AIBU to pull out of house sale due to neighbour?

[Lalarara10]

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?!

Agree with everyone, pull out

Result! At least as the sellers aren't living there (and desperate to escape), you don't even have to feel very sorry for them. I hope you find somewhere better soon.

Pull out!

Run OP, I have really crappy neighbours. I am generally a very nice person but I do dream of fire, flood, and bad diseases that result in death for these people who torture my existence.

Good point. He could be playing the long game and have friends or family who want to buy it - or even have designs on buying it himself. What better way of driving the price right down to rock bottom by making it unsellable to anybody else?!

Yes! I'll bet that's why they pulled out too

It's definitely worth a few visits outside of the 'official' arranged ones with the vendors - at different times of day and both weekdays and weekends.

They might known when the frightful neighbour is going to be out/asleep (maybe works nights) and deliberately arrange viewings for then. Even better if, like OP, you can get other trusted friends or family members whom the seller won't know to scout around for you.

But if you asked the EA for the reason, pound to a penny their mortgage offer will have been withdrawn or their own sale has fallen through!

When I come to buy my next house, I'm literally planning to park outside for a full evening and keep an eye out to see if any neighbours fit the bill of what you've just described. If any were to turn up, I'd be pulling out (and not just from the driveway!)

Then if another potential purchaser comes along for a recce or two, they'll be put off by the weirdo who's parked up and sitting inside her car in the dark for hours

Absolutely not!! You have to live with him! Not a chance would I continue with the process !

Get out while you can
Pity the seller!

You've dodged a bullet there!!

I was house hunting with my fiance. We found a lovely house, close to shops and bars etc. Looked lovely in the photos, was the right price, size etc. But....the minute we stepped thru the front door I was terrified. No explanation of it but I refused to go any further and went and sat in the car while himself looked around. I just said Not Buying It.... Months later we found out someone had been killed in that house! Always go with your gut feeling.....

If it's in probate he may not be there for ever.

We had a neighbour die and his son, wife and grandchildren moved in next door. Nightmare. Despite being brought up in an educated family he was nothing like his parents. Lazy, workless and letting the house run down. We moved. I couldn't stand looking at our lovely, well kept house and garden next to what would become a slum. They are 20 years younger than us, so I knew they weren't going to get and more active as the years passed

Run like the wind!

Yes id pull out too, cant live next to someone like that , home is supposed to be your comfortable safe space , you would constantly be worry about him i know i would , especially with a young family to look after

pull out as fast as possible

It sounds awful! Im sure they dont care about any issues as they wont be the ones living there so of course they will say neighbours are all fine
Nothing worse than bad neighbours , glad youve found out now keep running and dont look back
Your dream house is out there still to be found

Why would the house being in probate mean he might not be there forever? The two things are unrelated

We had similar. Viewed a house that just had a weird vibe about it. Felt soulless. Later discovered it was a well-known brothel.

Yep . I’d pull out

We had a neighbour die and his son, wife and grandchildren moved in next door. Nightmare

At least I escaped that one, @Bluedenimdoglover
Where I used to live the neighbour's DS had done a couple of years for CSA, and when mum and dad died I was terrified he'd move in.
Luckily he'd cleared off to Thailand (where else? ) by then so it didn't happen and the place was sold, but it could have been very different

RUNNNNNNNN