain aren't going to unravelled after completion so you'll be left with nightmare neighbours if that's the reality.

My personal view is that you really need to go and speak to the sellers and run through it in person. If you then are reasonably relaxed about what they say, still get it confimed in writing. If not, find somewhere else, sorry!

Pull out. The money you will loose is a drop in the ocean compared to the years of misery, strain on your mental health and costs of moving again when you can't stand it any more.

Bad neighbours make life utterly miserable and the current house owners have lied and are still not telling the full story.
Cut your losses and thank your lucky stars you have found out now.

To stop others encountering this problem and incurring fees, you could email the estate agents and advise them of this issue and that they have an obligation to disclose it by law to future buyers.

I wouldn't go and speak to anyone. This is precisely why you are paying for a solicitor
Let them do their job

I always do my own research on this stuff tbh. I’d check crime stats on the In My Street site, I’d make a point of walking round there now everyday this week at different hours to check out the general neighbour noise. People can become v envious and weird when it comes to house moves - I wouldn’t pull out on the basis of one persons account. Anything could be driving this - might be true might be total bullshit.

I would seriously pull out OP.. honestly.. these people want to escape their living hell.. it's in their interests to play this down to the absolute minimum... they probably couldn't believe their luck when you came knocking.... please do not sign..

Are you good neighbours?
Thing is those selling up could be shite neighbours... they could be horrendous to live near... realistically if nothing has happened during lockdown between them then I would say it’s all historic. This is the most fractured time between people at the moment so the houses would clash.

The money you've spent on surveys, in the past it has occasionally been possible to sell the survey results to a new buyer, if one is found fairly soon. Maybe a landlord will buy the house.

Agree with what @Bakedbrie said, do some good research as they suggested

Go around and knock on those neighbours say ( hi we are such and such and we are moving in next door soon you may get a sense of what the are like. Maybe ask the couple that your buying off tell them you’ve Hurd a rumour. Once You’ve asked they may give you reassurance that it is just a rumour.

We knocked on our new neighbours before we moved in.

How will you ever know if it was minor stuff?

Thx for you responses. My friend is 100 percent trustworthy. She remembers well the tales she was told of the neighbours from hell from her collegue at work. ( it was friends of her collegue). I am not comfortable going round to speak to anyone if I am honest. I feel really deflated. We have been buying this property for what seems like forever with lockdown and I feel so disappointed. I agree with all you comments on here. My DH and I need to discuss what to do. The agent called not long after the solictor asking did I speak to your solictor. He is still being quite off with me but I have big shoulders. I am going to use my time looking at rental ( not easy for a family of 8, one a young baby ) I feel I know my decision already if that makes sense.

I would knock on neighbouring doors and ask about the neighbourhood generally, see what you can find out. Someone might mention something.

Oh gosh that's so difficult. Are you allowed to find out about the police reports and more detail on the disturbances. I'd want to know more about the actual issue, if it's footballs well whatever, if it's parties...no way!

Do not trust estate agents! They will say anything to get the sale to go through (have experienced this myself!) so they are very likely to be short with you as they’ll lose commission if sale doesn’t go though!

I have told our agents that we will sell our house no matter what we decide. I can’t let our buyers down though it could mean moving in with the in laws while we rent 😳