Cancel House Purchase due to Neighbours

[Badger87]

So a few months ago we decided we wanted to move from our town centre terraced house out to a detached house in a countryside village.

Ours sold and we had an offer accepted on a house we were really like

However a couple weeks before exchange we have found out the neighbour house is owned and rented by a cult, Plymouth brethren.

The owner of the house we were buying was honest enough to tell us on a second viewing. He admitted it was a weird setup and they do not communicate with him whatsoever.

This has been a major red flag to us as we would now feel uncomfortable with such a situation.

We are now about to pull out the purchase however feel awful to do this just before exchange.

Are we overreacting? Anyone else have any experience of a similar situation?

I used to live next to a Plymouth Brethren family and they were excellent neighbours. Made us a cake the day we moved in.

We could never u derstand how they managed to fit all their children in that house, but they were kind, quiet and perfectly happy to chat if we passed/ over the garden fence.

I wouldn't say that without a catalogue of specific anti- social incidents you would have anything to worry about just because they are Brethren

There were a few in a nearby village here years ago, not sure if any are still about, but the worst they did was a bit of public preaching on the village green on an occasional Sunday. Can’t imagine they will be awful neighbours?

To be honest, if they were quiet, parked considerately and didn't have a wood burner, I'd be okay with having anyone as neighbours.

I think it’s hard to imagine any more considerate neighbours than Plymouth Brethren.

Did the seller say if they were quiet? A quiet neighbour that keeps to themselves and don't talk to you sounds pretty good.

Because it will make the resale difficult. Fact is lots of folks would worry, why do that to yourself.

I was a business partner with a member of the Plymouth Brethren for 25 years! He was no different than any other very religious person. I assume they are just a family renting not the church itself?

Even then, I lived next to the Kingdom Hall of JW when a child..literally attached to it! They never bothered us and the place was empty apart from Sundays and one night midweek. They never called on our door! We watched out for the property when they weren't there and alerted them to any issues we noticed. Great neighbours. I guess nowadays they'd have a lot of cars for meetings which might be annoying - in the 70s everyone walked to meetings.

It would make me more keen on the house. Quiet neighbours are golden.

Another vote here that this information would be big pro on my list, not a con.

This... in laws had a few Plymouth Brethren as neighbours in Bristol and they were the ideal neighbours. Never spoke, communicated, very quiet. You are so over reaching! It's the equivalent of a catholic convent next door...

I have lived next to a Plymouth Brethren meeting place in the past. Very polite and quiet, never really knew they were there and certainly no noise detectable whilst I was in the house or garden for that matter.

I've lived near them before. They are just people and didn't bother us at all. They don't doorstep either.

As PP have mentioned there are different branches of the Brethren. The PBCC mentioned in the article posted is a group that crosses the line into a cult. I believe they have had substantial legal issues in Australia. The Rebecca Stott book mentioned is excellent. Now, we don't know which branch the OP's neighbours are, of course.

A cult can stem from a mainstream religion.

I imagine they'll be quieter than most other neighbours. It wouldn't put me off. Not as if you're moving next to David Koresh and the Branch davidians 🤷‍♂️

Oh for goodness sake, Plymouth Brethren are VERY different from Quakers! 😂 Both might be 'quiet' (Brethren are going to be reserved-quiet in their home life but their worship might be quite 'loud' - Quakers obviously hold more or less silent meetings but a household of observing Quakers might be very into heavy metal or anything else, because - why not?) but the ethos is utterly different. If these are 'Exclusive Brethren' they are indeed a cult and there is a great deal online from escapees from that cult that makes for unpleasant reading. However, unless the house is going to be used for worship meetings (eg a lot of coming and going and possibly noisy singing) it'll probably be no worse than a lot of noisy kids in the garden. Which you could have anywhere. The bog-standard Plymouth Brethren are a lot less strict and don't hold themselves back from the rest of society as much.

It wouldn't bother me. They probably won't cause any issues and may well be very good neighbours. They won't be noisy and are unlikely to bother you. You don't need to interact with them

This! And is detached…

I follow other pp in having zero idea why you see this as an issue! They're a Christian sect, known for keeping themselves to themselves and leading quiet, technology-free lives. I would see having them as neighbours as a PLUS!

I've taught Brethren children and therefore met their parents. Aside from (and it was decades ago, long before technology was in constant use in classrooms) not being able to watch videos, these children were just lovely, well-behaved, charming kids. Their parents were lovely.

You are the red flag - one of those ridiculous timewasting house viewers....

How long have the vendors lived in that house @Badger87 ? if its been a short time then that could be an indication that the neighbours might be an issue, however, I suspect if they have had issues with the PB then they wouldn't mention it and they would have to disclose any disputes with neighbours anyway.

An in-law’s family was Plymouth Brethren. From all I gather there was a fairly joyless atmosphere (no alcohol at all) and the IL was evidently put off all religion for life, but I should imagine they were very quiet neighbours - I did meet the parents once or twice. Ordinary, quietly behaved people.

Pull out for the Plymouth Brethren’s sake. I’m sure they don’t want small-minded bigots living next door to them. Although they’d be far too nice to say that.

What’s bizarre about it? It’s no different from asking what people think about living next to a Nursery school or Sports centre. And, fwiw, it wouldn’t bother me. I can think of far worse people to have as neighbours.

I'd take it as a plus, there are far worse people you could have as neighbours. Can't imagine they'll be sacrificing a goat in the garden anytime soon.

The Plymouth Brethren are a non conformist church group in the same way as Methodists or Baptists. Maybe some of their views are strange. As an earlier post said, you need to know whether it is used as a church, and if so, what days and times are people coming and going. If it is just a house where the people living are Plymouth Brethren, then as far as I know, they don't eat in front of non-members, so do not expect an invitation to dinner.
I used to attend a brethren (not Plymouth), and to me the main difference is that there was no church minister or vicar, but the church was run by 'elders'.
There were some stricter rules for members (I was not a member), such as head covering in church, etc (which I never did).