WTF? House next door boarded up!

[NotQuiteCockney]

Our neighbour was recently evicted, court proceedings etc etc.

Through the everpresent grapevine, I gather this was an ex of his, getting him evicted.

When he moved out, they put shutters on the windows and doors. It looks dreadful.

Thing is, the house is worth a stupid amount of money. Is she just going to leave it vacant? Do we have any way of objecting to this?

No idea if they are going to just leave it vacant, but the boards on the windows will be to deter squatters, which you would presumably think worse than it being vacant?

I don't think you have any way to object - its their house, and it will probably be sold pretty fast if its worth a lot.

I'd hope it will be sold fast. But the eviction thing was v strange, from what I know (neighbour made a deal with on-again-off-again gf to essentially defraud the gov't, claiming housing benefits. But gf defrauded him of the house - she's a lawyer). Neighbour was quite bonkers, gf more so.

I guess I don't want it sitting empty, nor do I want the mad gf moving in there ... not that I get any say anyway.

Yeah, squatters would probably suck.

I think I'm mostly just upset and weirded out about the whole thing - he's been there since we moved in, nearly 10 years ago. We thought he'd be there forever. He clearly didn't want to move out ... what a mess.

Try living round our way NQC - if you saw The Secret Millionaire the other week something like 60% of the houses are boarded up!
The shutters are to stop squatters, looters (lead & copper pipes etc), kids, arsonists etc getting in.
Don't think you can object as it's not your property.

There are other boarded up properties in our neighbourhood. But not many, and those that are, are on busy streets, so ones nobody wants to live on.

These houses are in a very very private mews, seriously, nobody knows it's here, the houses generally sell to people who know people here - since we moved in, nobody totally 'new' has moved in, and it's been nearly 10 years.

Hi Iklboo, that programme was fab, he really bought a tear to my (and DH's) eye. Do you live right in 'that area'(don't want to say where of course) I live up the road in Whitefield. Nice to see someone local on here for a change.

i sypathise...

the house next door to where i work... (whose value is well into the 7 figures) is currently borded up...

Its a gorgouse huge victorian property sitting their doing nothing...

It used to be a childrens home but now the council own it (children moved out) and its just nothing..... but a BEUTIFUL property with loads of original features sitting there doing nothing

Ah, the new owner visited today, explained her plan (to rent it out), left her number.

She wants to do it up a bit before renting it out, sensibly enough.