Trying to Sell With Nuisance Neighbours

[Jay242]

Apologies for the long post..

I moved into a semi about 4.5 years ago and immediately noticed that my immediate neighbours both attached and un-attached did not get on with each other. I kept to myself however my attached neighbour started being aggressive in a subtle manner with door slamming whenever I entered a room with a party wall and whenever my boiler came on. I ignored them and went about my business. Neighbours on the other side always seemed to be doing DIY or having work done and if not then in their garden screaming and shouting with their kids. Again I ignored all of this and if too noisy in the garden area I would just go and relax in my front room as this was why I bought a house.

Eventually my attached neighbours started being more disruptive but in a subtle manner particularly at night when I was trying to get some sleep. I work from home so all of this became extremely disturbing to me so this year in April I thought enough is enough and put my house on the market.

Coincidentally my unattached neighbour also decided to put their house on the market which started a small price war between us but because their house was done up so nicely I expected it to go quickly unfortunately it didn't! On the flip side, they were behaving themselves for a change because they were trying to sell. After 2 months of viewings but no offers I dropped my price by 25k and the neighbour could not respond so they pretty much gave up and it was back to screaming and shouting in the garden and this coincided with my price drop in which I immediately got 4 viewings over Friday afternoon and Saturday, but still no offers just the usual feedback that the house was lovely and they are sure it will go but not for them... And other small issues.

Throughout this period my attached neighbour started "parking" their dustbin on the street beside their car which is parked in front of their dropped kerb. Initially it was in the parking area but they have now moved it so it is on the border between us but more or less in front of my front door but on the street. We all have dropped kerbs but I don't have a car however I feel that the presence of the dustbin 24/7 gives a bad impression to prospective buyers.

They bin is not serving any purpose at all because they prk their car in their parking space without moving the bin.
I took my property off the market at the beginning of August because my other neighbour having seen that they can't sell their house decided to do yet more work on the house! With scaffolding, dirt and dust everywhere and constant banging till late in the evening.

The scaffolding has now gone and the banging reduced to a moderate level so I am now ready to re-market my property but I know in the current market there are such fine margins and with the neighbours bin sitting in the street like an antisocial landmark it causes an unnecessary problem. I had the new estate agent round on Friday to value the house and moved the bin to the pavement before he arrived only for them to move it back and slam their door while I was chatting with the agent.
Am I reading too much into this and should just ignore their antics and continue to market my property?

I would steal their bin and hide it in your living room or your car
Bins are about 50 quid each round here so they won’t want to replace it
And they can have it back after your viewing

Actually, I wouldn’t do that but freaking now it sounds petty and hard work
I think in your shoes I would just blame myself. If anybody says anything about the neighbours. Just say look here so I got off to a bit of a bad foot with them. Everybody could do with a bit of a fresh start including them so when I move out, I’ll be taking the problem with me.

This did actually cross my mind but they have a ring doorbell and watch the street like hawks so they would know that I took it, and to be honest it would go against all of the decluttering that I have done

so in 4.5 years have you ever spoken to them ?
they might back down, they might not, but at least you'll know more

I introduced myself to the husband when I bumped into him on the doorstep soon after I moved in but his wife seems to be the main driver of all of the aggression. They are constantly screaming and shouting at each other so I suspect that I am a kind of diversion from whatever problems they have together.

Ask not to have a for sale sign outside then they maybe won't know it's back on the market unless they are avid Rightmove viewers. 🧐

The bin is really a non issue and you are aware you have to disclose these 'imaginary' issue you are creating to a buyer?

You don't have to disclose that a neighbor does DIY every 3 months or that they 'talk very loudly' (among themselves) in their garden or is a bit heavy handed when shutting doors in their own house if you have never 'disputed' with them about it... but you DO have to declare the 'dispute' you are now creating over this passive aggressive moving of the bin which is only going to escalate if you keep touch their property which is on public land. So its actually you sabotaging it over nothing.

In all the houses I looked at (got to be near 100) I never once took note of where the neighbors bins where, on street or not. It just never factored into anything.

Pay some local crackheads to make their lives a misery

Fair enough, so I am reading too much into it and should just ignore it.

They will know, they watch the street like hawks and watch me too, they will see when the photos are being taken and when viewers are coming.
But the wider issue is surely they should be happy that I am moving on so they get a new neighbour with a new beginning!
The kind of person that wouldn't mind buying the place with their bin on the road is the kind of neighbour that in my opinion will really give them a run for their money.

It's a tricky one. Remember that if you raise any kind of formal complaint then you would need to declare it during a sale process and that could scupper it.

It really gets my goat that people can be so inconsiderate today.

