Possible abandoned house - not sure what (if anything!) to do

mel19632

My boyfriend is always telling me that I stick my nose in things which don't involve me - so I am well aware that some people on this forum will also agree!

We have recently moved house and there is a house across from us which never has any lights on, the bushes had grown across the path to the house (so no-one can get in or out without a LOT of scratches), there is a van parked in the drive, which again has now been covered by bushes etc.

My worry is (as we have moved recently to the area I have no idea) that the house has been abandoned or someone (possibly elderly) may have died in there.

The house being empty is not a problem (or probably my concern), but has anyone got ideas of what I should do (or whether I should keep my beak out of it!!!).

I have spoken to neighbours, but most people have moved in within the last few years or so and have no idea about the person/people who used to live there

Thanks

ceebeeby

Can't do any harm to contact local police to ask them their thoughts or advice. After that, I'm not sure what else there is you can do?

jimc_2

Tell Squatnow. Might just stop him ranting.

mel19632

haha Jimc - maybe I will do that!

Ceebeeby - I wasn't sure who to ring, do you think police over local council? I don't want to poke my nose in other's business though.

Premier_2

Why does it matter if the property has been abandoned? Are you thinking of 'acquiring' it?

Just because no one lives there, doesn't mean it doesn't belong to someone.

If you think someone is dead inside, call the police, but they'll only act if you can convince them something is amiss - normally the stench of a rotting corpse and/or a huge amount of maggots/flies feasting on the remains is a good tell-tale sign - but as this was several years ago, theres nothing left but bones now.

How do you know somebody didn't die in there and the body has already been removed if no one knows anything.

I think you've let your imagination run wild - it's probably just a house that nobody is living in.

PasturesNew

I lived near one of those. The old lady who owned it was ga-ga and in a nursing home. She had enough money to pay her nursing home fees, while the house sat and rotted.

As she was ga-ga, she still believed the house was like a little palace. Even though it'd been broken into a few times (neighbours always called the police), squatters had got in a couple of times, silverware was nicked, sash windows had dropped a few inches, curtains had started to be really tattered and torn, guttering had started to crumble and hang loose and roof slates were missing from high winds and damaged when the next door neighbour had his roof done (with poor attention to the damage caused to her side).

In my neighbour's case, she'd lived in the house since about 1910, so it wouldn't have been registered on the LR, so even writing to them would have produced nothing. I only know the story as her neighbour had known her/knew her story and had also worked at the nursing home where the old lady was.

The old lady was holding onto the house as she thought she'd go back there one day. And she wanted to leave all her money to a cats home.

In the end, she got so ga-ga somebody got power of attorney over her stuff and had it cleared and sold. It sold at about 72% of the market value of a done up house. It needed completely and utterly gutting... she'd lived in it (brought up by her aunt) since about 1910, so the house was completely original and she had never done any modernisation whatsoever. The front door, although about 120 years old, still looked brand new just because it had been maintained/treated properly all those years, the rest was an overgrown, damp, woodworm-riddled, mess.

mel19632

Premier - I am most certainly not thinking of acquiring it! You are probably right, I tend to think the worst in most situations. Although I can't help feeling you are jumping down my throat.

There is on problem with it being empty/ abandoned - as far as I can see, no-one has broken into it etc, so even if it sits empty for 20 more years it may not affect me.

I take it the best situation is to just ignore it?

mlz1413

Is there a local shop near to you - often shop owners know the history of stuff or they know the long term residents that will know the houses history.

Have a look at the local electrol registers they may have someone registered there and I think in the library old ones are available.

There was house up the road from me that looked abandoned, newspapers, rubbish and leaflets in the doorway and front garden, roof missing slates, windows not quite shut but wedged into place. Bloke lived there with no electric as it had been cut off years ago, he had no money to do anything about any of his problems and was too proud to ask for government handouts so he worked and lived a quiet life - not saying I understand it, but we are all different!

PasturesNew

I bet I end up living like that.
Owning a house, but without any money to get things fixed.

mlz1413

I hope you don't get like that!! But if you do make sure you have a nice swimming pool nearby to bathe in :rotfl:

Dithering_Dad

This happened a few door up from where my Mum lives, the house was in disrepair even when the old man lived there (he got it into his head that his wife had stashed £20k somewhere in the house and tore everything apart and dug up the gardens. The house deteriorated even further after he was placed in a nursing home, but the overgrown garden and trees hid most of the mess.

When he died, his son got a grant from the LA to do it up. He made a tidy sum when it sold.