House for sale now our neighbour has become obsessive

Markb89

My fiancé and I are in the process of selling our first house. So far the process has been fairly smooth with the agency and we've had several viewings booked which we are very happy about, however we have a neighbour who has appeared out of the wood work and is causing us a lot of issues.

We have had no previous bad experiences with him but his behaviour has become incredibly erratic since the property went on the market. This gentleman is interested in the property and wants it at a price we aren't willing to entertain. For me this would be the end of the story unless he is willing to budge on price.

The problem is he is making repeated complaints to our agency, in the 24 hour period our advert has been live he has bombarded the agent with calls and emails and made 6 complaints. These complaints include his property being visible in frontal and rear shots of our property, a loft conversion being marketed as a bedroom when it is not legally a bedroom (It's not being marketed as a bedroom) and exaggerated room sizes. 

The validity of these complaints is not at issue as I know he are in the right on all points raised. The problem I'm facing is:
1. His repeated interference may cause strain in our relationship with our agent.
2. The agency has made attempts to placate him and maintain a credible paper trail, in doing this they have cropped photos to a point where they are not as good as before and the content of the advert has now been butchered, I believe this may have an adverse effect on the marketing of our property.
3. At the point of discussing any disputes with neighbours, do we reference this? We've had no issues with him in the past and all complaints have been with the agent rather than through ourselves. 

Has anyone experienced anything like this with problem neighbours? Are there further issues that he could potentially cause? 

At the moment this is barely even a civil dispute but are there remedies that we can prepare for if his course of conduct continues or do we just stay out of it and let the agents deal with him? 

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

tacpot12

If you stay out of this, it will remain a dispute between the neighbour and the estate agent, and not need declaring to a buyer.

scottiescott

Sounds like he's trying to provoke the situation until it becomes an official dispute, which would then play into his hands by discouraging potential buyers. Then he comes back with his offer.  Tread warily!

davidmcn

I suspect a dispute raised with somebody acting as your agent is effectively a dispute with their principal i.e. you. On the other hand, if all he is complaining about is the marketing of the property, it doesn't sound like an ongoing matter likely to prejudice a buyer, so might not be too hazardous to not disclose it to buyers.
I'd be tempted to ask the agents just to ignore him rather than engage, if he isn't raising actual legal issues.

csgohan4

Tell him the price has gone up for him by 20%

[Deleted User]

Just tell the agency that if they choose to take the calls fine, but they can then file the notes as non actionable.I don't see how the neighbour can do anything to you or them that will mean anything.

m0bov

Don't get involved, its a dispute between the agency and him, the photos, description etc are all nothing to do with him, anyone can call up a random EA and make "complaints". Just ignore. Tell the EA to do the same and refuse contact with him.

The only issue is he might make a nuisance when you have viewings, so be discreet and do them when he is not home, or ask the EA not to park outside or something.

Davesnave

Your agent needs more balls. By engaging with him the agent has merely encouraged the guy's fantasies and increased the risk that he will do something more daft..

Since the agent has encouraged this situation, I'd explore with them the possibility of formally warning the guy if he contacts again, and then, if necessary,  reporting him for harassment. The appearance of a PSCO can work wonders in de-escalating situations like this.

Andysandy

You have my sympathies OP, the neighbour truly seems like a nasty piece of work.

The EA seems incompetent. You can't engage with people like these without blowing up an inconsequential issue. Did he also complain to Google that the frontal area of his property can be seen on Street View?

Norman_Castle

Markb89 said:

 This gentleman is interested in the property and wants it at a price we aren't willing to entertain.

The problem is he is making repeated complaints to our agency, in the 24 hour period our advert has been live he has bombarded the agent with calls and emails and made 6 complaints. These complaints include his property being visible in frontal and rear shots of our property, a loft conversion being marketed as a bedroom when it is not legally a bedroom (It's not being marketed as a bedroom) and exaggerated room sizes. 

Is he trying to prove his offer as realistic and the EA valuation as wrong?

Insisting his property is removed from the pictures is just throwing his weight around.

Skiddaw1

I agree with @scottiescott - I think he's after causing enough of a rumpus to force you to drop the price and sell to him. What a nasty piece of work. So sorry you have this to contend with (selling a house is stressful enough).