Good luck with whatever you do.

perhaps after 4.5 years of non contact they find you unfriendly and are uninclined to show you any consideration?
too late now, don't raise any formal complaints, sell up and move on

Non-contact is not a reason to act out. Different strokes. Not everyone is in your face and in your business 24/7. Respect all your neighbours if they do you no harm.

If you see them I’d get in the conversation you’re keen to start fostering rescue dogs (choose a barking aggressive breed). Say hopefully in the new house but otherwise you’ll do it there. That might make them move their bin.

I remember a film where the thieves put a photograph of the safety deposit room, in a bank, in front of a security camera so it scanned that whilst they rummaged through the safety deposit boxes.

Could you do something similar, with a photo of the street in front of their ring doorbell camera and then, say, pull all the leaves of the shrubs in the garden during the night?

When you see them next, say "That was quite a frost we had the other night wasn't it? Ooh look at your garden!"

Yes but the thing is that it is right in your face so it's kind of like an open question for anyone that comes to view - why us there a dustbin on the street outside the house?
I have raised it indirectly with my council and asked them if it is acceptable to have a dustbin permanently parked on the street and if not can they please remove it as it is causing an environmental nuisance. Let's see how that goes.
I am sick and tired of their antics since I moved in, I was nothing but polite to them since I moved in, the husband even asked if they could use my parking space in 2023 during the Eid celebrations because they had visitors coming and I said yes in spite of the subtle nonsense that they were still doing at the time and now here we are with them not even trying to be subtle about things now.

You have probably passed the threshold for reporting it in your sale. Check with your solicitor.

Wow it sounds very silly all round

Unfortunately I have had awful neighbours and it was nothing like this I can tell you.

Yes you're reading too much into it.
If you really want to sell then yes just put the house on the market.
And for god's sake why are you making the bin into such an issue?!?

Because if I saw this when I came to view to buy the place I would have run a mile as it speaks volumes about the sort of people that they are and this could possibly be just the tip of the iceberg, and in the current market where I have already struggled to sell why should I have to put up something else that can make it even harder to sell.
I am willing to accept that there could other factors that stopped me from selling however the fact remains that if I came as a potential buyer to view this property and saw that bin I would either ask about it or just draw my own conclusions and walk away and I have a feeling that most people here would do the same.

It only fair for the potential buyers to see the situation - they are people too and want to know what the neighbours are like before they spend many thousands on their new home.

I am willing to accept that there could other factors that stopped me from selling however the fact remains that if I came as a potential buyer to view this property and saw that bin I would either ask about it or just draw my own conclusions and walk away and I have a feeling that most people here would do the same.

Nope, not me. Kindly, I think you are hugely overreacting, fuelled by the general issues you've been having. Having a bin left on the street in no way would put me off buying a house if I really, really loved it. Nor does it tell me anything about the neighbours! It's just a bin. If you're not getting offers, it's because it was priced too high. It's always, always price.

If potential buyer does ask about the bin, which I bet they won't, just say the neighbour moved it temporarily because they were doing something on their drive. Don't make it a cause for concern!

I know but I was not made aware of what the neighbours were like when I came to buy the place, infact I remember the previous owner actually made a note of mentioning that the neighbours were "nice" in the welcome card which on reflection was the first red flag.
Well now there is no hiding, they might as well have a sign that says "nuisance" in front of their door, I will have a chat with the agent and see how we can explain the bin if it is mentioned by any viewers, apart from that I will not be saying anything else.

Yes I accept it I am and have been extremely stressed about not selling after being on the market for close to 4 months and dropping the price, so I have been checking everything again and again from the feedback from viewers to the surroundings and this bin showed up as a red flag. Yes maybe it is nothing or could be something we will see. If viewers ask about it I will use this excuse of work being done so bin was moved. I was also going to mention to the agent that the neighbour is just overprotective of their parking area particularly as people have been parking all over when coming to view.

@Jay242 A potential buyer actually mentioned the bin? The estate agent should've shut that down with a plausible excuse. To give yourself the best chance this time round, make sure the front of your house has kerb appeal so the buyers' eyes are immediately drawn to it – do you have flower pots, clean/newly painted front door, nice curtains hanging etc?

Its a BIN.

If I saw a bin on the street I would just think they haven't grabbed it since bin day, maybe they are old or ill or suffered a bereavement or on holiday etc... you know normal thought processes not the frankly insane 'character assassination' that they must be psycho neighbors who I couldn't live next to.

Seriously you are the one acting weird and unhinged over a bin, not them or your buyers.

Neighbors having a loud gathering in the yard - possible a legit thing that might put a viewer off

A neighbors bin on the street - utterly non issue (unless you are claiming its massively overflowing and swarming with rats and roaches etc... its not an 'environmental issue').

We have a public bin next to a bench by the bus across the road from a takeaway just stone a stones throw from our front door, never has this stopped this being a massively popular and sought after street to live on.