Buying house advice - not sure if next door is flat or house with tennants?

bells_on_it

Hi I'm not sure if this will seem an odd question but I'm in the process of buying a house, its a semi detached and when I spoke to the owners of the house I'm buying they suggested an old man lived next door however was walking past the house and noticed that it has a sign for "ground floor flat" and have now discovered that its 2 flats next door.
I'm not sure how relevant this is just wonder why it wasn't mentioned that this house is infact 2 flats, is there a way of finding out any information about it and should I be asking questions about it?
Thanks for your help

Brian8888

Always a great idea to get in touch with people in neighbors in the areas before you make a purchase. Just stop by and say "Hi, I'm going to be the new neighbor" and then struck up an innocent conversation. That way you often find of lots of things, even about the house you are going to buy. It might be a hassle but think about what you can avoid in case you find out something you don't like.

G_M

Knock on the door and ask....

bells_on_it

hmm I guess I'm a bit cowardly... I guess my first question is whether we should have been told that the house next door is flats? And what kind of tennants live there. Are they private rental renting off the person who owns house, or is the house now 2 privately owned flats. Should my solicitor find all this out for me?

giddypenguin

bells_on_it wrote: »

hmm I guess I'm a bit cowardly... I guess my first question is whether we should have been told that the house next door is flats? And what kind of tennants live there. Are they private rental renting off the person who owns house, or is the house now 2 privately owned flats. Should my solicitor find all this out for me?

Why should you have been told? Why are tenants any different to home-owners? How would I, or your solicitor know what kind of person owns the house next door/lives there? Why does it matter?

If you want to know what kind of people you are moving next door to, you have to man-up and talk to them.

bells_on_it

I guess I'm more skeptical because the owner of the house I'm buying told me specifically that it was just an elderly man living there - its just made me wonder why it was kept quiet? Its made me paranoid they could be problem tennants / owners... And I guess the reason to whether they're renting or owning the flat is more around if they are problem neighbours how permanent is their living there - renting is less permanent, owning means they could be there for years.
Yes I could ask them myself, just wondered if its common practice for solicitors to ask these kind of questions - not whether they're problematic, just whether they own the house or rent of a buy to let investor.

NinaSwiss

I'd suggest knocking on the door to find out yourself. No harm there but go with someone if possible (they can wait outside if you are invited in).
From the general chit chat, you might get a feel for if neighbor is someone you'd be ok living next to.

I am also house hunting and if I like like the property, speaking to the neighbors prior to making an offer is part of my research. Also because I looking for fixer uppers, its great when the neighbors invite me in to see what they have done with their properties in addition to giving me a low down on the other neigbours and local facilities I may not have been aware off.

RAS

Check the Council Tax rating for both flats, check the electoral roll and planning permissions.

Ask to view the ground floor flat (assuming you mean there is an agency sign).

What may well matter is that there will be people on the upper floor doing activities you expect downstairs like cooking, TV, music, parties, having friends round. If you can see the layout you can work out if this is likely to be disruptive.

iammumtoone

My dad lives in a terrace 2 up, 2 down but years ago he converted the upstairs bathroom to a bedroom so its now a 3 bed. The house next door was purchased by a developer who converted it into 3 living quarters and rents them out (they are not flats I don't know what the term is, its 3 rooms with shared bathroom and kitchen. Now three families (6 adults 2 babies) live next door to him all in a small terrace! I am sure this will have had an effect on his house valve mainly due to the noise that now comes from next door - not the occupants fault they are not partially noisy just that many people in a small house will generate more noise and disruptions.

RAS

iammumtoone wrote: »

My dad lives in a terrace 2 up, 2 down but years ago he converted the upstairs bathroom to a bedroom so its now a 3 bed. The house next door was purchased by a developer who converted it into 3 living quarters and rents them out (they are not flats I don't know what the term is, its 3 rooms with shared bathroom and kitchen. Now three families (6 adults 2 babies) live next door to him all in a small terrace! I am sure this will have had an effect on his house valve mainly due to the noise that now comes from next door - not the occupants fault they are not partially noisy just that many people in a small house will generate more noise and disruptions.

This is almost certainly a House in Multiple occupancy (HMO). Has dad checked whether the landlord is register to run it as an HMO. If he is not licenced, he is in trouble.