Need to Sell Urgently

thequant

If worse came to the worse and they did hit you, you would then find yourself in position to do something and quite rapidly. For example if they were arrested and there was enough evidence to charge (maybe worth having CCTV to make everything watertight) then when they were released on bail there would be very high likelyhood it would be in the bail conditions that whovever did couldnt reyrun to the street.

From there you could work on getting the council to do something.

Obviously you dont want it to come to that stage, and I doubt it would because your neighbours know the consequences aswell. As you say they are bullies and bullies are usually cowards aswell

C_Mababejive

If you feel that the local authority has not acted correctly and effectively in dealing with these scum, then file a complaint with the local Government Ombudsman.

That will sharpen them up a bit

http://www.lgo.org.uk/

strobo

Cheers everybody. You've cheered me up loads :j

I think Brit1234 has it right in saying "You do not need to move urgently you need them gone." Never a truer word was spoken, so to speak. It's just that after 18 months of nonsense and it's still going on, it's kinda got us down. I reckon the LGO might well be worth a shot to give the Council the nudge they need - we've tackled the Council in the past by ourselves and won, so we suspect they're making things difficult for us now out of petty revenge, but we'll see. The LGO might just be a rocket up the relevant backsides. We may still elect to sell up and move, but if the idiots are kicked out then surely the "dispute" kinda goes with them. A nice peaceful elderly couple next door would do just nicely.

Thanks again peeps. If anybody has any further suggestions, please let me know (knee-capping has already been considered and dismissed on cost grounds ). I'll try to keep this thread up-to-date as we progress - you never know, the inspiration might pass on to more victims of brainless idiots.

cabbage

What about a meeting between the council, yourselves and the Safer neighbourhood team to get everyone together to discuss the problem. The tenants will have a clause in their tenancy agreement not to cause a nuisance to their neigbours. This can lead to their eviction and if they've done something to cause their own eviction its unlikely they will be re housed by the local authority so they will have to look at privately rented property. I know its moving the problem on, but it might teach them a lesson to be better neighbours.

LGO is a great idea. they have quite a bit of clout.

Not heard of any good buy for cash organisations but local property developers might be interested in the land. Perhaps a word with estate agents or property auctioneers might help. Talking of auctioneers, that might also be a way round the problem as exchange of contracts is done on the day of the auction at the fall of the hammer. This commits the buyer to the sale. You will still have to disclose the dispute though.

strobo

Cheers Cabbage, we had the idea of "mediation" suggested by the Council, but we steadfastly refused to deal with the people next door, as we do with anybody who doesn't see fit to treat us like human beings - it's not too much to ask after all.

All we've ever asked of the Council is that they ensure we are left alone by their tenants, rather than being picked on. The verbal (and now physical) abuse we've had to suffer, and the excuses given by our neighbour for their behaviour also beggars belief (when the noise issues started it was apparently started by us knocking on the party wall, so they knocked back - how stupid an excuse is that?), so we chose not to go down that route. It would simply give our neighbour bragging rights.

As for eviction, this is where we're not so sure. The Council let the 3-bedroom semi-detached house to a single man, who owns another house he is already letting out. And the girlfriend doesn't officially live there, but does (the Council have so far done nothing about this either). So we wonder how on Earth somebody is getting away with such breaches of the rules. We have a copy of the Local Tenancy Agreements he will have had to sign, and months ago we counted 6 parts of the agreement he had broken (even more now), and yet still the Council refuse to act. Our genuine belief is that they've been put in place by the Council simply to cause mischief and devalue all the local right-to-buy houses. I know we sound a bit paranoid, but this is how it's got us.

I'm glad you like the LGO idea Cabbage. So that's another vote in favour of them. Given the Council's lack of action so far, I guess we might see some frantic action if the LGO get involved :j.

And you know what? I'd completely forgotten about auctions. I guess it's plausible that we could set a suitable reserve (so we know we're not walking away with a pittance), and feel happy that the buyer knows enough about what they're letting themselves in for. If they turn out to be a developer then even better. Numpty next door would have to put up with all the noise and mess while it was spruced up... :rotfl: ...the satisfaction of knowing that would be worth a couple of thousand at least.

Cheers again peeps. Keep the suggestions coming.

