My neighbour's garden... help!

[Fritilleries]

Putting house up for sale soon. Ex council. Next door are social tenants. Perfectly polite people but very different to us. From our upper bedroom overlooking our (planted, mown and tidy) garden, the garden next door looks awful. They've odds and ends that should be tipped, fag butts on their patio. Broken bikes. Massive trampoline in the middle of the lawn which collapsed and broke years ago... lawn is wild. It looks run down and when looking out it is dispiriting to see it when next to ours.

Would it be unreasonable to offer to help tidy and sort it out? Or should I wind my neck in?

Wind your neck in. We just sold our house which has an angled garden, so our windows all overlook the neighbour’s garden which is your classic old wardrobe, mouldering mattress, weird charred spots, giant mountains of bin bags, rat fest. Wasn’t an issue: it’s a sellers’ market where we are though.

I’d get a skip, as you’re having a clear out before moving, then say there’s room left in it if they want to put anything in it 😉

You could offer or do evening viewings

It is going to impact your ability to sell. We passed on many lovely houses with unkempt next door neighbors.

I would say it’s more of an ethical dilemma. Do you owe it to the new buyers to give them
an accurate portrayal of life in the neighborhood of is this no different than a new coat of paint or planting a few flowers?

Life in the neighbourhood is very quiet and drama free. It's just the flipping garden! Skip is a good idea but we've literally nothing to skip!

I wouldn't risk causing a neighbourly dispute if they take it the wrong way, a neighbourly dispute would make the house a lot harder to sell than a messy garden! :(

Offer a tip run for them, say DH is going anyway as you're having a clear out.

Write to the housing authority. I complained and they went in and cleared it out. Also when a neighbour sold and the next door was really overgrown he offered (and it was accepted) to tidy it up. I think the previous posters suggestion of a skip is good or get a van and ask if anyone has things they want to put in to take to the dump

I offered to cut my neighbours grass when I sold my last house. I was honest - said I was getting photos done, was doing mine and asked if they would be okay with theirs being cut too. They were fine, and even tidied up a bit.