Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to pull out of house sale due to neighbour?

151 replies

Lalarara10 · 31/03/2026 15:39

AIBU to pull out of house purchase due to odd neighbour?

Ran into him once when viewing the property - he seemed a bit odd and made some funny comments but I felt he was harmless. House looks pretty run down (adjoining walls). A few other times when I drove by I saw him just hanging around outside the houses with his 3 dogs.

A second time I went back there was a funny smell coming from the house next door and some odd rubbish outside.

Today my parents went to take some pictures of the house for me and he came out of his house and accosted them. They couldn't get away for 20 minutes. He was saying racist things, he apparently stank, had stains and dribble all down his tshirt and seemed not with it. He was talking about us applying for joint planning permission together (??!!), talked about calling the police on another neighbour and seemed obsessed with the whole sale/time on the market of the house.

It might not sound like much but it has been enough for me to decide to pull out...I don't want to live looking out the window to check he's not out there before getting my kids into the car or rushing to get my keys out to get in the house quickly. He doesn't seem to have boundaries and I can imagine him poking his head over our fence all summer long. The fact we would share walls concerns me and we don't want to complicate our planning and were planning on fast tracking it as soon as possible. However, there is a part of me that is worried we're making a mistake pulling out?! Not sure what to do?!

OP posts:
Arlanymor · 31/03/2026 15:41

Pull out now. It's not just one instance, it's multiple and this could be your life if you moved there! Sad but true and frankly the sellers know this already...

NewYearNewMee · 31/03/2026 15:42

Oh I would pull out!! It’s not like it’s just been one odd thing, that’s a fair few odd things - if this is what it’s like when he doesn’t know you / you haven’t moved in, imagine what it will be like 6 months down the line.

Londonrach1 · 31/03/2026 15:43

Pull out! Don't even give it a second thought.

Viviennemary · 31/03/2026 15:45

Pull out now. It would be very unwise to go ahead.

Coconutter24 · 31/03/2026 15:45

A neighbour like that would make your life hell

Lastqueenofscotland2 · 31/03/2026 15:45

Yep I’d be gone.

BoxingHare · 31/03/2026 15:45

Don't be daft, OP, pull out! It's one thing discovering after the sale that your new neighbours are odd, but there have been multiple incidents now and you have the chance to not saddle yourself with a nightmare.

edwinbear · 31/03/2026 15:47

Difficult neighbours can make your life hell and once you live next to them, there’s not very much you can actually do. I’d pull out too.

ToKittyornottoKitty · 31/03/2026 15:49

I’d pull out

MyDucksArentInARow · 31/03/2026 15:49

It's probably why the house is for sale...

Iamthemoom · 31/03/2026 15:50

I would definitely pull out. I wouldn’t want to live next to three dogs either. The noise firstly and smell in summer if he lets them do their business in the garden, as he doesn’t sound the cleanest. We had a neighbour who didn’t clean up after their dogs and the smell in the garden was awful when it got hot.

WildLeader · 31/03/2026 15:52

Oh yeah run!

Abd80 · 31/03/2026 15:54

Pull out immediately!
and be grateful you discovered this guy before it was too late !

Robogob · 31/03/2026 15:55

YANBU! DO NOT buy that house. It will be a living hell.

Calabasas · 31/03/2026 15:56

Gosh count yourself lucky he revealed himself before you actually completed - you’ve just dodged a huge bullet!

LeedsLoiner · 31/03/2026 15:58

Run away, then run away a bit further !

Lalarara10 · 31/03/2026 16:02

Wow this has made me feel a lot better!

The house is in probate and hasn't been lived in for over a year - the beneficiaries haven't lived there themselves so were able to say there were no problems with the neighbours. Definitely feel like I've done the right thing - thanks all!

OP posts:
Wishimaywishimight · 31/03/2026 16:05

Frankly, you would need your head examined if you went ahead. You would be walking into a right shitshow by the sounds of it.

Fingeronthebutton · 31/03/2026 16:16

How many more red flags do you need. Buyer beware is very apt in your case.
As Mayer. Angelou said ^when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

fussychica · 31/03/2026 16:20

Pull out now. Who would want to be attached to someone like this, who could make your life hell and has three dogs to boot!
Can't imagine anyone saying you should go through with the purchase.

lizzielizard · 31/03/2026 16:21

Thank God you discovered it now and not after exchange or worse completion. Pull out and don't look back. I bet the sellers won't be surprised when the EA gives them the reason

GeniusofShakespeare · 31/03/2026 16:22

Definitely pull out. Problems with the house can usually be fixed, problems with the neighbours can't!

Madarch · 31/03/2026 16:25

Just nope. You don't need that in your life. Pulling out is entirely reasonable.

StephensLass1977 · 31/03/2026 16:27

I'm guessing the sellers knew and deliberately didn't raise any complaints, because they knew they were selling and that any dispute would have to be disclosed to you. That's really unfair. But nothing you can do about that now.

I too would pull out, as other pps have said. Never underestimate the importance of good, NORMAL neighbours. I don't have good ones, but have previously, and I can't emphasise enough how much I miss my old neighbours. The ones on either side of me are extremely loud. One plays music 24/7, yes even all night, and the other one makes all his noise outside in the shared courtyard. Always pissing about fixing some van or truck.

Notyouagaindear · 31/03/2026 16:27

Just echoing others, do not buy!

Could you put this in writing to the seller’s EA? Just thinking that if they can’t sell the house due to this man, at least there is some evidence for them, in the event they need to take legal action? Obviously I don’t mean him dribbling or smelling odd, but more the nuisance factor/racist comments.