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Original poster

Selling house: neighbours trampoline

105 replies

GianinaC · 07/09/2023 14:41

Hello,

I am in the process of selling my home. We live in quite a 'posh' area and the estate agent fed back that a couple of potential buyers have been put off by the neighbours ugly massive trampoline and goal posts.

You can see the children bouncing as they stare over at us as they can see into the back of our house. I find it annoying myself as its ruined my garden time, why anyone needs one so big I don't know.

There is a 6ft fence but their equipment is higher than that.

Are there any quick fixes to hide it from view? The fence is at the max legal height and I don't want to spend a fortune.

OP posts:
Floralnomad · 07/09/2023 16:37

Bamboo would likely put me off more than next doors trampoline , even the clumping stuff can spread . I agree with pleached trees being the best option , expensive if it’s a large garden but as you live in a posh area I’m sure that won’t be an issue .

Itick8outof10boxes · 07/09/2023 16:39

I used to live next door to a trampoline family, the screaming and shrieking was a pita and the fact a ball would come over the fence four or five times a day.
Total pita. I'd have told the EA exactly why.

NeonSoda · 07/09/2023 16:40

ClematisBlue49 · 07/09/2023 14:59

Maybe plant a few trees and / or bamboo that is already quite tall? If potential buyers can see that the border will cover it fairly soon, than might help.

Bamboo would put me off buying a house far more than the neighbors having kids would

BeverlyBrook · 07/09/2023 16:41

Do NOT plant bamboo!

Sureaseggs44 · 07/09/2023 16:42

Just trellis and some established climbers , why are you worried about cutting it back if you won’t be there .

AnxiousPangolin · 07/09/2023 16:43

I would be put off by the trampoline too, tbh.

Clefable · 07/09/2023 16:44

This would be us with our big trampoline and swing/slide/climbing set Grin But we are good neighbours honestly!

Picturethat · 07/09/2023 16:46

Surely they'll see it from an upstairs window so no point in trellis etc.
Plus do people not have a good nosey to see who they'll be living next to anyway? No, maybe just me Grin. And yes a football net and trampoline would put me off, I hate other people's noise.

hdbs17 · 07/09/2023 16:48

I think it's a bit stupid to be out off a house just because there's a trampoline next door.

What do you do if your neighbour sells up and a family buy it and put a trampoline in the garden? Move?

Frabbits · 07/09/2023 16:49

It may be the EA just bullshitting you.

It may be that the buys really are that picky and there really isn't anything you can do about that. I mean, seriously, people who are put off by trampolines in the area, you do realise that:

  1. Even if there isn't one next door now, there might be one tomorrow
  2. The kids might not even use it
PhilMitchellsleatherbomber · 07/09/2023 16:53

RichieMcAl · 07/09/2023 15:46

It can’t be that posh if you can see next door’s garden.

Of course it can be, terraced houses with small back yards can be posh.

Anxioys · 07/09/2023 16:56

No come on, who buys a posh house with a trampoline, hot tub, garden bar or cinema right next door. Hard pass.

Get some very tall bamboo in pots. Looks nice and makes a swishy noise to break up bouncing sounds

Poppins2016 · 07/09/2023 16:58

Brumbies · 07/09/2023 15:45

I certainly would be put off were I to see a trampoline over the fence. They're noisy, and imho, very antisocial unless they're hidden away.

Absolutely. I'm currently battling this issue. The trampoline is spring free so it's taller than usual... the net is ugly and the child uses the trampoline (situated right next to our fence) as a platform to look into our garden and engage in conversation. I'm tired of my private "me time" being invaded and I now have to check whether the trampoline is being used before I head into my garden because I don't want to have yet another "lovely to see you but I'm just doing some gardening/too busy to talk" conversation in order to politely ignore when I shouldn't even have to in the first place.

I would be seriously put off buying another property if there was a trampoline/playhouse/etc near the boundary line. And my head isnt up my own arse (as implied by a previous poster), I'm child friendly (I have my own children plus I happen to like the child who uses the trampoline), I simply dislike my privacy being invaded (and having an ugly view forced upon me too).

margotmargeaux · 07/09/2023 16:58

Bamboo would put me off more than a trampoline.

Pleached trees would be my preferred option although trellis may be cheaper.

