Advice on Vacant house next door

ChewyyBacca

coachman12 said:

Carrot007 said:

I'd expect it worse that that is it was unoccupied. So it's probably going to be neighbours from hell.

Agent probably knows everything as does landlord, run away fast.

I fully agree. Why would anyone even consider living next door to a house which looks like something from a "B" horror movie ?
There are plenty of other houses to buy with nice gardens--and with nice gardens on either side too !

@C@Carrot007 Yeah, Im sure agent knows, since they are managing the property. It worries me, that they might be lying. Also an owner will go and see whats up with their property, at least once in a while, they live in the same city. So they should have some knowledge too. 
@c@coachman12 Not buying the house, planning to rent for self

ChewyyBacca

Davesnave said:

The picture is too small to be of any use, because from where I'm sitting, the house doesn't look especially  un-maintained, though the garden does.

The agent is not your friend, but potential neighbours are and some will know the history here. You can lessen the risk by talking to them, which is something you ought to do anyway. It's a fallacy that neighbours from hell all have tatty houses and gardens; they might, but here you want a good prospect that things will improve in the medium term and compensation in the price.

Friends of ours bought next to an empty property and couldn't have afforded a house with 10 acres otherwise. It paid off in about 5 years. For them, competing in a very tough, restricted market, it was worth the gamble something positive would happen within, say, 10 years, but for a fairly common semi-dee or terrace, the risk needs considering carefully

@Davesnave
though we are not buying this house next door, we are planning on renting it for self. And the price does seem good. 
And yes, a talk to the neighbours before any signing, seems like a prudent option.

steve866

Crashy_Time said:

Surprised there is not a line round the block to live in it demand being what it is....according to some posters anyway.......

The OP says rental properties are getting 10+ viewings and getting snapped up. From that I deduce that the rental market is booming nationally

ChewyyBacca

oldbikebloke said:

ChewyyBacca said:

I am not buying the house next door, I plan to rent it out. It will be short to medium term stay, at most 2.5 years.

well then the fact nextdoor appears to be currently unoccupied is a plus point, because it means you will have one less neighbour complaining to you about your tenants from hell 

@oldbikebloke
Thats a good point. No noise from potentially noise neighbours.. just peace and calmness, in the middle of city! All the privacy in the world.

coachman12

ChewyyBacca said:

oldbikebloke said:

ChewyyBacca said:

I am not buying the house next door, I plan to rent it out. It will be short to medium term stay, at most 2.5 years.

well then the fact nextdoor appears to be currently unoccupied is a plus point, because it means you will have one less neighbour complaining to you about your tenants from hell 

@oldbikebloke
Thats a good point. No noise from potentially noise neighbours.. just peace and calmness, in the middle of city! All the privacy in the world.

But the noise those rats and mice make is pretty scary  

ChewyyBacca

coachman12 said:

ChewyyBacca said:

oldbikebloke said:

ChewyyBacca said:

I am not buying the house next door, I plan to rent it out. It will be short to medium term stay, at most 2.5 years.

well then the fact nextdoor appears to be currently unoccupied is a plus point, because it means you will have one less neighbour complaining to you about your tenants from hell 

@oldbikebloke
Thats a good point. No noise from potentially noise neighbours.. just peace and calmness, in the middle of city! All the privacy in the world.

But the noise those rats and mice make is pretty scary  

hahaha... Im scared enough already
 All the points made by everyone (except the ones arguing unnecessarily about property prices and trends) were valid.
With a vacant/abandoned property next door, there are more disadvantages than advantages. And its a rental property, we will be at mercy of LL if things go wrong- like a burst pipe next door causing flooding, or damp issues/water ingress in the winter, no one at the property so no maintenance, no heating. And as someone pointed out, the front garden would be perfect spot for flytipping and a great hang out place for some undesirables.
Also, the EA called and said he is not sure if LL will get things fixed in the property as agreed. So, that's another no-no for the property.
So, after careful deliberations, I will be letting go of this house. 

NameUnavailable

It's probably haunted. The cameras (I can't see any) have been set up by one of those paranormal groups.

ChewyyBacca

@NameUnavailable
lol. Sadly we will never know, if it is indeed haunted. And paranormal group 
Bedroom window facing the road has a tripod stand, and a camera is mounted on it. Yeah, not visible in the pic. But you can see a blue towel hanging next to it, giving the tripod, company.