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Original poster

Property - WWYD?

21 replies

Alex333Alex · 13/03/2022 15:19

Hi all, I am a long time lurker of this board, new poster with a wwyd, please.

So, we are looking for a house in a property hotspot where prices are going up basically by the minute - there is a house that has not sold for a while and it has the potential to go up quite a lot (period, lots of space, fairly good condition) but the house next door is in a terrible, terrible state. It's tenanted and it's in a huge state of disrepair. People live there, unbelievably or not, it's like some kind of 19th century deprivation novel.

Would you even consider buying the house next to it?

(I am not putting the link up because that would be shaming the people who live next door and I do not want to do that)

OP posts:
Whinge · 13/03/2022 15:23

I wouldn't buy it. If there's as much potential as you say then I doubt the house next door is the only reason it hasn't sold.

HappeeInParis · 13/03/2022 15:26

I would worry that people living in such a chaotic way might be no problem neighbours in other ways.

Aria20 · 13/03/2022 15:27

Would you get annoyed looking at the state of next doors constantly? Their back garden probably also a state... does it smell? Are the likely to be noisy/nuisance neighbours? There is a house on the same road as my children's school that is in a terrible state, really shabby, junk all over the wild front garden - like old bikes, tyres, broken household appliances etc. The next door neighbour's garden is neatly mowed and tidy and house looks well maintained compared so I wonder if they care about the scruffy neighbour?!

Original poster
Alex333Alex · 13/03/2022 15:34

@Whinge

I wouldn't buy it. If there's as much potential as you say then I doubt the house next door is the only reason it hasn't sold.
That's a very good point - the house in which we live now had not sold for a while as it used to be HMO and was a bit unloved. We bought it anyway, gave it lots of love, and now it sold within days for over asking, so the fact that it has not sold for a while is not necessarily negative - it becomes self-fulfilling prophecy, iykwim, however I realise that the market now is different from when we bought and definitely it would be a risk.

I am also oriented towards, NO, by the way.

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Original poster
Alex333Alex · 13/03/2022 15:41

@Aria20

Would you get annoyed looking at the state of next doors constantly? Their back garden probably also a state... does it smell? Are the likely to be noisy/nuisance neighbours? There is a house on the same road as my children's school that is in a terrible state, really shabby, junk all over the wild front garden - like old bikes, tyres, broken household appliances etc. The next door neighbour's garden is neatly mowed and tidy and house looks well maintained compared so I wonder if they care about the scruffy neighbour?!
absolutely - that's what I thought, although we do are not wealthy we do have jobs, and things, and we'd take good care of the house, with flowers in the garden, and spending our money in nice things, and worry they'd just detest us gentrifying family.
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Original poster
Alex333Alex · 13/03/2022 15:45

@Aria20 house from the from is ok, it's the back garden which is separated from the house for sale by a small corridor which is terrible, with all the wood rotten and with some old rusty implements there. The side fence between the 2 houses has some damage which the EA told me was storm damage, and which makes sense as our fence in the house w sold had some damage (which we fixed, btw) but now I am worrying that it may be done by problem neighbours (I am probably catastrophizing now)/

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Clymene · 13/03/2022 15:50

You'd have to accept that there would be zero responsibility for collapsing fences or falling trees or vermin or anything. We used to live next to a house like that when I was a kid. They just didn't give a shit but it didn't affect us - they didn't play loud music or get into fights, they were just scruffy buggers. No guarantees though !

sst1234 · 13/03/2022 15:57

It really depends on whether you are prepared to see this as an investment as well as a home. If the state of the house next door is priced into the value of the house you are interested in then one day you could find your house go up in value when they neighbour’s house gets sorted out. But if you are someone that would hate living next to that, then don’t do it. It will impact your quality of your life, looking at an eyesore every day

dudsville · 13/03/2022 16:04

The time before last that I moved I wanted a nicer environemnt, the last time I moved I wanted an even nicer environment. Only a herd of unfortunate circumstances could put me back a step or three. It really matters to me how my neighbours live, their lifestyles impact on me.
I'm not wealthy enough to live further away from people so I choose them as much as I choose the house and whether it has the bedrooms etc., that I need.

