To think there might be something dodgy going on?

[1Pinkfluffyelephant]

A family living opposite us sold their house almost a year ago, the new neighbours have still not moved in.
They mentioned back before Xmas they would be hoping to move after Xmas, then they blamed Covid for not being able to get a removal company (despite other families having moved recently both on our street and surrounding).

They come and go randomly, turn up for half hour then leave again then don’t come back for a day or two. It’s a quiet dead end road so really obvious when cars come and go.

All the curtains and blinds the old neighbours left are still up and have remained shut. The windows also never opened even during the heat wave etc - we were out in the garden most the day with DC’s so it was very obvious they were the only house with everything shut.
Something tells me something odd is going on but maybe I’m over thinking 🤷‍♀️

@1Pinkfluffyelephant I've worked with police and the one thing that they say is culdesacs are notorious for cannabis farms. My friends rented home was in one and pulled apart from his tenants. Police Helicopters use the infrared over areas such as this to look for excessive heat.

OP you seem to be getting a lot of flack for just wandering why they haven't moved in.
My first thought was a cannabis factory. Can you see any lights on inside the property on a night? It does sound strange.

Maybe they are still living in old place, and having second thoughts about moving. Perhaps there is some complex legal stuff because of a relationship breakdown or problems in the chain. Maybe they've decided to renovate the place, or are visiting because they're thinking of putting it up for rent or selling it again. Maybe they're quite wealthy and own a load of homes, and due to covid, they've been locked down in a nice place by the sea or in the countryside. Maybe they're sneakily moving in all the equipment for a meth/cocaine lab, and you'll soon see shady people wandering around with machine guns... sorry, been watching too much Narcos lately, but you get the idea.

Maybe they've heard the area is plagued by seriously over nosy neighbours who watch everything and they're having second thoughts about actually moving in.

I certainly don't blame you for wondering - sheesh, it's perfectly normal to notice neighbours and the like.

I'm not sure that something dodgy would have been my first guess though, especially during a global pandemic. I'd have thought all kinds of things could be causing issues and that they're likely to fudge the answer when asked by your DH as they don't know you and don't necessarily want to get into the details which could be about illness, financial hardship, work issues etc.

A while ago we bought a house but there was a delay on selling the one we lived in.

We would go and take stuff to the new one and check it was OK and then go back 'home'.

It was some time before we sold and finally moved. Buying a house doesn't mean you have to move in straight away, especially if you prefer the one you are trying to sell.

We've recently had a cannabis farm uncovered in a large detached house in a very "naice" road here - I'm sure the residents nearby are mortified and I know a couple are worried about it affecting their property prices.
The "farmers" had rented it from the owners, taken an electricity feed off the lamppost outside and just carried on for months.
It was only found when a different gang of criminals rocked up to steal the drugs and money that they figured were stashed there....

Then there's another detached new-build house nearby which has been empty for over a decade - again, I know that kids get into the local (oversubscribed) school by their family using that address (I guess they're related to the owners), even though there have been numerous complaints to the school and local authority.

So my bet would be one of those two options

FFS just ring 111, if you are that bothered.

I'm not sure that the NHS would be interested - maybe call 101 and talk to the actual police ?

Mind yer business

lol ops sorry was typing fast and eating at the same time.

They’re obviously spies retrieving mail.

My first thought would be cannabis farm

We owned our house for a year before we moved in, nothing dodgy here. You are overthinking this unless there is more.

That would have been us last year. Bought the house, got pregnant. Nausea too awful too move, DH too busy and stressed. Then there were complications so didn't move. Spent an average of 4 days per week in hospital so couldn't move. Then had a stillborn. Then tried to hang myself and needed intensive therapy so no time or energy to move.

I didn't tell my neighbours all that of course. Don't remember what excuses we used. If you think it's dodgy call the police, otherwise they probably have something going on that they don't want to tell you (yet).

Hilarious thread lots of piss taking made me smile.

Wait til winter and see if the roof is frosted on cold mornings. If they are using it as a drug farm it'll be far too warm inside the roof space for frost on the roof. House down the road from me was doing just that and it was blindingly obvious on a cold morning (mind you it reeked outside as you walked past so it was fairly obvious anyhow)

This is hilarious. Maybe they've got a crop on. Ring the plod, do you know what they'll do? Sod all! Unless the house stinks of pot, or there's canna bags dumped in the garden, or light leakage, they won't do squat! Honestly.

Clearly the removal thing is they just don’t want to say the reason

It could be illness, it could be job related, it could be they are selling another property and not moving out of it till they do, there are many, many reasons they may be delayed moving in.

I’d really not think much of it to be honest, the fact they didn’t wish to tell their personal life to a stranger doesn’t mean it’s dodgey.

@rorosemary

That would have been us last year. Bought the house, got pregnant. Nausea too awful too move, DH too busy and stressed. Then there were complications so didn't move. Spent an average of 4 days per week in hospital so couldn't move. Then had a stillborn. Then tried to hang myself and needed intensive therapy so no time or energy to move.

I didn't tell my neighbours all that of course. Don't remember what excuses we used. If you think it's dodgy call the police, otherwise they probably have something going on that they don't want to tell you (yet).

I’m so sorry . That puts my situation into perspective. I hope that you are healing now, it sounds like you had such a dreadful time.

It’s actually quite horrible reading this thread coming from the perspective of being the homeowner who has been in too dark a place to move and seeing how quick people are to jump to the conclusion that you are drug dealers, benefits cheats or school place fraudsters rather than good people fallen on difficult times. I hope that my neighbours aren’t judging me as harshly.

This was the same with the house nextdoor to us. The house sold and sat empty for months, a man was there a few time’s doing bits and pieces, introduced himself to us and said he was moving in with his family once it was sorted. He brought his young dc, similar age to ours, along one day and dp was being polite asking her if she’d chosen how her room was going to be decorated, she looked at him like he had two heads.

The man only ever came on his own randomly after that, turned out, according to the gardener he sent along he never actually had any intention of moving in and had bought it to rent out but clearly was just too embarrassed to admit he was a landlord. Don’t know why, we don’t care who owns it, as long as whoever lives there doesn’t affect us in anyway.

This happened with a house in my street. New neighbours gave us lots of reasons why they wouldn't be there much. Installed blinds. Never opened them. Only house in the street where the snow melted off the roof in winter. Police eventually paid a visit, and next thing we know they are carting off tons of cannabis growing equipment. Give the police a call.

@Rainn21

My first thought would be cannabis farm

Yes because that’s what folks do. They buy houses in busy cramped housing areas just to grow weed in. Then they pretend their a normal couple and go visit their plants every now and again,,😂😂😂

Sorry my reply was not aimed at your post

Thats exactly what they do!