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Original poster

Did a neighbour put you off buying a house?

30 replies

MeMeMeow85 · 13/05/2018 16:58

We saw the most beautiful house yesterday in an idyllic setting...all seemed well, expect that the next door neighbour has filled the front of his house (and the other side of the lane opposite his house) with old tractors, tyres and jeeps. It is such an eyesore when you pass!!

Then when we were out in the dream house garden, we could see that his garden is full of chicken coops and dog kennels... the EA said “don’t worry, he’s a bit strange”.

To make matters worse, the neighbour was watching our entire viewing and kept popping his head up over the fence to see what we were doing...then he started cutting logs with a chain saw, even though it was raining...

It’s a rural place, off a long dirt track. We need to walk away from the property, don’t we??! It is otherwise prefect.

Any advice please? Anyone had a similar situation? He’s mid-60’s apparently, so unlikely to leave anytime soon

OP posts:
UserThenLotsOfNumbers · 13/05/2018 17:00

Run for the hills!

SavoyCabbage · 13/05/2018 17:02

Yes. Run for the hills. Fast.

stayhomeclub · 13/05/2018 17:04

I’d leave that one

feral · 13/05/2018 17:18

Yes, run.

If he's like that when you're viewing...

Did you ask why the vendors wanted to move?

I once didn't buy a house as the neighbour was one of those over grown gardens strewn with broken kids toys.

PrettyLovely · 13/05/2018 17:20

That would put me off, Perhaps thats why they are moving.

IJustHadToNameChange · 13/05/2018 17:32

I went to see a privately owned, semi-detached house in the middle of a council estate.

The people who owned it had passed and it was a probate sale.

It was being marketed as a first time buyer/but to let investment.

The house was poorly extended and decorated in an 80s style but the attached neighbour looked horrendous.

The neighbour's fence had been deliberately broken down and they had set about using the large front garden as a drive and workshop.

No dropped kerb, mind. The working car was clearly being driven back and forth, up and down the pavement.

The working car was off the 'drive' (a combination of the old fence and poorly maintained grass) and an old (very old) car was propped on bricks, breeze blocks and assorted rubble with a pan to collect the dripping oil.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Badweekjustgotworse · 13/05/2018 18:06

I worry about this from the perspective of a potential seller. We live in a terrace and when it comes to sell the neighbours on one side of us are sure to put off potential buyers... to be honest they’d put me off Angry
Run, something else will come up!

UnimaginativeUsername · 13/05/2018 18:33

I saw a house recently where the neighbour was clearly a nightmare. It was tenanted (and grim inside - but the neighbour would be enough reason alone even if it was incredible) and the neighbour kept complaining to the EA showing me round about everything: the tenants left their window open etc. There’s no way I’d move with 2 kids next door to a man who phones up letting agents every day to complain that his neighbours didn’t open their curtains.

UnimaginativeUsername · 13/05/2018 18:34

OTOH, the neighbours across the street in my old house were a bit odd and didn’t really maintain their house. They dug up the drive and front garden and then just left it, rubble and all.

We still sold really easily for more than the asking price. So it clearly didn’t put people off.

FrogFairy · 13/05/2018 18:36

It sounds like a potential nightmare neighbour.

I would run. Not only could he be very difficult, should you ever need to sell in the future it will put buyers off.

MaryPoppinsPenguins · 13/05/2018 18:36

I didn’t buy a house once because the neighbour had a massive dirty caravan on the drive that was as close to the boundary line as possible. A local friend told me it never moved and she thought one of the kids slept in there.

Lanaa · 13/05/2018 18:39

Yup, went to view a gorgeous house in a nice area. Neighbour has a St George's cross flying from a flagpole in his garden and reacted very strangely when he saw me. It's just not worth the potential hassle. There will be other houses.

Murane · 13/05/2018 18:43

I turned down a house because neighbours were parking like CFs and I knew I'd have an ongoing battle with them. Worried about selling my house because (although it looked ok when I viewed it) the neighbours here park like CFs too. Plus the rear neighbours have a hot tub that's just been installed and if the kids aren't screaming the adults are. I wouldn't have bought my own house if the hot tub was there at the time.

pegdolly · 13/05/2018 18:48

Viewed a house, and the next door neighbor spent the time we spent looking in the garden, at her washing line, shrieking to her kid indoors! Glad I gave that one a miss.

