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.

This sucks OP as unless it's a big sporting event, we all know (well, those of us who aren't stupid 😒) what this statement is all about. I think you're just going to have to ignore it as neighbour sounds like a right twat. If you are in an area with mostly no flags I guess people may overlook the one? I'm going to sell in two years and I'm hoping this doesn't happen where I live...except the zebra crossing by the local Asda has been 'Deformed ' 😒 utter embarrassment.

Some people will be put off by it but of course some won’t.

I wouldn’t buy the house as I would make all sorts of assumptions about your neighbours and the neighbourhood.

Honestly it would put me off. I'm surprised others say they wouldn't mind, but each to their own. Realistically you can't make them do anything, you asked politely and they declined so really not much else that can be done without causing upset...

Oh the irony.

I wouldn’t put an offer in on it. Someone across the road has out one up….he only ever has had it up with the football. And now he decides to fly it. Absolute prick

I wouldn't buy your house because I wouldn't want to live next door to chavvy man. But maybe it will attract some people, I guess it depends on your prospective buyers.

Sorry, I know this will be controversial, but while there is nothing inherently wrong with the national flag, the average home does not have it flying from their house unless there is a big football tournament or game on. Those who do are trying to send a particular message and it’s not a pleasant one in my view, given the current climate.
I think you are on a hiding to nothing asking him again to remove it.
The people looking at your home may have concerns and they may or may not mention it to you. If they do, you can reassure them that although you don’t like the flag the neighbours have never given you any trouble.
But other than that you have to let them draw their own conclusions and make their own decisions. It will bother some people, those people probably won’t buy your house and may well get a lucky escape. It won’t bother others and that’s ok. Others will no doubt think it’s great, for whatever reason. That’s their decision.

It would put me off, honestly I wouldn't even need to go through the front door of your home after seeing that. Neighbours are so important and that's absolutely not something I would want next door. I don't think there's anything else you can do though!

I bet if you offered him £50 to bring it down for the week he would.

That's not true. But I guess if it fits your narrative....ironically you're using the biggest cliche of all - aligning us all with Tommy Robinson.

They know that, a few people here are clearly being purposely dumb and obtuse, acting on fake outrage as if people putting against the flag hate the country

These people are too much of cowards to just openly admit they agree with why the flag is being put out right now

To answer your original question OP I wouldn’t ask again. I think you were quite brave to ask once tbh!

Let’s be perfectly truthful here, 95% of the explosion of St George’s flags are people being racist currently. If it were the World Cup on at the moment I’d probably say otherwise.
I have zero issue with flying our flag and being proud of our country but you can not ignore that the overwhelming majority are doing it for the wrong reasons.

I agree, not everybody who flies the St George's cross will be racist. However, given what's been in the news this last week anybody who has decided very recently to put one up is very highly likely to have reform voter type opinions. They're not the ones who flew the flag when the Lionesses defended the Euros, and they're not the ones who flew it in memory of the people whose lives were lost by allied fire 80 years ago (VJ Day), or for any other genuinely patriotic reason. People who have just decided to fly the flag this week are doing so because there's a movement of people trying to "take back our country," and who object to asylum seekers being housed in hotels. To pretend that it's anything else at the moment is absurd.

I don't think one flag would put me off - but if the whole street seemed to have them it definitely would.

Oh good another flag post by the sort of people who judge everyone to have a flag up as knuckle dragging, right wing extremists.

Instead the people who are putting the flags up I’d prefer to have as a neighbour over you, so the fact you think out of 7 viewings they will all be lefty twats is hilarious.

Yes - it would put me off and I wouldn’t view or make an offer. The timing of flags going up at the moment is ‘red flag’ as to the type of person the neighbour is.

No - you can’t ask him to remove the flag.

Labour supporters tend not to be the ones threatening to burn down migrant hostels and idolising scum like Yaxley-Lennon and Co.

Edit- I quoted the wrong post I meant to quote the post they quoted.

wonder if you’d say the same if it was another flag

What an absolute load of bollocks this thread is.
You won’t struggle to get a buyer unless you’ve priced it too high or if you’ve got damp or whatever. Because a flag is hanging outside a neighbours house? Nah.

If someone is daft and judgemental enough to not even walk in for a viewing because of a piece of fabric in their eyeline then quite frankly, they’re being ridiculous.

I do. You're talking about a minority of people using the flag as a racist symbol. I'm talking about the many millions of us that don't see our flag in that light. You're bowing to the very small group of flag waving racists and enabling them to continue what they do rather than helping the many millions who want to fly it with pride. I wonder why..... Wouldn't you prefer the majority to over power the minority to have pride in the flag? And if not, why not?

I wouldn't ask him again but as a prospective buyer it would put me off but I'd be glad to have seen it on the viewing rather than purchased and found out about the neighbour down the line

The piece of fabric didn't get there by itself. I wouldn't buy it because i would have serious doubts about the person who put it there.

Are you aware of this week's news headlines? There's a massive movement by reform type people to "take back the streets". One of the calls to action is to fly the England flag and the Union flag to object to migrants being housed in hotels and people crossing the channel in small boats.

So no, obviously they wouldn't have the same concerns if it was a Palestine flag, a Ukranian flag, a Pride flag or a fucking Disney princess flag, because they symbolise different things and haven't been coopted by biffers to mean racist shyte.