Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

HELP. Dream house, Freaking out about big bush.

102 replies

Chickenandeggz · 06/01/2023 21:52

Long story short as I appreciate it could be very boring.

After ages, and I mean AGES, of looking for a home to buy we finally found a lovely house.
Offer made. Estate agents did their thing to drive up the price. More negotiation etc etc. Made our best and final. Offer accepted. BOOM.

Fast forward a few weeks later. Phone call from EA to inform us NEIGHBOR of the property has told them that there is an ongoing dispute between him and said property over neighbors massive bush. This is the first we had heard of it.

Upshot is.... after several years of back and forth the council have ordered neighbour to cut bush height by 4 meters (it's huge) as it blocks out all light from ground floor and the sky is not visible.
Neighbor has refused to comply as he feels it negates the privacy of his swimming pool from which he entertains for 6 months of the year- he has thus appealed which means the case has gone to the planning inspectorate 5 counties away. I have been told by caseworker this is unlikely to be sorted for a very long time.

So the house (our house) is a lovely 1980s job. Kept lovely but nothing's been updated so could be £££ (just had a quite as it needs new windows...£25k!) I really like it but its fairly run of the mill when compared with the neighbors massive multi-million pound pile.

Location is ideal for kids school etc and it really is sooo hard to get a property in this community.

At the time I attributed the dark rooms to the fact it is north facing and its a bleak time of year. I thought through these implications and decided I could live with this. I am unsure as to what to do about this. I'm stressed- we are living in a moldy rental with 3 small children, our last house fell through so we came out of the chain so as not to lose the people who bought our house.

Husband is a light worshipper. He is really not happy and quite rightly he's gutted that we could inherit this ongoing war.

Had wr have known this we definitely would not have offered top dollar. Reason being is if worse happened and the bush remained I'd want to extend out the other side in order to maximize light and happiness. We couldn't afford to do this given the price we are paying.

I feel sad.

WWYD?

OP posts:
LynetteScavo · 07/01/2023 08:42

You were happy with the house being a bit dark....until you realised it could be lighter. Now you know it could be lighter, you're not happy. Hmmm....I would actually be happy there was the possibility of the bush going. I wouldn't be happy about the possible noise from the pool parties. I'd need to know more about the parties than the bush.

Talia99 · 07/01/2023 08:47

I agree I’d be more worried about the pool parties. Are you happy with late night music, shouting, splashing etc. Because that’s what I think of when I think of pool parties.

Someone who thinks a 10m leylandii is reasonable isn’t likely to agree to shut off music to let your children sleep for example and it sounds like he can afford to fight any complaints you might make.

Wolfcub · 07/01/2023 08:55

A house with shit neighbours and no light is not a dream house. Run!

Dontjudgeme101 · 07/01/2023 09:23

l can’t believe that the seller didn’t tell you about the disrepute with the neighbour! I wouldn’t touch the house.

Unicorn2022 · 07/01/2023 09:37

There are so many issues here. The fact that the neighbour actually phoned the estate agent to try to scupper the sale shows exactly what sort of person he is, and that's not a person I would like to live next door to. Thank goodness the estate agent was honest (despite it probably being to his detriment) as you could have been none the wiser.

I can't work out how close the hedges are to "your" house but just bear in mind that a Leylandii that high will have massive roots, and Leylandii roots really suck the moisture from the ground and can cause subsidence. I'd have a proper survey done.

Pool parties for six months of the year would bother me as it seems excessive.

Every house will sell at the right price so reduce your offer now by a huge amount. If they say no just pull out, wait for a few more sales to fall through and then make another low offer.

Wakk · 07/01/2023 09:47

The seller didn't disclose it. What else have they hidden from you?

Do not buy this house.

AhoyMaBuoy · 07/01/2023 10:05

They both sound awful, walk away

Lemmeparticipate · 07/01/2023 10:14

Would be a deal-breaker for me, even with a significant discount.

SchoolCountdown · 07/01/2023 10:28

Reduce offer price significantly, as likely to be hard for them to sell with dispute ongoing. If they don’t accept reduced price to make it worth your while. Move on.

Hoppinggreen · 07/01/2023 10:29

The bush itself is less of an issue than the fact this neighbour sounds like a Dickhead

QueenMabs · 07/01/2023 10:33

ItWasDobbinAtTheMareAndSpare · 06/01/2023 22:12

The neighbour sounds worse than the bush, that’s a neighbour that would put the boot in to prevent a house sale. Think about it - he’s having a stressful battle with them - you’d think he’d want them to leave? Maybe you wouldn’t be asking him to trim the bush, as far as he knows? But instead he sabotages the current owner’s (who’s he already in a conflict with!) sale. That’s next level…

Exactly what I though.

