How much would a scruffy adjoining property put you off?

[devadreams]

We put our house on the market in late February, excellent timing in terms of Covid! Needless to say we didn't have much interest, in fact only one viewing. They did really like ours apparently, but went for a cheaper (and less nice) property as they felt more comfortable with a smaller mortgage, fair enough. All feedback on ours was positive.

I have to wonder why we haven't had more interest though. It is on at a guide price that reflects the valuation of three separate estate agents. I know one thing that some potential buyers have mentioned is location as we are in a village and in this area some people prefer to be walking distance of the station for trains into London (many commute to London from here). You'd have to drive to the station from ours, although only 5 mins. Having said this, lots of people live in this village and surrounding villages and are ok driving to a station, and I know the location is actually a bonus to many (it's a really lovely village, nice pub, excellent school, surrounded by beautiful countryside and only minutes from good amenities).

The one thing I suspect might put people off is next door. We are semi detached and whilst our house is smartly presented (we've had it re-rendered whilst living here, new front door, it's well cared for etc) next door is a different story. The wooden window frames are peeling, the render is worn and patchy, it just looks quite uncared for in general. I imagine someone doing a drive by on ours before considering a viewing would look at it and look at next door and be put off.

Our agents have been pretty useless to be honest. I've just instructed them to take it off the market as not heard from them for weeks (no exaggeration). I'd have expected at least the bog standard Rightmove activity report, or a phone call to discuss tactics given lack of interest - should we reduce the price, consider an open morning etc. They assure me the market is "booming" and can not fathom why they haven't been able to sell ours. I'm thinking of contacting one of the other agents who I know to be really solid in the local market and ask for a bit of advice and guidance, with a view to going on with them. I really want someone to be honest with us about the house and the price. There's not much we can do re next door (they've been saying they are going to do work on it ever since we moved in years ago!) but it would be good to know how much it is putting potential buyers off, or if it's something about our house that's not right.

Is next door actually a wreck? a bit of peeling paint wouldn't put me off, but if the garden's a tip that would certainly put me off.

If next door's isn't too shabby, its the price. It's always the price.

Honestly? Yes it would put me off, when I pull up outside my house I want to look at something lovely not a depressing uncared for home attached to mine, but I’m really fussy and probably lots of others would have no issue.

Yes it would - the condition of an attached house directly impacts yours, and I'd be worried that if there were issues with the roof or pipes that they would not be willing to spend the money required.
You may have to take a hit on price.

I am currently looking and yes it probably would put me off a little, there may be loads of reasons why the house looks rundown though. For me an elderly neighbour who just couldn't keep on top of things would be less of a problem than a younger family or rental who just couldn't be bothered to look after their house as that would make me think it would spill over into other potential issues. but if the house was otherwise good and well priced I would probably still look...
I was worried when ours was on as next door (which is arguably prettier than our house) have a multitude of cars and vans in the driveway (4-5 vehicles in the evening). It's a relatively temporary arrangement due to covid, but that is something that would also put me off if an adjoining property.

But yes, get another agent on it. Your previous agent sounds a bit rubbish, even if they are run off their feet right now (the current line I am being fed when looking for my onward property...)

It might not put me off if your house were detached and your neighbour’s house was scruffy. But it would put me off if it were the other half of a semi - I’d worry they wouldn’t be willing or able to pay for structural repairs that might affect your/my house too.

Martin it's not just a bit of peeling paint to be honest. It just looks totally unlooked after. They have someone come and cut the grass and tidy the garden every so often but in between the grass grows pretty long. Sometimes they leave the curtains closed so it just looks really uncared for from the outside.

I can't imagine we are massively overpriced given that we have 3 independent valuations at the same level and seeing other prices locally. The agents said there hasn't been any feedback to the effect "if it was £50k cheaper we'd consider it" and they know we have a little room for manoeuvre on the price. A smaller property has gone under offer relatively quickly around the corner from us and was only 3% cheaper than ours and is mid terraced.

Zara thank you, honesty is what I need!

Mulled - interestingly, without giving too much identifiable info, the property really doesn't "match" the residents. They are a well to do couple, older than us but far from elderly. Have their own business which appears successful, nice business premises etc. They just haven't looked after their house, although I have no doubt they have the means to do so. And I just wonder if they will ever do the work. Last year we suggested to them we buy their house (with a view to knocking through) but they said it wouldn't work as they had already progressed things with "the work", wheels were in motion etc. Nothing has happened since....

