Cannot sell house due to Hoarder next door

Audrey_Wright

whitewing wrote: »

Could you move into it yourself and sell your current home?

It won't solve all your problems but may help you be there to resolve the neighbour situation in the long term.

I'd rather sell at a loss than live in adjacency to this situation.
I saw earlier somebody suggesting to pressure the couple with semi-legal threats.
It's not the most noble thing, as hoarding is a mental illness and not really controllable if manifested, but as I feel for them, I feel for you too, and you shouldn't have to endure this stress and economic damage.

Try it in a way like so... Go there and explain the risks of them filling the whole house and garden and get them to comply with cleaning at least the garden.

HB58

Audrey_Wright wrote: »

Try it in a way like so... Go there and explain the risks of them filling the whole house and garden and get them to comply with cleaning at least the garden.

I'm pretty sure the OP has tried speaking nicely to the neighbours, with no success. She needs to be very careful that she is not doing anything that could be considered harrassment, especially if the people concerned do have mental health issues. It seems to me that getting a third party involved (as already suggested, Environmental Health, Social Services, fire services) might be the best way to go.

ruggedtoast

Turn the sitting room into a bedroom and turn it into an HMO or student let on separate tenancies. That is a segment of the market that will not care at all about your neighbours. Once they have put up with that for a couple of years they will be bending over backwards to help you sell.

If you want EH to help you'll need to say it has rats.

moneyistooshorttomention

Audrey_Wright wrote: »

I'd rather sell at a loss than live in adjacency to this situation.
I saw earlier somebody suggesting to pressure the couple with semi-legal threats.
It's not the most noble thing, as hoarding is a mental illness and not really controllable if manifested, but as I feel for them, I feel for you too, and you shouldn't have to endure this stress and economic damage.

Try it in a way like so... Go there and explain the risks of them filling the whole house and garden and get them to comply with cleaning at least the garden.

I don't think those of us suggesting getting Environmental Health involved, for instance, are "pressurising"...just trying to get the situation resolved for OP. Anyway, if push came to shove, then why should OP suffer because someone ELSE is ill (if that is what it is)? It is simply not fair for someone else's situation to impact on an "innocent/uninvolved" person like this.

moneyistooshorttomention

ruggedtoast wrote: »

Turn the sitting room into a bedroom and turn it into an HMO or student let on separate tenancies. That is a segment of the market that will not care at all about your neighbours. Once they have put up with that for a couple of years they will be bending over backwards to help you sell.

.

Slight snag to that...OP has got that house together to a really nice standard by the sound of it and students would trash it and she'd still be at risk of having to sell it for less than its worth.

DaftyDuck

and students would trash it

Money, I wouldn't bother adding this, except I always disagree with you... on everything!

I have rented out a delightful Georgian Grade II listed cottage to students for seven years. It's had almost no damage in that time. It has been carefully repainted by them, the garden has been maintained well, and is always - shock, horror - clean. Yes, it really always has been kept clean.

Once, one pane of glass was broken by a bicycle handlebar lent against it. They informed me of the fact, informed me they'd repaired it themselves, and was it OK? I couldn't really tell which pane it was, except for the clean putty ready from repainting... which they also later did.

It wasn't even their cycle!

Davesnave

Yes, substitute students with 'Asians' and your post would disappear toot sweet, money!

Although the ones I went to see last year, in their 8th floor beach-front apartment, with underground parking and concierge, seemed to be keeping the place well up-together!:rotfl:

Oh, the hardships of hailing from a developing country.

shot_down_in_flames

FelinePrincess wrote: »

I know you have already spoken to the husband and got a commitment to tidy up which he didnt go through with, would it be worth speaking to him again? Explain you have spent your inheritance and savings on this place and the outside appearance of their property is making it difficult for you to recover the money which you badly need.

Ask him what he needs from you (and I'm not talking financially!!!) in order to change the outside appearance - as others have said, they may have reservations about having new neighbours and perhaps if you were to agree to not sell to the sort of person they are worried about they may start co-operating. I know you shouldn't have to compromise but you really need to get them to work with you and asking them what it is they want from the situation is often the best way of doing that.

Also think its important that when you speak to them you make it clear your only asking them to change the outside as if it seems to them that your asking them to get rid of their entire hoard they will run a mile.

***************************************************

Everything you have suggested above is what I have already done over the course of the last 2 weeks almost word for word but sadly without beneficial effect. I could totally blame the wife but feel that he is as bad as while he claims its his wife who is the 'collector' as he calls her he is the one I see adding more and more to the outside space, garage, shed etc. so he is encouraging the hoarding. He has now made clear that the skip must be collected, that the bags, pots, pans, shoes, handbags, plastic bottles even ornaments that he has lined both sides of the drive with are not going back inside but he wont skip them either as his wife will cause him problems if he does!
I have seen inside myself now from standing just inside the porch in the one square foot of space left, the stairs are straight ahead and an accident waiting to happen! a standard width staircase but lined both sides with books clothes bags etc leaving 9 inches in the centre to go up or down sideways! The man at that point even asked me to put my head thro the lounge door to see the extent of the problem - I couldnt see the walls the floor or the window as it was full to the ceiling and pitch black!
He has told me they have had no heating or hot water for 2 years and the reason for starting to move stuff outside was to make room in the kitchen so that a gas engineer could fit a new CH boiler. However it was put on hold as the firm concerned refused to carry out that work without the ability to get to the radiators which is fair enough but now the man has cancelled the installation as he can't clear enough to gain access to the rads but refuses to allow any help with this! How a couple aged 79 and 80 years old have survived in this state especially over the winters is beyond comprehension. Apparently its over 40years from when the hoarding started.
Anyway there is no point keep writing about it as it doesnt solve anything tho helps to get it off my chest. I feel social services and the fire department (given their only form of heating is paraffin heaters) are the best options now but as said before I will chase up EH.

Davesnave

shot_down_in_flames wrote: »

I feel social services and the fire department (given their only form of heating is paraffin heaters) are the best options now but as said before I will chase up EH.

Why are you still here? It's gone half past ten and if it were me I'd have some answers from those in the departments you mention, though I realise that real action may take much longer as jackyann (I believe) said earlier.

As you've said, it's an accident waiting to happen and there's an element of real urgency being revealed by your posts now. Get that across to those who can act.

Make it clear that you'll follow up everything you say to both depts in writing, so that there's a paper trail. No one wants a tragedy on their hands, with the hard evidence that alerts were sounded and nothing done.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

No hot water/heating for two years? Social Services really need to get involved. I know most Brits are squeamish about being nosy neighbours, but this couple can't be enjoying any sort of quality of life in their cold, cramped, lonely conditions- a life that is only going to get more miserable as they deteriorate mentally.

It might also be worth contacting your local MP.