He's malicious.

And I'd stop for that reason alone.

How upsetting for you and the seller.

NoSquirrels · 07/01/2023 10:38

Leylandii disputes are awful.

Dark 1980s houses are awful.

Party neighbours who don’t give a shit about others are awful.

Sellers who don’t disclose are awful.

Sounds awful all round. Pull out.

Husband is a light worshipper.

Don’t agree to buy houses that don’t reflect the priorities of the important people.

Original poster
Chickenandeggz · 07/01/2023 10:59

For people that are confused 🙄viewed house twice. Once in the dark and the 2nd time at a rushed open event. We did notice the garden was dark which we attributed to north facing aspect which we reasoned we could accept. It's not really out of the realms of possibility that I didn't pay too much attention to the bush.

We didn't even mind too much when we first got wind of the dispute.

It was when we sent the paperwork, 100s of pages and started to read how miserable the complainants life had been made due to the lack of light. They have been in the house for 40 years. And the last 4 maybe more has been blighted by the bush.

So nope, I did not consider this until I was informed about it :)

OP posts:
Movinghouseatlast · 07/01/2023 11:14

People don't necessarily clock things about houses even after 3 viewings. I didn't think through a row of 15 sycamore trees which have turned out to be a nighmare. They were just trees to me. So of course none of this is your fault.

If you still want to go ahead you need to ask the vendor to tell you all the issues that arise from the pool parties. You also need to speak to the next door neighbour, in person. I wouldn't want to live next door to such a vindictive person.

CellophaneFlower · 07/01/2023 11:46

I find this really odd. The neighbour clearly has issues with your vendor and any sane person would want them gone. There's obviously a chance whoever buys the house will have less of an issue with the trees. So why on earth are they trying to scupper the sale. I assume the 6 month pool party insinuation is also another attempt at putting buyers off.

I can only deduce the neighbour is so vindictive they're willing to put up with the current aggravation just to further upset your vendor. They obviously thrive on their misery. That isn't somebody I'd knowingly move next door to ever. I wouldn't even want to live on the same street as them. Perfect candidate for Nightmare Neighbours Next Door right there.

Yarnosaura · 07/01/2023 11:56

Is it just one tree or a hedge (several trees in a row)? How big is the garden of the house you've offered on?

bellac11 · 07/01/2023 12:02

Witsendwilly · 07/01/2023 08:21

Someone is going to have to explain to me why this is a problem!

If the bush was going to be yours and you were banking on it for privacy, and the neighbours were wanting it doe then I see why it would be an issue. Since you were apparently happy to buy the house as is, and it’s the neighbours bush, then what’s the problem? Just withdraw the request to have it cut and there is no longer a problem.

It still leaves her living next door to an arsehole who is completely unreasonable. Who knows what other issues might come up

Notonthestairs · 07/01/2023 12:15

As @CellophaneFlower says any neighbour willing to scupper their next door neighbour's house sale just to create misery isn't somebody I'd want to live next to.

What happens if you move in but somehow fall out with the neighbour - you know he's prepared to get in the way of a sale.

You'll be forever vulnerable to how he behaves. You won't be able to complain because he'll tell your buyer.

Awful for the current owners. I really feel for them.

bellac11 · 07/01/2023 12:25

I think lots of people dont realise how rushed and limited house viewings are. Despite the fact taht you're buying something costing hundreds of thousands, possibly even millions by the sounds of this house, you get very short shrift if you want more time, or to go back a few times

Its always puzzled me

FictionalCharacter · 07/01/2023 12:43

I’d pull out. Nightmare neighbour, house in the shade, neighbour’s pool parties…. However nice the house is, it won’t be a nice place to live.
Imagine if you bought it, neighbour loses dispute and have to cut tree, how nice would he be to you after that?!

larkstar · 07/01/2023 12:53

If withdraw the offer on the basis that information which would clearly have been influential in your decision to buy was not disclosed at a time when it clearly could have been: you have been mislead. The problem that would concern me is the neighbour - it might also be a problem if you decide to move from the house you are buying.

greennavy · 07/01/2023 13:45

The poor sellers

You can walk away. They cannot

C4tastrophe · 07/01/2023 13:52

Cheeseandhoney · 06/01/2023 21:58

I’d be wary to move next to the type of cunt who will grow a tree and block a neighbours light and fight it like it’s ok.

honestly I’d run op.

That’s my father-in-law you are talking about!
He has the biggest fucking leylandi I have ever seen in his garden, blighting at least 4 other gardens and the bastard won’t do anything about it.

C4tastrophe · 07/01/2023 13:53

I definitely would not proceed with the purchase.

PeppermintChoc · 07/01/2023 13:54

There’s going to be loads of noise and disruption from those parties.