So far we have letters/emails planned for the Local Council (tame local councillor, ASBO team, Housing Association team, Legal Department), the Local Safer Neighbourhood team (police), the LGO, and do you reckon we should copy the local press in? Might be worth a try...???

GDB2222

strobo wrote: »

Approximate house value is around £125,000, but we'd happily take £100,000 just to get away.

Forget the 'buy-it-quick' companies, then. They'll want a bigger discount than 20%. The more scrupulous ones will offer you want they want to pay (ie well below £100k). The less scrupulous ones will offer you the £100k you want, string you along, then drop their offer just before exchange. By that stage, you'll hav spent money on fees and be more amenable to accepting their figure.

I'd put it on the market at 'offers in excess of £100k'. If you are right about the value, you'll have a queue of buyers to choose from. Property is hard to shift at the moment, but property that's definitely below market value will still go quickly. I wouldn't worry about the neighbour dispute. Some buyers will be made of sterner stuff than you (or think they are!) and they'll shrug it off.

Will the £100k be enough to let you buy somewhere else, though?

pinkshoes

GDB2222 wrote: »

I wouldn't worry about the neighbour dispute. Some buyers will be made of sterner stuff than you (or think they are!) and they'll shrug it off.

Really? I would think that a neighbour dispute would put most people off, so really reducing the number of buyers! I don't know of anyone that would touch a property that had a neighbour dispute declared on the SPIF form - it's just not worth the risk!

(and the buy your home companies would probably offer nearer 60% of the value, so £75k...).

I'd definitely go down the route of a complaint about the lack of help you've received. Put all the incidents since the neighbours moved in down on paper, along with actions taken, and tell the council/police that their actions are NOT acceptable, and insufficient support has been given to resolve the situation.

I'm not surprised other neighbours don't want to get involved, as if they ever sold their house, then they'd have to admit to the problem neighbours if they'd ever put their name to anything! Best to stay anonymous!

tomitma

strobo wrote: »

Thanks all.

Other residents on the street have varying levels of problems with the neighbour, with some pandering to him, and others just keeping out of his way. We live on a cul-de-sac of 10 houses, where a lot of curtain twitching goes on and not a lot else. During the ASBO period, we had numerous incidents witnessed by neighbours, but despite their promises, when it came to signing our diary sheets most backed away. This is the bit we can't understand - the idiot next door has caused parking issues (amongst others) for pretty much everybody, and yet it seems to be only us that have the nerve to complain.

And as we are the quiet house in the corner, we have been singled out for most of the trouble with that old school bully mentality - beat up one poor innocent kid and watch all the others quake in their boots with fear. So far we haven't taken a beating and we're standing up to them, but the threats of on-going violence yesterday seemed quite sincere, and it's only a matter of time.

Which is why we're desperate to get out. Don't worry, we're putting together the necessary letters and emails to the necessary people (again), but we want a plan B.

I was looking at The Advisory website earlier, where they'll put sellers in touch with professional buyers. Has anybody had any experience with them? I know a lot of these professional buyers aren't so worried about dispute issues, so they might be a better bet than selling the house using traditional methods.

EDIT - Tiddlywinks, good thinking on the selling back to the Council idea. We've heard about that, but didn't think it actually happened - I take it it does...??? Our house is on a large corner plot, and a developer of sorts (like the Council maybe) could squeeze an extra property into the space.

The reason why the other neighbours wont complain, is because they can see what is happening to you, and they don't want to happen to themselves. I went through three years of hell from problem neighbours, I even had two cars petrol bombed on my drive, every one knew who had bombed the cars, but nobody had seen anything. To report this family to the council, you need four families to back you up as you are not a council tenant.

poppysarah

Complain to council local givt ombudsman if they have not stuck to their own rules.

Attend every meeting possible - the council housing group will have local meetings. You'll need to research them. Meet with local councillors.

Log everything and keep constant diary of it.

GDB2222

pinkshoes wrote: »

Really? I would think that a neighbour dispute would put most people off, so really reducing the number of buyers! I don't know of anyone that would touch a property that had a neighbour dispute declared on the SPIF form - it's just not worth the risk!

It would put some people off fur sure, but at 20% below market value there'll be plenty who will relish the challenge. Besides that, a new set of owners, starting from scratch, may get on okay with the neighbours.

Personally, if I were the OP, I would stay put and buy a large dog.