How do you check your future neighbours aren’t arseholes?

[Asdawindowandglass]

Just wondered what strategies you have employed to suss out future neighbours. Do you knock on doors before you’ve purchased?

A house we like has a high, solid, Reed-type lining on the fence on one side only. Makes me slightly suspicious.

Go and knock. Or hang around outside and see if you bump into them. A general 'Hi, I'm considering buying House X and wanted to see what you thought about the area etc' would suffice.

I don’t mind if they’re arseholes. As long as they’re quiet arseholes.

Borrow a dog and do a few evening walk bys?

God I really don't know
I wish I'd bought another house without these neighbours 😞

You don't. Even if they're lovely they could be in the process of moving and be about to be replaced by arseholes.

I have high solid fences between me and my neighbours but we get on well. The reed lining is probably just because they preferred the look of it and it gives privacy cheaply if the fence has gaps. Is there anything else that makes you think they have problem neighbours? As previously said, knock on a few doors. It might the vendors who are the arseholes.

You can't because even the nicest neighbour can move and a family of arseholes move in.

What you need to do is buy a house that is as "neighbour proof" as you can afford, i.e. proper boundaries (avoid shared driveways, communal areas or rights of way), where you can fence yourself in securely. If a semi, look for one where the doors, patio areas, etc. are at opposite ends and not next to each other in the middle. Basically, you need to be able to keep your distance and maintain your own "space" away from them as a precaution in case you end up with bad neighbours.

When you look at threads on here about neighbour problems it's usually because of shared driveways, rights of access across the garden, communal areas, next door's hot tub on their patio right next to your fence, etc.

Apart from people themselves, you can also check neighbour's gardens to look for trees/bushes close to the boundary which will grow to either block your light or will dump all their leaves/branches etc on your garden for you to clear up. Trees usually grow, so what looks small and pleasant now could easily end up a real problem in 10 years' time.

Knock on their door and say you're thinking of buying the house next door, how do they find the area? It'll give you a chance to suss them out. Do they seem friendly, approachable and pleased to chat? By knocking on the door you'll also know if they've got dogs that go ballistic when someone knocks or approaches the house- not such a problem in a detached house, but could be a huge problem in a terrace.

I'm sorry I can't remember the webpage now, but when I was last buying a house I found a website that logged all local recorded crime in a given postcode over the last few years- it'll give you an idea if there's any petty vandalism, etc. Also look back over the last few years at how many times that house (and the surrounding ones) have been on the market. If houses are changing hands fairly frequently (every few years or so) it would make me wary as I would worry residents were trying to get away from a problematic neighbour. Go down the road at different times of night and day, a lot- I always get slightly paranoid doing this as I feel like a stalker! But no-one has ever clocked me or said anything, and you'll get a feel if there are any arguments, loud music, and anything else that might be a problem.

How's the parking situation down that road? This can be a particularly emotive issue, and if it looks like people might be fighting for parking spaces this can be the final straw that turns a grumpy neighbour into a thoroughly unpleasant one.

Finally go with your gut! Its a big financial commitment and if anything is feeling a bit off just keep looking, another house will come along. Good luck!

God none of the situations mentioned above apply to us and yet we've still got neighbours who are harassing us...

@user1497207191

You can't because even the nicest neighbour can move and a family of arseholes move in.

What you need to do is buy a house that is as "neighbour proof" as you can afford, i.e. proper boundaries (avoid shared driveways, communal areas or rights of way), where you can fence yourself in securely. If a semi, look for one where the doors, patio areas, etc. are at opposite ends and not next to each other in the middle. Basically, you need to be able to keep your distance and maintain your own "space" away from them as a precaution in case you end up with bad neighbours.

When you look at threads on here about neighbour problems it's usually because of shared driveways, rights of access across the garden, communal areas, next door's hot tub on their patio right next to your fence, etc.

Apart from people themselves, you can also check neighbour's gardens to look for trees/bushes close to the boundary which will grow to either block your light or will dump all their leaves/branches etc on your garden for you to clear up. Trees usually grow, so what looks small and pleasant now could easily end up a real problem in 10 years' time.

Absolutely agree with this.

We have a right of access over neighbours garden. They do everything & anything to be obstruct to the point of putting a lock on the gated access. They’ve put numerous security lights and cctv cameras up. To boot they have done a reverse by gossiping about us within the community, for being unreasonable.

Worst neighbours we’ve ever had in over 40 years.

Agree with other posters on here. Avoid anything shared. We had arsehole neighbours who gave us no end of trouble over the shared access.

Knock and ask! I wish I had done so.

But as long as they are quiet and leave me alone I wouldnt care.

Do they ever bring their bins in? Or is it left in the street while they walk past it for a few days.

When we bought our current house, I went and parked up inconspicuously for about 15 minutes at a time on weekdays, evenings, weekends...and just observed daily life. Also did multiple drivebys. My DP thought I was mad , but after the horror of having arsehole antisocial neighbours it made complete sense. Our purchase took 6 months...so I did this from offer to completion. I saw the general comings and goings and got a good feel for the area. If we had done this on a previous property it would have saved us a lot of grief with awful neighbours.

As for the reed fencing it could be due to a damaged or unsuitable fence. Does the fence belong to the vendors or the neighbour? I imagine it could be full of gaps or even a 4ft fence which they have tried to disguise? Nothing to be immediately suspicious of, but could flag a maintenance issue.

Sadly you can never tell, even with all the drivebys and walking past etc. And no guarantee good neighbours won't move in 6 months either and be replaced by arseholes. You can't guarantee anything, even knocking on the door and talking to them. You never can truly know.

I'm very fortunate my new neighbours are lovely and very quiet, if anything a bit too quiet as they all keep themselves to themselves more than where I moved from. But I can't complain, they aren't noisy or obnoxious.

Go upstairs in the house you are looking at and try and look into their garden - look out for noisy fucking hot tubs 🙄, motorbikes, piles of rubbish etc. Wish we’d done that before we bought the one I’m currently sat in.

I'd rather have the problems here than the problems mine are causing 😟

The knocking and asking about the area is a great idea, how long do you plan to stay in the house for?
We've lived in our house almost 10 years, the family opposite have 3 children who all have their own cars and no driveway. So that's 3 extra cars taking up kerb space, next doors business has expanded and a knock on effect of that is they know fill the road with their fleet vehicles. Our newest neighbour, allowed her son to crane a caravan into her back garden. My beautiful view of fields is now spoilt...do you see where I am going with this? As the years go on, people change. Our neighbours are all lovely, but very selfish in many ways. I know exactly what I am looking for when we are in the position to move.

We met our neighbours and they were lovely, told us all about them, their family, the lovely street. The vendor told us how lovely everyone was, with lots of tales to back it up.

They started harassing us the day we moved in.

Well if it makes you feel any better, I have the Reed screening on one side of my garden and my next door neighbours are lovely. Just wanted a bit more privacy and didn't want to pay for 20 odd meters of wood, and didn't want to block them out completely because we still talk through the tiny gaps in the fence.

@copernicium

We met our neighbours and they were lovely, told us all about them, their family, the lovely street. The vendor told us how lovely everyone was, with lots of tales to back it up.

They started harassing us the day we moved in.

This is like mine

... Only it took them two weeks to start harassing us
In the meantime they were nice to us...

Nextdoor app on your smart phone or web browser.

You'll find person who live on the same street and you can message them with different questions

As soon as possible. This is one way to do it, you could introduce yourself to them and see how they react.