Buying great house but neighbour's house a mess - do we walk away?

MoBou

We've been house hunting for quite a while and finally found one that we loved - rundown but full of potential. However, the house next door is even more rundown, overgrown front garden, broken window stuffed with clothes, and clothes and furniture and god knows what else lying down the side of the house and in the back garden.

The EA told us that a reclusive old lady lives in it and that the council has told her to clear out the junk in the garden. I contacted the council to see what was happening but they wouldn't tell me anything. The owner of our potential new house died and it's being sold by her children who don't live nearby, so apparently they can't tell me anything either.

I know we should probably walk away, but we're excited about creating a great home from the unloved house. We're going to try to speak to the neighbours on the other side to see what they know but just wondered what others would do in this situation. Would you go ahead and hope the house next door gets sorted out by the council or walk away and keep looking?

BitterAndTwisted

What impact would the state of the house next door to you have on the way you want to live your life?

G_M

Depends - sounds like having a smart neighbour is important to you, so no - walk away.

On the other hand, the council might enforce the clear up. The old lady might die and her children who don't live nearby might sell to a banker who will removate, build a covered swimming pool in the garden and....

Remember, the house you buy instead, in a nice area with smart neighbours.... the neigbour might gt made redundant, his wife leaves him, he turns to drink, the house falls apart and......

Mallotum_X

I would start by talking to other neighbours. try and get an idea on how long its been bad and whether the lady is getting any help. If shes old and frail then perhaps she needs social services to help her keep on top of things.

It may well be that she just needs some support rather than being a 'crazy nutter', in which case it wouldnt put me off too much. If it turns out shes a bit of a nut, and causes problems with other neighbours then you may well be better off cutting your losses and walking away (either that or get a bigger discount on the place).

Good luck!

McKneff

Why not go and speak to the old lady herself, she would maybe grateful for some company.

She may not be able to afford to have rubbish taken away, and doesnt realise that the council could take it away free.
(or you could offer to help when you get to know her a bit better) no one can know what goes on behind closed doors
so yu really would be better getting it from the horses mouth.

poppysarah

How old is she? Has she a 100 cats?

Does her property need work which might impact on your property?
(rats being a problem with large amounts of rubbish)

If she lives 15 years and her house is still an eye sore how will you feel?

TrickyDicky101

Is the house detached or connected (either semi or terraced) to this house? I would be concerned if the latter - on my walk to work there is a pair of Edwardian semis where the right hand one was owned by a very old and infirm couple. They obviously hadn't spent any money on the upkeep and there were broken roof tiles visible, but more importantly it looked like wooden stakes had been driven into the ground and were being used to prop the bay window up (it literally looked like it was about to fall down). The house on the left in contrast looked well maintained - but they would obviously be greatly affected by next door's bay falling down and potentially any damp issues in the loft caused by the crappy roof. I think you are right to be wary.

MoBou

The houses aren't connected, and her house doesn't look too bad from the front, mostly because of overgrown hedges covering it.

We could put up a higher wall between us so we don't see the mess, so it probably wouldn't affect the way we live too much but it's the possibility of what's living in the junk that worries us most and what our cats might bring in. (I don't know if she has cats).

poppysarah

MoBou wrote: »

what our cats might bring in. (I don't know if she has cats).

She might not be a crazy cat lady

We've had two big dead rats in our garden in the last 7 years... lots of little mice though. (Not bad for three cats though) Neighbours across the road have rats in their loft from time to time though.
I spose if there's more junk outside there's more houses for them but they supposedly like decking too...


If you were selling and the house was like it is still (or worse) then how would it put off potential buyers...

Eton_Rifle

I'd walk away.

pimento

She might not be that old. Some (young) peoples' idea of old would make me Methusulah at 50.