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New owners etiquette

8 replies

Movinghouse1 · 09/06/2020 20:58

We've just bought a house!!! Pending paperwork and all the details, is there an etiquette before we start renovations? The house has been left empty for years & needs a complete renovation. We plan to live in 1 room whilst these go on, then make it our home.

Do we door knock and introduce ourselves? Put notes through the door? If so, what do we say? how much and what info do we put on here? Our contact details? Any help or tips appreciated.

OP posts:
Whenwillthisbeover · 10/06/2020 06:48

Knock on the door, Say “Hi, we’re Rosie and Jim, we’ve just moved in” and take it from there. Most people living next door to a neglected house for years would likely say “you have a lot to do don’t you”.

See how the conversation goes. Tbh, you are likely to see them on the drive or garden the day you move in, us neighbours are a bit nosey like that.

EmperorCovidula · 10/06/2020 06:51

Please do introduce yourselves and find out whether your neighbours are working from home/working shifts/have young children, pregnant etc. and try (as much as possible) to structure your renovation around their schedules and needs so as to minimise their discomfort and communicate this to them (assuming they’re not arseholes they’ll be really grateful and it will help foster good neighbourly relations).

rwalker · 10/06/2020 07:01

Go and knock introduce and tell them what you are doing so they will expect noise.
In different times I would of ask them to come and have a look so they know you are not just making noise for the sake of it

ThisIsMeOrIsIt · 10/06/2020 07:11

My parents bought a semi-detached that needed a lot of work as it wasn't even habitable. One of the first things they did was introduce themselves to the neighbours on either side to say hi and give them contact details, although my dad was round there almost every day. But they just wanted the neighbours to knows what was happening at each point and make sure they could be contacted. Most people in the village, actually, were very talkative about the house when they found out my parents had bought it.

Definitely knock and say hi! And enjoy the new house!

Gunpowder · 10/06/2020 07:14

Yes either knock or leave a note if they aren’t there. I always text our neighbours before stuff like scaffolding goes up or anything very disruptive/noisy happens so if they are overly disturbed they can tell me.

WombatChocolate · 10/06/2020 08:25

Good idea to give them a slip of paper with your mob no on it. Perhaps best to pop round and just say hi first and then later to drop the slip of paper. You'll often find then that people will also give you their mob no too - and it is very useful, esp if you don't live there to start with.

When you introduce yourself, do mention that you'll be doing work, but make most of it about introducing yourself and being friendly. There's no need in a first meeting to spell out the intricate details of the plan. You'll get a sense of whether some people would like to be your best friends and some don't really want to know anything about you straig away.

With regards to doing works, it's a fine balance with respecting neighbours and getting on with the job. Absolutely find out if they work at home/have small kids etc and definitely plan for your builders to not start before a decent time or for you or the builders to work after a certain time and not all day at the weekend. At the same time, noise is unavoidable and you don't want to give the neighbours the impression you will avoid all noise or totally fit in around their schedules...... being reasonable about the hours worked and being willing to accommodate the odd specific request is important (ie neighbour says that next Saturday afternoon they would appreciate quiet for a particular event) but you cannot totally schedule everything around them. Some neighbours would have you do this if given a chance, so it's important not to be daft in bending over entirely backwards.

And a gift at the end of the work and possibly something after a particularly noisy phase never goes amiss.

The other thing is making sure your builders know you expect them to clean up each day and ensure anything which blows onto neighbours plot is removed daily. Sometimes you might need to do sweeping etc yourself. But being seen to do this and to be aware of it and willing to do it also goes a long way in showing respect for new neighbours. You can always apologise but don't get into self flagelation over it. You are entitled to do the work and putting up with it is just one of those things. Regular contact and keeping them up to date, rather than nasty surprises makes a big difference. And although texts are easier and very useful a lot of the time, personal face-to-face updates occasionally are good, especially if things are a little strained, because tone can be lost in texts.

If you're being decent and communicating well, you can hold your head up.

Hopefully you'll establish really good neighbourly relationships that last many years. Enjoy the new home.

Movinghouse1 · 10/06/2020 10:38

Thanks for all the suggestions. I would hope the neighbours are happy it will be restored and lived in, as its attracted some unsocial behaviour. Some windows are smashed and boarded up and the garden is completely overgrown- so it really looks a state! I hope they'll be happy its going to be a family home, and not demolished & the block subdivided.

Yes, we would also give a gift the neighbours once completed. I was thinking bottle of wine, biscuits, chocs or something similar. That is a LONG way off though, but something to look forward to.

OP posts:
mencken · 10/06/2020 16:08

it is such good news when out of use houses are brought back to life, rather than concreting over yet more green land. The very best of luck with the project!

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