Buying house - homeless outside

[Whatinthedoopla]

Hi,

I'm buying a house, and opposite the garden is the community car park. Area is lovely, people are lovely. However, I've noticed thpere has been a van parked right outside the garden (obviously in a parking space), and has been there for weeks. I thought nothing of it, then saw they they open the door and it looks like people live in it! And they look homeless, I saw they legs popping out of the van.

The house has now been emptied, and I'm worried that the homeless people are going into the garden to get water from the tap outside.

My partner isn't worried, but I am, or AIBU?

What should I do?

A cautionary tale for women is the horrific case of the female flat owner in west London who took in a homeless man and only to be brutally murdered a few days later. I read about it only very recently. Not typical perhaps but my goodness, appalling. You really don't know anything about who you'd be taking in.

is the vehicle road taxed- u can look up the registration no. online etc
also think there’s a specific period of time a vehicle can b parked in a particular spot? Could be worth getting your Surveyor to look into this?

Exactly. It’s one thing taking in someone you know or have a connection to who is homeless, but someone you don’t know at all is (to me at least) not wise. As someone said up thread, some homeless people are dealing with addiction and mental health issues which could cause them to behave in a way that’s out of character.

OP, you are being prejudiced and judgmental

Many vans are like campervans and have toilets in them.
Or they use public toilets.

Do you think they’re also shitting in your garden?

Do you actually want to move or are you using this as an excuse?

Or, like ours, make it possible to turn it off from the inside. It's always recommended anyway over winter to stop the pipes bursting.

Why don’t you just politely ask them if they would move on

For all the people being sympathetic to the van dwellers, take a trip to Bristol and see the state of caravan city in a beauty spot.
There has already been a case of a child who ended up with human waste in its eyes as there is excrement everywhere. Campers are not keeping it nicely inside thier caravans.
Also the health and safety aspect of the gas, there have been fires which could be devastating.

The way you have to point out you’re buying a house to show the stark comparison compared to you having the finances to buy a home and these people not even having the money to live anywhere except their car. You seem very snobby, they’re not affecting you. They’re not causing trouble. You should count yourself lucky that you’re privileged enough to have a roof over your head enough to actually buy a home. Maybe change your mentality of hating on homeless people because they’re lowering the status of what you have in mind of the area and change it to - hey they’re homeless maybe I should offer them some bottled water

To be honest that would bother me too. I'd take pictures and report them to the council to get moved off over night. I'd be concerned as to where they're going to the toilet and accessing water. Perhaps you can park your car and do a mini stakeout, to see if its going to effect your new house.

Yes!

If you are worried that they might disturb ‘your’ street ‘in any way whatsoever’ I think you should definitely report them to the police now. And the council. I’m sure that they will be straight round to deal with it for you. Also stealing water, there are so few places that people can get water, this would be a real worry for me too. People living outside in a van, even if you just noticed that they are there because they have been so quiet, are such a risk. Especially in ‘nice’ areas.
Or perhaps, if you see them, you could be friendly and say hi. Perhaps you could even try smiling. It might just build up a little bit of a rapport for the time that they are there, since they are also human beings.

What a lovely bit of imaginative construction 🙂

What really happened: there was a long van life thread in here; it interested me. I checked out the websites mentioned, naturally zooming in on my town. As I said, I've never seen or heard any hassle in the ten years I've been here so had no reason to 'investigate'. There are usually a few lorries and vans there overnight, as I've noticed since learning about this: I can see the car park from my flat.

The other thing I learned is that there are enough van dwellers on Mumsnet to build a long discussion!

I'm there every day, there are people living in it

We live in a very popular coastal tourist destination and have van lifers around all year. They are mostly brilliant. The vast majority of van lovers just want to park somewhere safe and secure and are very conscious about how and where they dispose their waste and how they access water. They know that treat somewhere with respect, most people won't mind, and so do. More problems are caused by tourists spending a weekend in their motor home than full time van lifers.

I have a "car park' outside my house where we all park and I can see a van there now that's been there for about 3 days. No problem.

😂😂

Oh for pities' sake @Whatinthedoopla give your head a wobble... they will not be interested in your water or squatting, they are living their own lives quite happily. Your partner has already explained that they are not worried. Frankly, it seems from your posts that wheresoever you might live, you will be frightened by something. The van people are not in the least bit interested by you and I suggest that you reciprocate and just leave them alone until or if, they genuinely give you something to be concerned about.

Exactly. Who knows anyone else's circumstances.

From this thread OP you can see that some people have a live and let live about this issue and some don't.

It seems to me that buying a house near a public facility like a car park is always going to cause you concern. Who's there? What are they doing? Are they in your space? Are they a threat?

As that's the case perhaps you need to rethink buying the house. There are plenty of houses away from stuff that might make you cautious.

Weather nice up on the moral high-ground today?

Go andsay hi, get the lowdown first hand

"Many vans are like campervans and have toilets in them."

Yes and they have to be emptied in special facilities at registered campsites because they have chemicals in them -- not down the nearest drain, or in someone's front garden

Who says they’re not emptying it correctly?

OP has seen no inappropriate behaviour apart from the van being parked up every day.

If they are emptying it correctly in a registered campsite then there will be a charge.

It seems bonkers to me to drive all the way to a campsite just to empty the lavvy.
They will need to pay the charge and also the fuel to get there. It would probably be cheaper to camp there.

The OP can't monitor them day and night. Just because OP has seen no inappropriate behaviour apart from the van being parked up every day, doesn't mean it isn't happening.

Gosh, this thread has really grown legs !

I'd add - I'm on various FB groups with van lifers because of my interest in a particular car/van. Many people who do it take it incredibly seriously - there are lots of discussions about where to park, wee and poo, do ones ablutions, receive mail etc. So the idea that it must be a feckless person who brings a load of social problems and is likely to steal, trespass etc - I don't see it.