Our garden is not the cause for the lack of sale

[maoiBYRD]

Neighbours have just blamed me because our garden is a mess. That’s why they can’t get their sale for the flat upstairs.

They are selling for 10 grand over the asking price. You can get a three bed in the next road for 5 grand less, they are going with an online estate agent and you have to do viewings yourself. We are in the middle of a pandemic and no one is buying at the moment.

I’m currently clearing the flower bed of the “jungle” of wild flowers, potatoes and garlic that I created with my little girl, and trying to find a scrap man to take away the bikes and scooters and wondering how how I “shape” a bush that we really want to keep because my mother planted it.

Would a neighbours garden really influence your purchase of a property?

Im digging up the unsightly veg bushes. I will clear the garden. We don’t have any rotting cars or rat nests. It was just a bit overgrown with wild flowers and veg. :(

If it was full of rubbish then it might. Over grown not so much. Price really would.

I would notice a messy garden and wonder about the neighbours! Does the flat look out on your garden?

Are there scrap bikes and scooters in view?

Would a neighbours garden really influence your purchase of a property?

Absolutely it would. I would never buy a home next to or near neighbours who clearly don't properly maintain their property. I wouldn't want to look out my window every day only to see a filthy mess.

Unused ones, I mean? You do sound a bit passive-aggressive OP, if you are not happy to tidy up the garden then don't do it. Property seems to be selling quite quickly at the moment, flats less so - is it a communal garden or does it belong solely to your flat?

Tbh it really does depend on how bad it is but its overpriced too so who knows for certain

Rightly or wrongly some people will always associate a messy garden with nuisance neighbours. My neighbours have a messy front garden which means we get weeds coming across into ours, it's not going to be good when we come to sell ours shortly as it spoils the look of ours.

Depends - how many scrap bikes etc do you have?

Having said that, they sound like cheeky fuckers

Absolutely it would. I would make assumptions about you as neighbours if you can’t be bothered to tidy a garden. It’s not very nice for your current neighbours anyway

you don't only buy the property but you will get new neighbour too. A direct neighbour's garden that is overgrown and full of rubbish would probably put me off to some extend.

Yes it could definitely bought off potential buyers. Why would they want to look out of a window and see a messy overgrown garden?

It would go on the list of cons, but if everything else was right then it wouldn't prevent me from making an offer.

A price is open to negotiation, a potentially messy neighbour is not. We can't see how bad the garden is, but if it is bad, it would make me think twice about even offering on a property.

If you need a scrap man to get rid of all the unused bikes and scooters, there's a problem.

Yes, a junkyard at the back would put people off.
How are they "selling for ten grand over the asking price", but can't get a sale? What does that mean?

You have multiple scrap bikes and scooters in the garden? Yes, that would influence me.

It would bother me as the buyer and it would bother me as the seller upstairs.
Tidy your garden if it's a mess, even more so if other people have to overlook it.

Clearly scrap bikes and scooters can be taken the tip you don't need to wait for a scrap man.
Secondly, she hasn't asked you to chop down the bush but if it's over grown and all shabby then you should be shaping it. For your own sake and for theirs.

YABU, if you don't care about your garden then maybe you dont care about your home either, if you don't care about both then maybe you're the sort of person who doesn't care about others too, some people would assume you don't care about making noise, being a poor neighbour etc etc. It's a leap, but when you're spending thousands of pounds on the only thing of value you'll ever own you don't take any chances. You go with the property where the neighbours look like they give a shit about their home and how they live.

It depends how overgrown, but scrap bikes and scooters would be off putting and I would think possible problem neighbour.

Rightly or wrongly, I might associate a very untidy garden with "junk" in it with people who would be inconsiderate neighbours, but it's your garden and there are no laws about how private gardens need to be maintained other than anything that overhangs into another garden can be chopped off.

To be neighbourly, you could clear the scrap and getting control of the overgrown parts would help you to enjoy the garden, but there is no compulsion for you to do anything.

Yes it would put me off.

I have a couple of lazy neighbours, and horrid Virginia creeper climbing over from their gardens, drives me insane.

As pps have said, I think it depends how bad it is. If it's full of scrap...tbh, that might be a little off putting. Slightly overgrown bushes etc or a few weeds would be fine though, imo.

But I do think your neighbours are being a little U to blame just your garden, when clearly there is a much bigger issue, which is the price.

Ask them to pay for a landscaper to come and do it up for you . Job done!

If it is s a flat and I'm looking onto it then I'd be reluctant to buy it.

Yes absolutely it would influence, no one wants to be looking at a mess.

Yep that would definitely put me off, sorry.