Would the state of a neighbouring garden put you off a house?

[Squashbuckle]

DH and I are looking to buy our first house after renting for years. We’ve been viewing houses for the last two weeks and found one that ticks so many boxes- it’s spacious, in a generally quiet location, has a front and back garden, is convenient for work, DCs school and recently decorated. It’s also chain free. So far, so good!

The only thing putting us off is the state of the next door but one neighbour’s garden. There’s a burnt out, rusting wreck of a car outside surrounded by all types of rubbish - including an old fridge, bags of clothes and heaps of miscellaneous stuff. The front garden is also so full of rubbish that I doubt the front door is accessible. It looks like it’s been there for a very long time.

Would this put you off a house? It’s definitely putting DH off a bit and I keep going from agreeing with him to despairing that we can’t find any other houses in the local area that match up to this one. Any advice/experience/opinions welcomed!

Better than a garden full of barbecues, hot tubs and trampolines with noisy neighbours - at least you know it will be quiet?

Yes it would put us off.

I would be worried about rats.

There’s rats everywhere anyway...

Yup, I would be judgy and assume they would be 'neighbours from hell.'

It would certainly knock a few grand off the asking price, but I'd rather have neighbours with a shabby house than noisy ones.

Who knows, maybe if you bought it they'll move on fairly soon? I'd be more concerned about antisocial behaviour than the appearance, have you tried staking out the street for a few hours, 9-11pm maybe? Get a feel for what it's like there and see how you feel about it then.

In what way is it putting you off? Are you looking long term for when you come to sell?

Could be a really quiet hoarder. I would be put off, but if it was an ideal location and property I might go for it

I'd be a worried that it was a sign that they would be less than ideal neighbours yes.

Oh yes. It's a hoarders or drug den. Probably hoarders though. And you bet there will be mice or rats and definitely a crazy inside. X

It would put me off as it would generally just annoy me looking at it for the next however many years if I bought the neighbouring house.

Yes sorry that would completely put me off. Usually with gardens like that people start fly tipping in it, you get passers by routing through and pinching stuff and if the occupiers care that little about the way they live, chances are they are gonna do other stuff that you won't like.

Apparently the best advice is to buy the worst house in the best street, advice I wished i had listened to!

It would definitely put me off and I agree with the above "chances are they are gonna do other stuff that you won't like."

Sorry

Yes, big turn off. Wouldn't want to live next to people who's idea of normal is living in a rubbish dump. You can bet that it would only get worse.

Yes it would influence me.

I’ve had bad neighbours before and it made life less than ideal. Burnt out cars and rotting fridges is a bit more than slightly scruffy.

Have you been round at different times of day, evenings etc to see how quiet it is.

It might be worth having a wander about and chat with neighbours. You might be able to find out who lives there and why their garden is a mess. Also as it isn't immediately next door it might not affect you.
If you love the house you need to do some detective work...

Thanks all, I am reluctantly coming to agree with most of you that it’s not going to be the house for us.
I do like the idea of an evening stakeout to see what the road is like. I might suggest to DH that he goes as one of us will need to be home with sleeping DC.
I have no idea about the occupants of the house and can’t ask the owners of ‘our’ house as I haven’t met them. We’ve only dealt with the estate agent who clearly had no idea.
I am less concerned about rats as our cat is used to living next to a back alley in our current city terrace. She often brings us back furry ‘gifts’ she’s caught so would probably love a fresh new hunting ground. No rat would last long in our garden/house.

If it's a street of generally nice tidy houses, I'd try and find out something about the circumstances of the people in that one but yes, it would certainly raise some concerns.

It did put me off a house I viewed recently. I bought another instead. Also if nothing changes before you come to sell it might put off potential buyers.

Even if you could ask the sellers they're unlikely to be completely honest!

Knock on the door of the other neighbors and ask what the story is.

Next door but one, not actually next door? I could probably live with that. I totally google street viewed the houses we viewed, and asked neighbours on either side about the immediate neighbours with various things in yard. They were chatty but conversations with other neighbours confirmed I couldn’t do next door!

@sahbear Crossposted with your comment! We’ve got another viewing arranged for tomorrow so will use the time to have a walk around the area and see if we can uncover any info. I’ve looked the road up on google street view and interestingly there is no sign of the car or any of the rubbish and the gardens are clear. I don’t when the footage was taken or how frequently it’s updated though.

I'd be pretty put off unless it's otherwise an immaculate street.

I would be worried about rats. Yes rats are everywhere, but would be in substantially larger numbers at that property. Also if they have been hoarding indoors for years, that is a huge fire risk. The smell in the summer may be unbearable too.