Buyers complaining of non-disclosure about neighbours

bananah

Thank you for all your advice. I'll update you as things happen.

Hump

It's ever so good of the purchasers to tell you of the miserable time they are having in your old house - but did the letter demand anything? or suggest litigation?

If it doesn't then your own solicitor might suggest a. ignoring it b. not responding in case you give them a hook onto which to hang a bit of litigation.

If they think they have a case then they would be saying so up front as the court will expect a 'pre-court' letter on file to prove they tried to settle without court action.

If you are really worried then I would apply to the police for a record of your contacts with them. They will have a 'data protection' section and will probably take 4-6 weeks to respond as your enquiry will be 'non-urgent', they may want a small fee. Call them first then apply on their form. This or these records will indicate whether you did actually 'complain' about your neighbours rather than 'inform' the Police about a potential crime scene.

monkeyboy72

So I guess the moral of the story is if you have noisy/problem neighbours let them get away with it, say nothing and definately dont call the police, because if you do then good luck selling your house at any time soon!!....looks like they win again

bananah

The neighbours certainly aren't the nicest people in the world, but surely its not our responsibility to tell perspective buyers what we think of our neighbours, only if there are any ongoing disputes?

I'm speaking to our solicitor today, so will update when I have some feedback.

thanks

picnic

why dont buys go and speak to neighbours of house's they are thinking of buying.... the house next door to us has just been sold and we have no idea who our new neighbours are going to be... scarey....

amcluesent

So, if your neighbour puts out a flag-board, nip round and ask for £500 or else you'll be onto the bizzies and council to complain and say they have wild parties, leave matresses on the lawn and are a noise nuisance. Simples!

weemonkey

Hi,

Has the buyers talked directly to the neighbours and tried to resolve this in a friendly/neighbourly way?

When I bought my flat, I was in this situation. I was stunned that the seller didn't mention that the neighbour seemed to spend their evenings with the TV at FULL volume (and it's a victorian building so the walls aren't thin!). I spent a lot of evenings listening to their tv programme.

After being furious for a week and debating whether to contact the seller/the council about it, I realised I should at least be seen to take initial steps to resolve the situation myself first - so if it did go further then I can say I tried.

All it took was a polite, but sternly worded note card through their letterbox and the next night all was quiet. I was amazed. I never expected the simple act of direct communication to ACTUALLY work in the first instance.

Obviously the noise levels will rise occasionally from time to time - but nowhere near like it was before.