Trying to sell but a Hoarder lives next door!

ANGELB

Help! I was left a semi detached property from my late uncle last year. He had several years of arguments with his neighbour who's house is disgusting. He has been in the local paper, the news and still he has done nothing to clean it up. The front windows have curtains that are disintegrating, mouldy and patched together with pegs to keep them up. Two cars are on the drive full of binbags, how he drives one of them is a miracle. Plastic bags line the windows etc the back is no different with several greenhouses/shed full of rotting plants with years of accumulation of mess. The council have been down several times and once had two skipfulls of rubbish to take away (he came down during the night and retrieved some of the bags back in his house).:mad: He also has about 6 cats that look quite well fed but he never lets them out. The council have told him that he must pay for a skip and sort stuff out but to no avail. He is now in his 70's and does have breathing problems but I'm not surprised with all the mould/dust/dirt etc. We have done the house straight through and had it on the market for two months. After speaking with the estate agent they said a couple have enquired but when they have seen the state of the house next door have decided not to bother. Any advice would be great as we really need to sell this house now as it's just costing money to heat during cold periods/insurance etc and we don't want the responsibility of renting.

Ciderarmy1987

How much do you need to the money? It seems unlikely that anything is going to change whilst the neighbour is still living their. However a house will always sell, (whatever condition it is in and whatever problems there are with it) as long as the price is right. If you are seeing this money as a bonus and are not relying on it to pay for anything then I would advise on slashing the price to get it off your hands. Maybe 15-20% of the asking price?

agrinnall

Is there a mortgage to be paid off or is the house debt-free? If it's the latter then perhaps you could consider selling it by auction; you might not get as much as with a normal sale but as long as you set the reserve correctly you should at least be able to get it sold quickly.

JQ.

Stick it in an auction.

ANGELB

We've discussed that with the estate agent and are reducing again. Also they mentioned about putting it through an auction that they arrange each month so may do that too. I'ts just such a shame that he's getting away with it. It made my Aunt very ill and she passed away in November 2011 and Uncle 6 months later with the stress of it all.

EmmaHerts

ANGELB wrote: »

We've discussed that with the estate agent and are reducing again. Also they mentioned about putting it through an auction that they arrange each month so may do that too. I'ts just such a shame that he's getting away with it. It made my Aunt very ill and she passed away in November 2011 and Uncle 6 months later with the stress of it all.

You really think they passed away because their neighbour was untidy? Really?


Personally I would offer him money to keep it clean whilst I was trying to sell.

Ciderarmy1987

EmmaHerts wrote: »

You really think they passed away because their neighbour was untidy? Really?

I would say that it is a possibility that the added stress etc could have sped up other illnesses etc and shortened life rather than being the root cause

EmmaHerts wrote: »

Personally I would offer him money to keep it clean whilst I was trying to sell.

To be honest, I very very much doubt that is a viable option. It is more than likely that the person next door has some kind of mental illness.

It isn't jut a case of untidy hedgerows and overgrown borders.

Fire_Fox

Get in touch with Environmental Health at the local council and keep calling them over and over until something is done. Also consider Social Services since the man is likely vulnerable/ at risk, the RSPCA since the cats should not be living in dangerous or unsanitary conditions regardless of being fed, the local Member of Parliament and ward councillors, if you believe the car he drives does not have tax or MOT or insurance then the police too. Again keep in touch with all these agencies until action is taken.

TBH I would let out the property or sell it at auction.

moneyistooshorttomention

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Get in touch with Environmental Health at the local council and keep calling them over and over until something is done. Also consider Social Services since the man is likely vulnerable/ at risk, the RSPCA since the cats should not be living in dangerous or unsanitary conditions regardless of being fed, the local Member of Parliament and ward councillors, if you believe the car he drives does not have tax or MOT or insurance then the police too. Again keep in touch with all these agencies until action is taken.

.

This:T

There is a house near mine (fortunately not next door) that leaves a lot to be desired in a very similar sort of way. I've had to get on and on and on again to local authority knowing that mine was about to come onto the market. I've done so anonymously - to keep a "clean record" re disclosure of problems.

They dealt with it at last in the nick of time....whew....

giraffe69

t isn't jut a case of untidy hedgerows and overgrown boarders.

It's alright. They will be at school most of the time.

Ciderarmy1987

giraffe69 wrote: »

It's alright. They will be at school most of the time.

Fair play, got me there