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Original poster

Perfect House, with Neglected House Next Door.

18 replies

Overdon · 11/06/2021 18:59

I’m gutted tbh, the house ticks every box, BUT the adjoining neighbours house appears neglected. Back garden contained a large pile of junk, and there were lots of bags of rubbish at the side of the house. (Everyone round here uses the wheelie bin)
I could over look the over grown garden, but the junk and rubbish? Urgh, we had dirty neighbours in the past and ended up with a mouse infestation.
I really though I would be making an offer today, but I’m gonna have to walk away.

OP posts:
Oly4 · 11/06/2021 19:00

Yes you are. Very sad but not worth it

ThisIsStartingToBoreMe · 11/06/2021 19:07

Yeah don't do it. It's very likely the reason they are selling.

Original poster
Overdon · 11/06/2021 19:21

Yes sadly I think this is why the house was reasonably priced. The EA told me that the lovely house had been rented previously but I don’t know if this is significant. However it’s all a bit academic now, like you say not worth it.

OP posts:
Lampzade · 11/06/2021 20:09

Definitely walk away
Our current neighbours moved in two years ago and their house is neglected and rundown . Rubbish, junk everywhere. Very depressing

Jasmine11 · 12/06/2021 09:05

That's such a shame. I know someone who bought a house next door to a neglected one and they had terrible rat problems!

TerribleCustomerCervix · 12/06/2021 09:13

We had something similar and ended up buying.

Next door had a yard filled with shite, including an ancient stationary Ford escort, which was once red but had been sat there so long it was now pink.

Our yards all have four foot fences and face into a central courtyard, so it was constantly in your face!

DH and I irgnored it as we loved the house. We moved in and a few months later the neighbour replaced the rotten old fence, cleared the rubbish and got rid of the car. When he was reversing it out the other neighbours and DH all went into their yards and clapped 😂

So it worked out for us! But we never had the threat of mice- if it was actual rubbish instead of just junk that’s a different problem.

FuckMyLife2021 · 12/06/2021 09:14

Walk away. I’ve a thread on here, I live next door to an abandoned house and it’s caused no end of issues.

Allington · 12/06/2021 09:22

It's a gamble. It could be sold tomorrow as a fixer upper and be pristine in a year's time. Or it could stay as it is. It depends how you feel about the risk and your other options.

Time40 · 12/06/2021 09:28

Personally, if I really loved the house, I'd take the risk and go for it. I think it's worth risking getting mice for the sake of a perfect house. There are always mouse traps. Are you worried about anything else, apart from mice and rats?

Original poster
Overdon · 12/06/2021 10:21

Well I do also worry who would live in a house like this? Is it a red flag to other poor/ anti social behaviours.

OP posts:
DDIJ · 12/06/2021 10:24

This reply has been withdrawn

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ItsSnowJokes · 12/06/2021 10:25

I wouldn't buy it due to the risk of anti social behaviour (I have been there and done that and it has caused me serious mental health issues over the past year and the reason we moved house)

Although we moved earlier this year and when we viewed next door was OK. When we moved in the garden was full of junk. However they moved in April and cleared the garden completely. We have new neighbours and they haven't filled the garden with crap but they haven't cut the grass and it's about waist high now!

Bibbleybetto · 12/06/2021 10:28

I would view but also knock on at the neighbours to ask them about the area (and to size them up). We have a very unkempt house locally. The lady who lives there is elderly and cant keep up with the maintenance so the gutters leak and the garden is a jungle. My neighbours also have very messy gardens (bordering on hoarding at times) and can look a bit much but its not rubbish/rodent attracting and they are lovely neighbours - no antisocial problems otherwise.

If the neighbours have bothered to put their rubbish in bags I would go and have a chat. It might not be as bad as you think.

Original poster
Overdon · 12/06/2021 11:48

@DDIJ Yes it is occupied

The EA has just called for feedback and wasn’t in the least bit surprised when I raised the neighbour issue, she actually agreed with me about my concerns.

If it were a detached wouldn’t be so much of an issue , but it’s adjoins semi.

OP posts:
DaphneduM · 12/06/2021 17:14

Something similar happened to us a few years ago when we were looking to relocate. Fantastic large four bed house in a lovely road, but directly opposite was a house with old cars, a derelict looking caravan and a garden which looked as though it hadn't seen a lawnmower for about a decade. So regrettably we didn't pursue it - but someone was obviously ok with it, as the house sold a few months later. We found our lovely house in a different location and have been so happy here - but some people would have been put off as it's on a main road. Never been an issue for us though.

Thecazelets · 12/06/2021 17:43

I wouldn't if there are other options. We were lucky (London) and bought the middle and worst of a row of three very neglected houses on an otherwise lovely street, as it was our only way of buying into the area. To our right had been empty for 20 years and had been given the full fake stone frontage treatment, and to our left was divided into flats which were not well looked after (filthy rotting windows with scraps of curtains on sagging strings, overflowing bins in the front garden etc.) The one we bought was even worse, but correspondingly cheap. Over the years both sides were also bought and renovated into smart family homes. I imagine us doing up the middle one made the other two more saleable. But it was a gamble, and not one I'd probably take now. And we wouldn't have done it then if the one we were buying had already been smartened up with a price tag to match.

SecretOfChange · 12/06/2021 18:03

I asked the council about a house directly opposite mine before the house purchase, as I was actually convinced it was an empty house, it looked so bad! A guy from the council visited me in person and said that the guy living there has mental health issues and they will only be able to help with the state of the house/garden if he requests help. He appears to be harmless though (I thought it was some drug dealing place, no less, it looked so awful!) So I did go ahead and don't regret it. Obviously I hope it won't be in this state forever. Like PP said it is a bit of a gamble. Do your research and see how you feel then.

Cocoaone · 12/06/2021 18:31

Can you find out if it's rented or owned?

I'd feel worse if it was rented - obviously the landlord doesn't care too much about who it's rented to. Or does - but because of Covid they can't evict.
If it's owned, are the owners elderly etc.

Neighbours might know more....

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