Abusive neighbours chasing off potential buyers

Audbods

My partners Aunt died recently and left her self contained flat to him and his cousin. While at the flat doing some gardening the neighbour in the flat upstairs came down and started shouting abuse at him. He ignored it and carried on and thought nothing more of it. However the flat is now up for sale and yesterday a woman from the solicitors office took a potential buyer to the flat to view it. Apparently it all went well and it looked to be quite positive, but on leaving the flat the neighbour came down and started shouting abuse at the woman from the solicitors office. The woman was very distressed by the verbal attack and the potential buyer unsurprisingly is no longer interested. What can they do about it? They are concerned that the neighbour may continue to chase off any future buyers and they are left with a flat they can't sell.

PasturesNew

What's the abuse about? Is she loony, or is it something annoying that she's fed up about? e.g. are people coming/going making noise or banging doors or parking in the wrong spots?

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

I agree with PasturesNew you need to get to the bottom of it. Perhaps a friendly word with another resident of the flats might reveal more and of course a chat with the abusive neighbour could be a way to smooth any perceived problems over.

Audbods

She is complaining that the garden is not being maintained properly. Unfortunately my partner lives outwith the city boundaries, works shifts and cannot always be there to cut the grass as often as he would like, the weather has not been favourable (we live in Scotland!!!!) so when he has a day or night off he tries to do what he can, but if its raining there isn't much he can do. However, I think this is just another of her rants. She constantly gave my partners Aunt who was 80 years old, lots of hassle and problems, in fact on the day she died the woman's children were seen throwing snowballs at the window.

anselld

Perhaps explain to her that there is more chance of the garden being mantained and any other concerns being addressed if she co-operates short-term with the sale.

Mrs_Imp

Tell her that if you can't sell, you'll have to rent out, and you have a soft spot for DSS (I'm not saying that people on DSS are rubbish neighbours, but a lot of people think that they are, so you might be able to play on her fears).

googler

Audbods wrote: »

.....yesterday a woman from the solicitors office took a potential buyer to the flat to view it. Apparently it all went well and it looked to be quite positive, but on leaving the flat the neighbour came down and started shouting abuse at the woman from the solicitors office. The woman was very distressed by the verbal attack and the potential buyer unsurprisingly is no longer interested. What can they do about it?

Get yon big lad from the solicitors to do the viewings in future, rather than sending the ladies along. The neighbour won't be so inclined to shout at a six foot plus bloke......

googler

Audbods wrote: »

She is complaining that the garden is not being maintained properly. Unfortunately my partner lives outwith the city boundaries, works shifts and cannot always be there to cut the grass as often as he would like....

Is it a shared garden? If so, why isn't the neighbour sharing in the maintenance?

If not, it's got *** all to do with the neighbour.

googler

Audbods wrote: »

What can they do about it?

Get the solicitor's view on whether or not they should/could write a cease and desist letter to the neighbour.

princeofpounds

Get the solicitor's view on whether or not they should/could write a cease and desist letter to the neighbour.

You have to be careful. Leaving any official traces of a dispute is something that would likely have to be declared to any potential buyer on the SPIF.

googler

princeofpounds wrote: »

Leaving any official traces of a dispute is something that would likely have to be declared to any potential buyer on the SPIF.

Don't have these in Scotland, AFAIK.

Closest would appear to be in certain standard contract clauses -

TITLE DISPUTES
There are no current disputes with neighbouring proprietors or occupiers or any other parties relating to access, title or common property.

This would only apply if the garden was an access to the neighbour's property, the neighbour disputed the ownership of it, or it was a communal garden.....

However, this is why I suggested the OP take the solicitor's view on the topic....