Viewed a house…gossipy local told me about a dispute

[EvilNextDoor]

Today DH and I had a look at a house

After the viewing we went for a walk around the area and a local lady started talking to us was very lovely and polite

She did ask us what we were doing etc and we mentioned we were looking at a house, she then told us that the owner of the house we viewed and the owner next door had lots of issues there has been police involvement and a court case…but didn’t give any particular information

where could I find out about this? I’m not remotely interested in putting in an offer if there has been police/court involvement but wanted to check how accurate the information was before we do anything else

any ideas? Apart from running away very quickly

Yes. You ask the estate agent who are marketing the property. (I am an estate agent btw)

the vendors are duty bound to list any neighbour disputes that have led to outside agency involvement

so if you’re serious about a potential offer simply ask

if you’re not bothered then just move along and look elsewhere

I asked the estate agent and they said there was nothing to report which is why I am curious

If I did offer and this came to light I would definitely withdraw my offer which is why I am trying to do some digging before hand

The vendors may not have told the agent, it may come up further down the line in conveyancing. Personally I would walk away as you could find yourself inheriting the dispute.

I’d be tempted to go and ask the neighbour!

i too would be tempted to ask neighbours.

What if the neighbour wants to put buyers off so her son could buy it? (I mean, not likely but you never know! If you're keen give the sellers a chance to explain)

Contact The Police?

I will speak to my husband in the morning about it all and see what his thoughts are

the lady we spoke to had kids with her so it’s unlikely she’d be looking to buy for them, she wasn’t a direct neighbor to the house but lived nearby - I’d feel a bit rude knocking on the actual neighbors house to ask if they’d been to court

we might pop back over again during the week to get a feel for the area a bit more and see what happens

I doubt the police would give me any information i shall continue digging around on line and see if I can find anything

I should add it’s been up for sale for a while now as well just the first time we stumbled across it

Was she saying the existing neighbour was the problem or the people who were selling?

are they detached? Any recent extensions or high fences or dogs? Look on the planning portal for any clues

I have a couple of friends who bought houses and were greeted by their new neighbours with enthusiasm because the old owners had been a pain.
So if you can cope with awkward vendors it might be okay. But I would investigate further and talk to the real estate agent not just the person who shows you around at the weekend.

There’s a house near me for sale with a previous dispute (weirdly I saw it online yesterday). Literally just googled the name of the house and it came up!
Personally it wouldn’t put me off as I agree with the neighbours.
if it’s the same house it looks beautiful and I’m jealous we’re not moving until next year

Go and talk to the neighbour. They will have no reason not to tell you what's been going on

@Gretnaglebe funnily enough yes a new fence and wall has been built which isn’t in the photos..

Husband has said he’d like to take another look at the house he really likes it and ticks all of his boxes etc he has said the choice is ultimately mine and we have other houses we can look at.

I think when we view we will talk to the people next door and see what they say.

OP just see this as a lucky escape and forget about this house.

The vendors might not be the issue, it may be the neighbours…..in which case you are stuck with them if you do buy. It should be declared, although a lot if people don’t take disputes forward because of this. In my mind it’s got bad enough to involve police it must be REALLY bad, but finding out the details will be tricky?

@Greenartywitch To be fair that’s my current opinion the doubt has now been put into my head by the lady we spoke to

Not necessarily. I was not personally involved but a close neighbour with some mental health issues was always ready to contact the police if she had any neighbourhood issues.