Thanks all, I do appreciate all responses

On a practical front - would they be upset if you offered to mow their front lawn? Curtains closed isn’t a massive issue but junk in the front garden would be a big no no and long grass too.

We have a neighbour with rubbish in their drive. We are much bigger than them and we cannot see their drive but I don’t understand people like this. They have no pride! Next door to me want to sell. I’m hoping that they tidy up. A neighbours son was doing it the other day. Lazy arses aren’t even doing it themselves!

When I bought my house I was a bit concerned that my ndn house looked really run down (although gardens well kept and no rubbish).They have an old knackered camper van on their drive so it just looked scruffy. I need not have worried as they are two of the sweetest older people I’ve ever had the privilege of living by. They go off touring in their camper van at nearly 80 and are so pleasant and kind I think they’re fab.

Interestingly I just sold the house and one of the viewers asked me about the ndn, I told them I’d rather have the run down house than a flash Mercedes, done up house and twats for neighbours. So things aren’t always as they seem.

Are they old or handicapped in some way? Might be worth just offering to cut the grass for them, at least if the garden looks tidy that would be a plus. Does sound like you might need to reduce your price a bit though. Maybe talk to a different agent.

Yes - especially if it's semi detached.

Aside from the curb appeal aspect I'd also be worried that the lack of maintenance might cause an issue down the line that impacted my property.

It would put me off, very very much so. But I must admit, that's mainly because I don't want to risk living next to trashy neighbours.

If I found out it was a sweet elderly couple living there who couldn't keep on top of the maintenance, that might be something I could deal with for the right property. But then I would need to LOVE the place I'm buying. Sorry OP.

They are not old or disabled. They are in their 50s, have a successful business offering professional services, live a "nice" lifestyle, but for whatever reason seem happy to live in a house that is so tatty people comment on when passing by (I've heard so many comments during lockdown when we've had more people walking past than usual eg "oh this one's still for sale, but then look at next door...." type of thing - surely they hear it if I can hear it?!)

It is totally out of keeping with the rest of the village that is very well kept, some really large and expensive properties (ours is one of the smaller ones!) They like to enjoy their "standing" in the community so their house is really at odds with this, it just doesn't stack up.

I did consider offering to cut their grass during lockdown but worried it would cause offence. As mentioned previously, they have a gardener who comes every few weeks to cut the grass etc but he didn't come for ages during lockdown so the grass got really long. They are more than capable of doing it themselves, so it felt rude to offer to do it, I knew it would cause offence. He has started coming again now so the garden is ok, it's not much at the front just a bit of grass and couple of shrubs, so from the road it's definitely the house itself that it more off putting.

We will definitely be open to reducing the price. The main problem is, where we live is particularly expensive for housing. To make the next move will involve accepting an additional £1000 on our mortgage (and this is not to buy something amazing or our dream home, just a fourth bedroom and some additional living space, both of which we really need). We can't afford to make this move if we reduce the price drastically, but there is a little room for manoeuvre. I just think that if people were happy to offer around the level we'd be prepared to go to, they would have booked a viewing by now, so are we way out on price or are there factors (such as next door) making people rule it out.

I can't help but be quite annoyed with NDN! (there's a long back story but they are really quite strange people.....)

Given the size of the additional mortgage we would potentially be signing up to, and the uncertainty around DH's work/industry, it may be that we decide to sit tight for now - we love our house and the setting/location (except the weird NDN!) and have grown even more attached during lockdown, so would be happy enough to stay put for now.

We do desperately need an extra bedroom and a bit more space, but we can stay where we are for now until we have a bit more confidence financially etc. I just worry long term that we are stuck because of next door. If the market is booming as we are told, we must have been doing something seriously wrong to have so little interest? Also it would be good to take advantage of the stamp duty changes so it feels a bit like now is a good time to try and sell.

We once decided not to offer on a house because next door's was so unkempt. It had peeling paint, a semi-rotten garage and overall screamed unloved.
One of our concerns was that a neighbour like that would be difficult to deal with. All you can do is big up your relationship and what nice people they are (if true).

Crossed posts! Bit of a stretch to say they're lovely then!!

We passed on several homes that had neighbors with poor upkeep. A bit of peeling paint wouldn’t be an issue, but lots of weeds, excessively long grass, lots of broken concrete, and even refuse in the garden mean we did not consider the house.

Maybe it's worth asking them again about buying theirs?