House buying and the neighbours

hohum

First time buyer, small(er) budget of around £95-105k.

We have seen three properties that we like, all with their own advantages and disadvantages. They are all quite different so it's a bit apples to oranges.

The one that is causing me the most thought is a semi-detached ex council property. It's on the edge of a council estate, over the road from a residential area that is becoming more desirable. It's near transport routes, commute etc. It needs work as all the houses we're looking at do, but has had a fair amount of work (cavity wall insulation, solar panels, double glazing, roof) done.

I love the layout of the house, I love the generous garden, I like the price (at the bottom of our budget and room to negotiate), I like the location.

I am not sure about the neighbours on one side (not the adjoining property). There's a caravan in the front yard, building equipment in the back yard, a lad in a hoody in the front garden..... On the other hand, there is also a nice bit of landscaping and planting in the front yard, and they were key holders for the property when it was vacant.

I know this is probably a question only we can answer, but I am wondering if the neighbours make buying the house a bad move. I've never lived next door to really bad neighbours. We currently live in a terraced house next to a family who are a bit rough round the edges, a bit messy and noisy but I say hello in the street, they hold parcels for us, I know their names etc

It's so hard to tell. They could make living there less pleasant or we could just end up being fine. Any thoughts?

EssexExile

The trouble with moving somewhere with nice neighbours is that neighbours move too. Obviously you'd be mad to move somewhere where you know the neighbours bad, but if the neighbours are nice they won't be there for ever. That wasn't much help was it?

nubbins

I would be running so fast from this property there would be flames coming off the soles of my shoes.

Mojisola

hohum wrote: »

I love the layout of the house, I love the generous garden, I like the price (at the bottom of our budget and room to negotiate), I like the location.

I am not sure about the neighbours on one side (not the adjoining property). There's a caravan in the front yard, building equipment in the back yard, a lad in a hoody in the front garden..... On the other hand, there is also a nice bit of landscaping and planting in the front yard, and they were key holders for the property when it was vacant.

Have you stopped and had a chat with the neighbours? You can judge for yourself whether they seem okay.

You can have awful neighbours in the otherwise 'nicest' areas of a town.

WestonDave

Nothing to lose by going round to the "suspect" neighbours, knocking on the door and saying you are interested in the house next door and wondered what it was like to live around there - anything they'd suggest you should know etc. You can make it a bit more casual by asking where the best takeaways etc are

supermassive

My grandmother had new neighbours for the first time in 60 years in 2012.

She lives in a semi on the outer stretch of what is now a rough estate (the bit she lives on is some kind of home-owner, non-scummy patch on the landscape with expensive houses.. it's weird). Great big garden, plentiful front garden, 3 bedrooms, room to extend etc etc etc

The new neighbours were moving from their old house in barcelona. They didn't know the area too well.

They told my grandmother after moving in that they'd visited & sat outside the house at various points of the day for about a month just to get a realistic view for any troublemakers. They were sat in their car on saturday nights, weekday mornings, patroling the area throughout the week etc.

If the neighbours are bad, you'll see it when they don't know you're watching. This is the best method I can think of.

In terms of moving in despite having bad neighbours - if you do that you'll want to top yourself within 6 months.

supermassive

WestonDave wrote: »

Nothing to lose by going round to the "suspect" neighbours, knocking on the door and saying you are interested in the house next door and wondered what it was like to live around there - anything they'd suggest you should know etc. You can make it a bit more casual by asking where the best takeaways etc are

Or be direct and ask them if the bus to the job centre is usually full & if there's any good dog fighting rings in the area.

hohum

good suggestions, thanks. I might just go and knock on their door, I have no problem doing that kind of thing and if they aren't awful well it's an introduction isn't it I think I'll stick to just asking about the house and what the buses are like. Perhaps pass on the dogfighting queries! :eek:

@nubbins it might be interesting (although I suppose less pithy) if you illuminated why you'd be running away? Maybe you have some insight you could share - appreciate inputs!

DaftyDuck

If they've done landscaping & gardening in their own front garden, they aren't likely to condone said youf vandalising your neighbouring property. Anyway, I understood it was obligatory for all teenagers to wear a hoodie and grunt for a few months.

A good intro might to to enquire if they are builders/landscape gardeners, as they've done such a good job of theirs, and you were thinking about buying next door...

I have never bought a house without talking to all the direct neighbours.....

ReadingTim

You could always take a walk or drive around the area at a few likely noisy times (Friday/Saturday night) and see what it's like - if you can hear them from the street, you probably don't want to be living near them.

Sadly, given the time of year, you're unlikely to determine how likely they are to hold loud summer garden parties...

warehouse

nubbins wrote: »

I would be running so fast from this property there would be flames coming off the soles of my shoes.

That makes 2 of us.