Original poster
Alex333Alex · 13/03/2022 16:37

Some really good points, thank you - I am moving from the burbs into the city so I am accepting that things aren't going to be a pretty as in my quite, nice place now. I think this observation 'It will impact your quality of your life, looking at an eyesore every day' is a great point, and I'd also be worried that if, say, I get a JL delivery, combined the fact we owe the house, we'd be marked as wealthy and burgled. That house is probably a great investment but we want a home.

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CheltenhamLady · 13/03/2022 16:39

A friend had a house that was next door to one like you describe. The gardens were overrun with rats and mice as the neighbours had bin bags piled high. I couldn't live next door to something with that potential or all the other potential issues. I wouldn't consider it.

Mushypeasandchipstogo · 13/03/2022 16:42

No. We have been in the same situation. Beautiful huge semi but house next door totally dilapidated and rented out. Turns out rats were entering beautiful house via the loft.

Original poster
Alex333Alex · 13/03/2022 16:51

The rest of the street is a really mixed bag - a couple of houses have sold for over £500,000 a few years ago and some houses look really nice - wealthy, i'd say - then there is this Dickensian house, and another one further up is boarded up. Several of the remaining houses are currently divided into flats.

V. good point about the rats/mice - we have a cat who is a very proficient mouse, I am worried to think what it could take in. ... Envy

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HomeHomeInTheRange · 13/03/2022 17:06

It depends.

My friend lives next door to a house in a horrible state. Broken windows, filthy rags hung up at the windows, terrible state of disrepair. But the lady who lives there has MH issues, agoraphobia etc. She is very quite, sweet natured, SS keep an eye. No trouble at all.

However if this is a badly maintained rental with people with anti social habits, a crack den, HMO and lots of extra overcrowding, no way would I buy next door,

The EA will not be a reliable source of info. Do you know anyone in the neighbourhood? Google the address, check the electoral roll, Google any names of anyone registered there.

Riskybiscuits · 13/03/2022 17:34

I've just pulled out of a similar purchase. Surveyor reported smell weed/hear loud music from tenants next door. Lovely period cottage which needed a little damp work but the highest readings were coming from the adjoining wall to tenants. No amount of money/time can fix a bad neighbour IMO

Aria20 · 13/03/2022 17:52

@Mushypeasandchipstogo oh god I hadn't even thought of rats! I just thought of potential nuisance neighbours and keeping their house and garden maintained etc

JeffThePilot · 13/03/2022 17:56

Someone I know bought a house next door to a run down property. They had constant streams of fleas and bugs coming up through the floors into their house. It was revolting.

Starseeking · 13/03/2022 18:01

My first flat was in a converted Edwardian house, with three other flats on the floors above. Between viewing and purchasing, all the other flats were rented on a long-term basis to the Local Authority, and the tenants changed frequently.

The front garden (which my flat looked into), had a constant stream of rubbish including babies nappies, cigarette butts and bottles, which I had to clear myself (as nobody else would). Things like old sofas, baths, toilets(!), mattresses etc appeared in the same location when tenants moved, and took months to be cleared away, if at all.

Having no control over this awful mess attached to the property on which I had a large mortgage over nearly destroyed my mental health. I eventually sold at a loss, at auction, just to get rid of it in the end.

Following that experience, I now wouldn't buy any property that had any hint of anti-social behaviour about it.

Kyrae · 13/03/2022 19:24

Could you maybe knock on the neighbours door and say you're thinking of buying next door and wondered what the neighbourhood is like? That might give you an idea of what the neighbour is like and whether they're likely to cause trouble or not :) Could a harmless lovely person with agrophobia or something, or could be a bunch of loud druggies, so maybe don't go alone just in case :)

Kipperandarthur · 13/03/2022 22:43

It would put me off undoubtedly. Not least because of the potential of having problem neighbours.

Original poster
Alex333Alex · 14/03/2022 08:12

I appreciated everyone's insights. I have decided not to go for it, too risky, not enough data for me to decide. This thread has been really helpful, thank you :)

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