House viewings - neighbour refuses to take down flag

[KayleighhMum]

Our house is up for sale and we have viewings commencing from tomorrow - 7 in total lined up over the course of the week.

Our neighbour hung a large England flag from his top window on Friday and it has remained up. DH saw him outside the front on Saturday and politely asked if he could take it down before Tuesday. He basically laughed and said if any prospective new neighbour dislikes the flag then they won’t be the sort of person he’d want living next to him. It remains up now.

I am concerned this would be off putting, but speaking to my mum earlier she thinks I am over thinking things and it wouldn’t make a difference if someone likes the house.

Do you think we should try and ask again or would you assume it shouldn’t put people off? We are semi detached so it will definitely be noticed.

No prior issues with this neighbour who has always been friendly etc.

Or people of colour, or gay people, or Jewish people.

It would put me off. Unless on the day of a big game perhaps, or for Eurovision!
But you can't make him.

I’m looking at houses now and have vetoed ‘flaggy’ streets. It’s chavvy. Also I come from Northern Ireland and just see flag houses as trouble.

No you can't ask them again 🙄

It might put some people off.. but it's his house!

I wouldn't even go ahead with the viewing if I spotted that on the street. But half the country seems to have the horn for St George right now so you should probably get some pics for the listing.

Have the horn 😂😂

Years since I heard that expression. LOL 😂

What have you become?

When I worked in the USA the stars and stripes was proudly displayed on many houses, and this was long before Trump. Late 90s. There is nothing wrong with showing pride in your country, your culture and your military. The neighbour is entitled to do what he likes on his own property so long as its within the law.

For any of you questioning who it is now deemed as racist to fly the England flag, go and look at the founders and people heading up the “operation raise your colours” campaign. Andy Saxon (previously jailed for his part in causing someone’s death during a racist driven attack) former head person in the now banned English defence League, and now head of security for far right party Britain first. Next is Tommy Robinson, Far right thug with many convictions, including those of a violent nature. Also the fascist leader of Britain First, Paul Golding, also with violence and religious harassment convictions.
OP there is not a chance in hell I would buy your house.
If I was a sporting fan, ex armed forces or someone who flew the flag for genuine patriotic reasons before the Far Right hijacked it for their nefarious reasons, I would be gutted that I could no longer do it for fear of being thought of as one of them.

There's a couple of houses where we live that have flagpoles in the garden, and we always have a look to see what's flying as they change them all the time. There's an England one flying now on one of them, and it's not causing any issues with anyone. It's this whole "it's racism" shit that is causing this issue in the first place, there is nothing racist about celebrating the country that you live in.

I'd hate a Scotland flag on a house too, tbh, as wouldn't want a rabid SNP person next door

It would put me off but I don't doubt that there would be some who wouldn't care. One of my friends was selling her house and had to plead with one neighbour to stop fly tipping, they had dumped a fridge freezer and a dirty mattress out on the street. They told her to "fuck off, we don't care".

It would be off putting to me, but I don’t think you’re able to get them to take it down. Rock and a hard place.

Well there’s nothing you can do about it but it would certainly put me off as a buyer. People who fly the flag are either demonstrably patriotic (not really my thing) or racist (certainly not my thing). I wouldn’t take the risk on it being the latter.

Offer him money for taking it down for a day

It would put me off but there seems to be plenty out there getting overexcited about the flag so it may be a selling point

Get over yourself!

There is nothing wrong with flying St George's Cross, St Andrew's cross, the Red Dragon, the Ulster banber or the Union flag. Indeed flying any country's flag is fine.

Im thinking I might fly the St. Georges cross myself.

What about people who have loads of gnomes or stone ornaments in their front garden, do you find that chavvy too?

I can’t believe most of these answers and the original post aren’t parody.

More eccentric/interesting than chavvy.

I think she might be worried that people will assume the neighbours are the kind of people who aggressively say ‘get over yourself’ vs having a reasonable discussion, even when saying no.

Cute and eccentric.

Unfortunately its the sign of the times x

In what Topsey Turvey world do we live in where hanging your national flag is deemed offensive. This generation has been indoctrinated into self hatred and embarrassment, that it's frankly embarrassing. Hanging a national flag does not mean far right or racism - that's just the ridiculous narrative you've been fed