New house - new neighbours

[bullywee]

Just venting really. Moved into a new house literally a week before lockdown. We are in a semi and the neighbours to both sides are nice enough (through wall and next door but not through wall) but one of the neighbours is starting to annoy me a little...

It appears that the couple we bought from and one set of neighbours were unbelievably friendly and over the last couple of weeks since lockdown in my area has been loosened I have had a few tradesmen in making the changes to my house. This seems to have really put out the neighbour who was friendly with the previous owners.

Example 1 - got house painted. Neighbour tells me that Tom and Louise (not real names) had their house done only 24 months ago and house was lovely and didn't need decorating. The house was nicely decorated, yes, but not to our taste.

Example 2 - got electrician in to change sockets/light fittings from white to another colour to match our new decor. Also got some external lights, motion sensors etc. Neighbour proclaims "Oh, Tom and Louise didn't think the house needed external lights and why change sockets etc if they are working"

Example 3 - removed carpets and replaced with wooden flooring. Neighbour tells me "Oh, Tom and Louise had lovely carpets, why would you lift them?"

Example 4 - am in the middle of getting the front and back garden's landscaped. Neighbour says "why did you lift the artificial grass, Tom and Louise paid £25m-sq for it only 4 years ago".

There are more examples but you get my drift. It is just becoming so bloomin tedious now.

@jargo Thankfully Tom and Louise were the previous neighbours and the annoying neighbours are the next door but not through the wall neighbours

“Oh, it’s nice to put your own stamp on a house when you move in”

On repeat.

Just say to them "now I understand why Tom and Louise moved!!".

Ah yes, that's fine then (apologies I realised Tom and Louise had gone, I misquoted).

We weren't aware of the structural neighbour permission element - thankfully our neighbours are wicked ace!

Similar to a PP, when we moved into our house 10 years ago, NDN couldn’t wait to tell us about work that had been done on the cheap in our house and how the kitchen ceiling had collapsed a few years before (this was picked up in our survey anyway). She also was delighted to tell us that the previous owners before the previous owners (!) had argued a lot and got divorced living in the house and that she ‘hoped’ that didn’t happen to us!

I would just say 'thats nice for them' every time the neighbour comments. Im not sure why you give them the time of day or why they know what each trades person is doing in your house but i'd def be firmer next time they say something

Reply 'Why on earth would someone want that in their house, it is so dated/bad for the environment/attractive to vermin?'

Ah fuck Tom & Louise, they are a shower of dirty bastards. 😂😂😂

why did tom and Louise move?

I can just imagine her on the phone to Louise every Friday night telling her she won't believe what the new people have done now - all her gorgeous wallpaper and lampshades chucked in the skip like rubbish, all that lovely artificial grass and beautiful carpets ripped up, they might as well have bought a barn, etc. I bet Louise is as tired of it as you are! She needs to get a life but I'm not sure how you can get the message across loud and clear without damaging neighbourly relations. This would drive me mad too so you are definitely not being unreasonable.

You could confide in them about how difficult it was to remove the wall fixing for the manacles in Tom and Louise's master bedroom. Luckily your plasterer managed to cover up the holes and no one would ever guess that they had been there.

Ah fuck Tom and Louise, they are a shower of dirty bastards
Wins it for me! 😂😂😂

@viques

You could confide in them about how difficult it was to remove the wall fixing for the manacles in Tom and Louise's master bedroom. Luckily your plasterer managed to cover up the holes and no one would ever guess that they had been there.

🤣🤣🤣

Tom and Louise were fools if they had artificial grass, it's terrible for the environment. YANBU.

I think I'd start laughing at them.

I have been on another side of this situation. Having sold up and moved out I received regular horrified telephone calls from my ex neighbours telling me everything that the new owners were doing. We really didn't care, it wasn't our house any more.

@therhubarbbrothers

Tom and Louise were fools if they had artificial grass, it's terrible for the environment. YANBU.

Saves on a tonne of work though.

Please stop messing around with the house, you're upsetting our old neighbours...

P.S. Sorry about the holes in the wall and the decking.

YANBU, when I moved in here, the neighbours kept telling me how lovely the family before me were. Felt like a threat, like i had to live up to that. Also my neighbour who has far too many animals in a small terraced house told me repeatedly how she knew the old family was lovely because they loved cats. So lovely = loving her millions of animals. Showing any kind of exasperation for the back door being opened and closed 45 times between 2300 and 0040 = NOT lovely.

She also told me when I was moving in ''christina sold that house for a song '' hmm, market rate I think.

We had this. We changed the kitchen after we'd been in our house 4 years. The previous owners were friendly with everyone in the street and the guy had been a joiner and had hand made the kitchen- but it was old fashioned, worn and totally unpractical. I had one set of neighbours ring the doorbell to tell us they'd heard we'd ripped the kitchen out and how disappointed x would be if she knew her precious kitchen had gone. And then another woman commented on it when I was out in the garden. They were all heavily over invested in my kitchen.

Or get in first.
"Tom and Louise probably wouldn't like it, but we've done xxx"

@TomandLouise

Please stop messing around with the house, you're upsetting our old neighbours...

P.S. Sorry about the holes in the wall and the decking.

@TomandLouise sorry

@therhubarbbrothers

Tom and Louise were fools if they had artificial grass, it's terrible for the environment. YANBU.

More practical when the entire garden is only 6' wide though! It wasn't worth having a lawnmower just for that

How about next time they start, say something along the lines of "Well it's funny you saying that... oops can't say any more, the solicitor said we couldn't discuss it at this point"