House viewing - repo, Japanese knotweed, neighbour exposed and urinated!?

chaotic_j

Hi,

Had some neighbour issues where we currently live - noise, trespass/privacy invaded, general nastiness and so have viewed some interesting properties with a view to going semi-rural.

The latest house we looked at appeared liveable, our research showed that it had been empty for some time and the price had been reduced 44% since it was first listed for sale. It was a semi-detatched victorian property on the side of a hill, previously it had been one large palatial residence.

We wondered what was wrong with it? We saw on one site an offer had been made. When I rang the estate agent I asked about the offer, I was told there had been an offer just under the asking price but there was Japanese Knotweed within 5 metres meaning the mortgage the offer relied on couldn't go ahead.

The Japanese Knotweed was not on the property itself. This meant the purchase of the house was cash buyers only. I said not a problem lets have a look. A couple of hours later an email I received, announced that the property had been dropped in price by a further 20K ?!

Fast forward to the viewing, the road to get up to this place was cobbled and unadopted, quite egg shaped in some areas, could easily damage some cars - in fact the estate agent said one viewer had done just that and was very angry for not being warned.

The Japanese Knotweed was on some land across the road, huge, huge clumps of it - it looked like some had been recently burnt.

The property itself was in a much worse condition than the pictures showed, wallpaper was coming off, it smelled musty etc. and had been empty for two years. The Japanese Knotweed had started to grow at the rear of the property.

The house itself was pretty fantastic had lots of potential but needed a lot spending on it. After the estate agent had gone we decided to look at the side and rear of the property.

After we had looked we went back to the front and I was peering around one of the included garages, I then heard some voices. I looked around and couldn't see anyone, wondered if someone was in one of the garages?

I then looked up, a small skylight in the neighbouring property had been opened and a bloke probably in his twenties was stood, fully naked out of this skylight - he then proceeded to urinate all over his roof! I was with two women who he basically exposed himself to.

Anyway he achieved the desired effect as we are definitely not interested in this property! When looking over into their property I could see signs that people like this lived there. It's quite sad really as this was/could be such a beautiful family home. I feel really sorry for whoever buys this property.

I rang the estate agent to let them know what happened and they said they had not heard of this having happened before and what kind of person would do this (my thoughts too) and thanks for letting them know!

Has this happened to anyone else?

xylophone

Had some neighbour issues where we currently live - noise, trespass/privacy invaded, general nastiness

But not

I then looked up, a small skylight in the neighbouring property had been opened and a bloke probably in his twenties was stood, fully naked out of this skylight - he then proceeded to urinate all over his roof! I was with two women who he basically exposed himself to.

so you can count your blessings? Or "better the devil you know.....";)

chaotic_j

Haha yes, I did say when we left they made the current neighbours look like angels!

summerholiday

Did this dirty pervert expose himself knowingly to frighten off potential purchasers? Report this incident to the police. It could be a squat. Have you checked Land Registry for the ownership of adjoining property ?

Ivana_Tinkle

chaotic_j wrote: »

Has this happened to anyone else?

I'm fairly confident I speak for everyone here when I say, "NO!"

AlexMac

Ivana_Tinkle wrote: »

I'm fairly confident I speak for everyone here when I say, "NO!"

Ivana; with a tag like yours I'd be careful of posting on this thread, lol! But to return to the OP:-

Everything has its price, so start by working out what the 'devaluating factors' are worth off the price:
- A creepy old, long abandoned house - 15%?
- in poor condition requiring major renovation - 20%
- Japanese knotweed in 'your' garden - 7%?
- Japanese knotweed in adjacent land over which you have no control beyond taking court action to force an owner remedy - 20%?
- Ivana Tinkle's long-lost cousin avin' a tinkle? - PRICELESS!

chaotic_j

Partner has found out that it isn't Japanese Knotweed on the property itself; it's Himalayan Balsam.. but apparently this is as bad as, if not worse than Japanese Knotweed.

I did consider calling the police, I'm guessing this is definitely some kind of offence?

I'm not sure what name/number the house on the opposite side has; do you suggest if I could find out, get the owner details and the property was rented, the landlord could be informed of the tenants behaviour?

Sarahspangles

Himalayan Balsam is a prolific and invasive weed, but it's not capable of causing damage in the way that Japanese knotweed is. Both are a nuisance and tend to spread along rivers and streams.

However only Knotweed has a deep rooting rhizome that survives over winter. It gives it a reserve of energy that means it can push up through concrete. Balsam has to germinate from seed each year and it's easy enough to weed or hoe out when it's small.

moneyistooshorttomention

Is that where the phrase "from the frying pan into the fire" would come in? That is, if OP had decided to buy this house...:cool:

It raises an interesting question though, specifically on the JK thought. There is a house for sale in the vicinity here that needs work, but is basically buy-able of it self. I had spotted JK in the next door neighbours' garden and have been wondering whether the seller of this house would struggle because of the neighbour and I have just duly noticed this house has now got a much reduced price on it (presumably because of the neighbours JK)?

The question being as to what a vendor can do about a neighbour who, one way or another, knows they have JK but isn't doing anything to get rid of it and is therefore causing a problem for next door neighbour vendor?

Does anyone know?

I ask specifically because a JK offender neighbour is living in my area and I would therefore like to ensure they DO deal with their JK (yes they do know they have it...).

Davesnave

chaotic_j wrote: »

Partner has found out that it isn't Japanese Knotweed on the property itself; it's Himalayan Balsam.. but apparently this is as bad as, if not worse than Japanese Knotweed.

I did consider calling the police, I'm guessing this is definitely some kind of offence?

I'm not sure what name/number the house on the opposite side has; do you suggest if I could find out, get the owner details and the property was rented, the landlord could be informed of the tenants behaviour?

Yes it is an offence, but the person concerned will just say the house next door is empty and he had no idea you were there. At worst he'll get a caution.

As for informing the landlord, if there is one, what good would that do? The landlord, if there is one, isn't this person's parent, and they're not a naughty child.

It could be that it was an action deliberately aimed at putting you off, rather than any perverted intent. If so, it certainly succeeded!

Sarahspangles is right. Himalayan balsam is a serious nuisance where it grows rampantly and uncontrolled, but it is not a threat to buildings in the way JK is, nor is it as hard to eradicate.

Davesnave

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

The question being as to what a vendor can do about a neighbour who, one way or another, knows they have JK but isn't doing anything to get rid of it and is therefore causing a problem for next door neighbour vendor?

Does anyone know?.

With all your research on this, if you don't know, it's probably because there isn't much that can be done in the case of an intransigent neighbour, if there is no direct and immediate threat to the integrity of the house.

If someone was forced to sell their house at, say, £25k under market value to a cash buyer, all because of a neighbour's JK, they would have suffered a consequential loss. They could then sue the neighbour for that loss. Great theory.

The devil is in the detail. First of all, the loss has to be made, then it has to be proven as entirely related to the JK. After ordering specialist reports and taking statements, a lawyer would probably be required be required to present the case.

That's a lot of work and money up front for an uncertain outcome. People can claim what they like, but the courts decide the level of compensation, if any.

And winning in court is only half the battle. The other half is getting the other party to pay up. What if they don't have the means to pay?