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AIBU?

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Original poster

Would you buy a house if the neighbours were a bit weird?

171 replies

blueberrybluey · 12/09/2025 16:04

We went to view a house today, as we pulled up there was a car behind us who revved and hovered in the road looking at us, my husband wound down the window and asked what was wrong and the man said that was his house and he parks there so humouring him we apologise and park further along.

The house we viewed was next door to him and it really was lovely and ticks all the boxes other than having a drive so is on-street parking only, which I thought we could live with but I can’t help wondering if the parking incident is a sign of what’s to come.
Would this put you off an otherwise perfect home?

OP posts:
Motherofalittledragon · 12/09/2025 21:46

No, he’s set the tone already.

heybabeyourhairsalright · 12/09/2025 21:46

I would be put off. If these are his views on parking what about boundaries, hedges, fences, kids playing out etc etc. Everybody needs good neighbours as the song goes 😂

wandererofthekingdom · 12/09/2025 21:47

I absolutely would not but it. He sounds like a dick and this could be the tip of the iceberg. It’s a huge risk not worth taking.

UnhappyHobbit · 12/09/2025 21:50

It depends on your anttitude and if you would let a neighbour bother you. While unpleasant, you can absolutely limit your contact and choose not to communicate with them at all. If you can hold your own they may back off or it might create tension. Some people can handle that and others can’t.

Donttellempike · 12/09/2025 21:53

Praying4Peace · 12/09/2025 18:00

I think you are putting too much emphasis on your exchange of communication.
If there are formal complaints re neighbours, that will come up in solicitors enquiries.

Show quote history

That’s little comfort. You need to pretty much be at the end of your rope to have a formal neighbor dispute you have to declare. It doesn’t mean they are not a complete nightmare.

Also, I’ve wondered if the seller just lies, what is your remedy? Litigation needs you to be able to prove your loss in monetary terms.

I’ve often wondered how you do that

ReadingSoManyThreads · 12/09/2025 21:58

Nope, don't buy it. Buy a house with your own drive, no access issues. NOT a shared drive either. It's not worth high blood pressure!

Slowdownyouredoingfine · 12/09/2025 22:00

The day we moved in our neighbours (the wife) came round to explicitly tell us we must NEVER have a bonfire because her husband is asthmatic and we WILL kill him. Do we understand the seriousness? Consequently we’ve lived here for 2 years and they’ve been absolutely no bother at all. (Although we haven’t had a bonfire, that might change things.) So no it wouldn’t put me off tbh.

RedRiverShore5 · 12/09/2025 22:05

I would buy one with a drive, parking is often a contentious issue

Neveranynamesleft · 12/09/2025 22:10

Definitely not.

Silvertulips · 12/09/2025 22:13

There might be another house with unhinged neighbours, or you could move and have nightmare neighbours move in next door or across the street.

It’s hard to tell!!

It wouldn’t put me off, but i have thick skin!

CinnamonJellyBeans · 12/09/2025 22:18

No way. Sorry.

lifeonthelane · 12/09/2025 22:25

No no no no no.

lifeonmars100 · 12/09/2025 22:31

Notagain75 · 12/09/2025 16:20

A difficult neighbour would definitely put me off even if I loved the house.
Horrible neighbours can make your life unbearable

Very true, I have horrible neighbours and cannot afford to move, spent today in tears on and off due to the noise and the mess. The council are meant to be taking action but it has been going on for 3 years so I will believe it when I see it. The other thing about horrible neighbours is that who would buy if you then want to sell it. Only a dodgy landlord would buy my house now, it is so depressing

HatandCoat · 12/09/2025 22:35

On street parking with a lunatic neighbour who thinks he owns the road outside his house? Nope, I've been there and wouldn't go back again.

Superhansrantowindsor · 12/09/2025 22:38

No. Do not buy it. We had the perfect house but the parking wars were ridiculous and so stressful we moved.

YourLemonTiger · 12/09/2025 22:44

I live on a lovely street with on street parking. Some houses have driveways, some don't. Fortunately there is enough parking for everyone but be warned some people are unfortunately completely mental about parking.

LBFseBrom · 12/09/2025 23:01

Have a look around for somewhere else. There is always more than one perfect house on the market.

Buddingbudde · 12/09/2025 23:03

Having had nightmare neighbours there is no way I’d even consider it.

Friendlygingercat · 12/09/2025 23:04

It would not put me off if I wanted the house and it was detached. I have as little involvement with neighbours as humanly possible and dont even answer the door to them. They are just randoms who happen to live next door. To be fair I dont drive or have a car so I dont need to park but I realise parking wars can cause a lot of misery. One neighbour did ask if she could "use my drive" for one of their vehicles (they have 4) but she disappeared quickly when I offered to quote her a price for hire of my drive. Somehow I dont think she intended to pay for the favour.

Sugargliderwombat · 12/09/2025 23:53

Nope! Don't do it.

Francestein · 12/09/2025 23:56

Nope… not worth it. Tell the agent why you’re not buying it.

Busybeemumm · 12/09/2025 23:58

Wouldn't go for it personally. A few years ago we went to view a house, walked in and thought wow perfect. As we were leaving noticed the house next door was a hoarders house so much random stuff in the garden, and old sofa in the shared drive, no curtains so could see through and the whole house was full of stuff. Just could not imagine living next to that with more mice and fire risk so it was a reluctant no . The estate agent said that other viewers have also said the same! Something else will come along.

numbandexhausted · 12/09/2025 23:58

Trust me when I say this, don’t do it. We’ve had countless issues with our very mentally unwell neighbour. I am sympathetic to a degree, she truly is very unwell and has had several stays in psychiatric hospitals since we moved in, but she’s also made our lives very difficult at points and the sympathy has stretched very thin with time. My partner has absolutely no sympathy at this point. Honestly, forget about it and move on.

Pallisers · 13/09/2025 00:01

I wouldn't dream of buying this house.

The one unknown in buying a house is the neighbours. Yeah you know if there are disputes that are on record but you have no idea what the neighbours are actually like and good neighbours make a house and bad neighbours ruin it. And realistically if I had a shite neighbour if I could I wouldn't make a formal complaint that would come up on searches - I'd just sell and move on.

My neighbours are the best and it makes such a difference.

CyanMaker · 13/09/2025 00:53

This reminds me of where I lived years ago. It was a town home .There were 8 units and we shared the parking lot. My next door neighbor claimed 1 of the spaces even though there were no marked reserved spaces. There were 3 spaces right in front of her home but she had to have the middle one. She would go around to every neighbor if she came home and someone was in "her space" to find out if someone had a visitor parking there.