DailyMailcanfuckthefuckoff · 13/05/2018 18:50

I decided "no" on a flat as a neighbour stopped to talk to us before we even entered the building. He was friendly enough, but as soon as DP spoke (in his Irish accent) the neighbour said he'd served in Ireland, and asked if DP had been in the IRA, and made jokes about DP blowing things up(???). Apparently this was hugely amusing to him (neighbour), and I knew before even stepping foot in the building itself I wouldn't buy that flat.

Carolynnnna · 13/05/2018 21:57

It all sounds like normal 'rural' behaviour to me… Tractors, chickens, chain-sawing and wanting to have a nose about who might be buying the house next door.

wibblywobblyfish · 13/05/2018 22:59

I decided against 3 houses because of potential neighbour issues.

First house was fine while looking around but I could hear dogs barking. Got into the garden to see dogs in an outside kennel and run, obviously working spaniels. Didn't fancy listening to that all day long.

Second house, nice inside and could have been a contender until I could smell weed wafting over the fence. Cue an awkward moment between me and the estate agent where he knew I knew what was going on.

Third house, second viewing. A big ex council house with a large green at the front. Looked fine on the first viewing. Second time I saw it, it was a sunny bank hol weekend. There were inflatable hot tubs set up, trampolines and a lot of neighbours having a party. Not overly bothered by them until they saw the estate agent pull up and then the adults started throwing a dogs ball in our direction and a very lively staff type dog came hurtling towards the kids at full tilt. This happened a couple times. We still looked at the house. When we left I could hear the drunk adults shouting 'go on, fuck off!' at us Shock

123bananas · 13/05/2018 23:02

Not me but DH went to view a property that would in many ways have been more perfect than the one we ended up buying.

The neighbours had a huge argument that went on the whole time he was there with doors and windows slamming.

Not a good selling point.

Trust your gut.

DownUdderer · 14/05/2018 03:22

You can’t really escape neighbors that are a pain in the arse, it would be a big reason for me to not want that house.

SlothMama · 14/05/2018 10:45

Personally I wouldn't buy, sounds like he could end up being a loud, annoying neighbour. My auntie was amazed how quickly she sold her house with a horrendous neighbour next door, so I guess it's not an issue for some people?

SingingBabooshkaBadly · 14/05/2018 11:07

There was a mannequin dressed in paramilitary uniform in the front garden next door to a house we once viewed and anti USA graffiti daubed on the fence - this was in Surrey Confused. One window was boarded up and the curtains were closed in all the others.

We didn’t put in an offer...

mommybear1 · 14/05/2018 16:45

Oh no Op no no no - run away far far away

Amunamun · 14/05/2018 17:29

I wouldn't buy. One bad neighbour can make your life a living hell.

whataboutbob · 14/05/2018 17:54

One neighbour made our life really stressful: non stop skunk smoking which wafted through the floorboards, hostility escalating to poison pen letters. Now I hope I ll see the signs that there is a maladjusted neighbour living next door and I would definitely avoid such a property.

madsiemoomoo · 14/05/2018 19:38

Various things about neighbours put us off offering on houses including:

  • St George's flags dangled from upstairs windows at a point where there were no sporting events on. The 'brits abroad' type are definitely not who I want to be living near.
  • Pretty much every back garden that would have backed on to ours had a trampoline in it - nothing against them, but with so damn many in such a small vicinity I could just imagine a cacophony of screeching all weekend in the summer!
  • walking down the road and seeing various items (like an old toilet) in front gardens (in overgrown grass so unlikely to be someone renovating a bathroom) and hearing Kirsty and Phil's 'crims don't trim' echoing in my head Blush
  • An elderly(ish) neighbour coming out to complain we'd parked in front of their house (not anywhere near their large driveway, just visible to their house!!) and wanting to know why we were parking on their street and which number we were visiting - with this one I could just imagine the passive aggressive (or aggressive aggressive!) notes from the parking nazi about any perceived infraction of their made up rules Hmm

We were making a massive investment and frankly any sign of potentially loud/inconsiderate/annoying neighbours was a dealbreaker! Granted they may have all been fine but we couldn't meet them all and if I'm considered a snob for wanting to minimise the risk based on stereotypes and assumptions then I'm more than ok with that Grin

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