Anxioys · 07/09/2023 17:01

Pleached trees are nice but might take a while to establish if you want to sell.

I have a neighbour who built a garden bar during COVID and has very loud kids. I pray for them to sell up

BeeCucumber · 07/09/2023 17:01

I don’t blame buyers for not wanting to live next door to a trampoline. Not everyone remembers what being a kid and growing up was like. My neighbour at the back of my house has a trampoline and a plunge pool. In lovely weather, the children bounce and scream and dive in. Good for them - kids are not kids for very long.

Itick8outof10boxes · 07/09/2023 17:12

Hot tubs, garden bars, garden music that can be heard 4/5 street away.shrieking kids and sweary pissed / stoned adults can all fuck off to a deserted desert island and I will happily nuke it.
I've lived next door to this shite and none of it was fun.
I've had dc so I know how loud they can be when playing but there is never an excuse for screaming and 'dm' shouting "Shut the fuck up!" every five minutes.
My buyers from three years ago are possibly regretting their purchase...

Original poster
GianinaC · 07/09/2023 17:18

DrySherry · 07/09/2023 16:24

I like hearing my neighbours kids playing on the trampoline, admittedly we can't actually see them. It's not like they do it all day, an hour or two here and there. Doesn't bother us at all.
On top of that trampoline age hardly lasts forever.

You just haven't had the right people interested yet - and as someone else also suggested - it's probably price if you are not getting any offers. Halifax reported a 1.9% decline for August against July. That's massive. On a posh house (say £800k if your outside London) that's the equivalent of the property loosing 16k in a month ! Frightening really - it seems falls are accelerating which will really start to spook even posh territory buyers...

That's good to hear but for many I think it is a red flag.

TBH it's one of the reasons I am moving. We had a lovely neighbour who moved and then the new neighbours moved in.

Their balls smash aganist the fence, they smashed my flowers and I hate going into the garden which was my haven. Then the trampoline which is so big.

They constantly knock at door asking for their ball back and not even a please or thank you. I can't wait to get away.

I have young children myself so it's nice to play outside but we also have a massive park 5 mins away where my kids love to go.

Maybe by hiding it all I am giving the problem to someone else, so maybe I need to wait for someone who doesn't care.

It's just annoying. It's quite an expensive area, so I can understand why many would be put off.

OP posts:
RunningUpThatBuilding · 07/09/2023 17:18

I like to make as much use of my garden as possible (gardening, relaxing with a book etc). Seeing a trampoline/hot tub/outdoor bar would 100% put me off buying a house. As I know it would interfere with the quiet enjoyment of my garden.

Twiglets1 · 07/09/2023 17:29

I’ve experienced the trampolining issue in a previous house & tbh it would put me off buying another house with a monster trampoline in the garden overlooking mine. The noise and shrill screams were annoying and that was just the parents. The Dad in particular seemed to love that trampoline for at least one summer before they all got bored of it - thank God.

You might find it easier to sell the house when the weather gets colder and they aren’t ever in the garden during viewings.

Roselilly36 · 07/09/2023 17:31

We bought a property with a trampoline next door, didn’t put us off, our kids also had trampolines growing up, the kids next door never used it in any case and soon it was dismantled.

thisone6 · 07/09/2023 17:38

Bamboo would put me off more than a trampoline!!

Pleached tress are the way to go. We have a trampoline and purposefully hid it amongst trees so the neighbours can't see it.

Anxioys · 07/09/2023 17:40

Bamboo in a pot so it cannot escape is perfectly fine.

Bamboo in the ground is the work of the devil.

Pleached trees will take a while to establish, and not evergreen so potentially not that useful unless in spring summer.

Freshair1 · 07/09/2023 17:44

I actually dismantled a neighbour's broken trampoline as I was completely and utterly fed up of the garden looking so unkempt. I asked before, obviously. Then sold my own house knowing I'd done my best to make the house as presentable as possible. People judge. Gardens are for peace, relaxation and pottering. Not an endless cacophony of screams and shouts.

toomuchforonewoman · 07/09/2023 17:44

HUGE red flag for me, I wouldn't buy that in a million years no matter how nice the house was. Sorry OP! I used to live beside neighbours who let their kids out from 7am EVERY morning screaming and shrieking on a huge trampoline. I like the quiet life.

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