Unsecure chicken perches

[jess1merlin]

We have had our bungalow on the market for 3 months now and still not sold. We have had quite a few viewings and people have said it is beautiful inside and that the garden is smashing. I think the problem might lay in our next door neighbours front garden.

 

He moved in a year ago and the place had not been touched for years as the old man who lived there was 95, he has updated all the interior now and had a small extension put on the back all of which is good. However he had a skip on the front lawn for 4 months which was full to the brim, when they came to collect it the lorry could not get it out so the front wall was knocked down and a tree cut down to get the skip out. The lawn if you can call it that is about a foot high, full of weeds with a large muddy patch where the skip has been. On top of that he has taken up the slabs that were around the bungalow and they are in a heap on the lawn together with a large tree root he dug out and other rubbish that fell out of the skip.

All in all it looks a real mess and I see people drive past slow down look at our place then turn round and come back again but never come in.

 

I have tried everything I can think of and the estate agent says our place should sell as it has had a lot of work done to it and is in excellent condition. I am thinking of approaching the neighbour and asking if he would tidy has garden up a bit but I don't want to make matters worse. I don't know what else to do! The property we are moving to is nearly finished so I really would like to get moving.

[Patricia W]

Could you offer to help him? It sounds as though he is slowly getting to grips with the place but he may be sorting the inside first and leaving the garden till last. Just a thought.

[Space Chick]

He obviously doesn't have a problem with his front garden... You do.

 

I personally think it would be really rude to ask him to sort it out for your benefit.

 

If you really think that is the problem, I would suggest that you offer to sort it for him.... If it means that much to you, and see what his reaction is.

[Old Speckled Hen]

Having had my house on the market for a year before an offer I understand how you feel but he's not selling, you are so an offer from you to tidy it up would benefit both of you.

I would be straight round there if it was me.

[Olly]

I would be surprised if that on its own put people off - especially if you can explain to buyers that he has only recently moved in and is doing the place up.

 

Your best bet might be to offer to help him tidy it up. If you ask him to do it and he refuses, you're no better off - and the last thing you want is to have to declare some sort of dispute to a prospective buyer.

[Redwing]

Maybe ask the estate agent to prime anyone who expresses interest and advise them that the house is being refurbished and its unlikely that the mess is long term

[chick wiggle]

I feel for you, i really do. A neighbour of mine, whos wife died a few years ago, is trying to sell his house. Its immaculate with beautiful gardens and is still for sale nearly a year on. The only reason it could possibly be is his next doors house, which, is an awful lot worse than your neighbours by the sounds of it. You literally cannot see the front bay window for ivy! He has offered to help but they dont want anything touching.

If i were you, i would offer to help him tidy his garden or even just ask if he would mind if you did it yourself, anything for a sale!

I wish you luck with a tricky problem

[Cinnamon]

Maybe ask the estate agent to prime anyone who expresses interest and advise them that the house is being refurbished and its unlikely that the mess is long term

 

I think this advice is spot on.

Personally I wouldn't offer to tidy it for him,as that doesn't come across well & may be the cause of resentment on his part.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I wonder whether potential buyers see the garden and make the (presumably wrong?) assumption that the owner is some kind of layabout who doesn't care about his property and might be an awful neighbour. I'd go out of my way to say what a lovely guy he is and how much work he's done to the interior and extension and how he's just not got round to sorting the front garden yet because of all the work he's doing elsewhere.

[WitchHazel]

It sounds like the chap is doing renovations... it's not like he's had a car rusting on his drive, or a skip there that never gets emptied. I should imagine the last thing on his mind right now is his front garden.

 

I've been trying to imagine how I would feel under those cicumstances, if my next door neighbour came round and asked me to tidy up, or offered to tidy up for me.

 

I don't think I'd be too happy about someone else doing their version of tidying of my property, however well intentioned, especially if I had been spending the last year trying to renovate a bungalow that hadn't had any work done on it for many years.

 

As to asking me to tidy it up because it's causing you problems, well, that would go one of two ways.

 

If I was already concerned about it, I'd probably be a bit embarrassed and would do it. However, If I wasn't already concerned about it, perhaps because I've got lots of other things on my mind like managing my own renovations (probably already under a lot of pressure), then I'd probably wouldn't react well: put yourself in "my" shoes. I've beeen renovating this house for a year, you've seen lots of progress, it's not as though I am leaving a skip on the drive when I'm not doing anything, I don't have rubbish in the garden for the sake of having rubbish in the garden, there's no point getting the wall fixed as I'm probably going to have another skip; and now you come round blaming me because your house isn't selling.

 

TBH, if I was inclined to the former (the getting embarrassed bit) then, knowing that my next door neighbour is trying to sell the house, I'd already have done something about it

 

I think Redwing's suggestion to get the Estate Agent to tell people that next door are having a lot of work done , and ti sounds like a goood suggestion. If that doesn't work then maybe consider talking to your neighbour then - but please put yourself in his shoes first before you start the conversation. .

 

Hope you get it sorted.

[sadietoo]

Maybe ask the estate agent to prime anyone who expresses interest and advise them that the house is being refurbished and its unlikely that the mess is long term

 

I think this advice is spot on.

Personally I wouldn't offer to tidy it for him,as that doesn't come across well & may be the cause of resentment on his part.

 

I agree with this too. Speaking as someone who is still in the process of doing up our property, our front garden is still not very good (although we do cut the lawn) and we did have the old bath and loo on it for at least four months before we got rid It is on our list, but certainly not our priority at the moment. Hopefully like us, your neighbour is looking to increase the value of his property in the long run by the changes he is making , so that can only be a good thing for a potential buyer of your property

 

Good luck with selling, the right buyer will come along sooner or later! x

[ohcarolina]

Having watched about a million home makeover and selling programmes in my time (sad I know ) why doesn't your Estate Agent ASK people what the issue is?

 

After all you are paying him/her for a service. If it does turn out to be the mess next door then you can take action.

 

Good luck.

[snowberry]

Kirstie & Phil always maintain that a skip in a front garden or several in a street is a sign of the area going up!

[jess1merlin]

Thanks for all your replies. He is a really nice chap and I really don't want to fall out with him, on the other hand we have put up with him drilling and hammering ( we are semi detached) late into the evening and all weekend and never complained.

 

I am thinking of saying I am going to the tip and would he like me to take some of the branches etc that are in the garden in my car. Hopefully he won't be offended if I put it like that.

 

I have spoken to the estate agent and they say it shouldn't put people off, but I know I would think twice if I was looking for a property.

 

I will keep you updated

[Willow]

I am thinking of saying I am going to the tip and would he like me to take some of the branches etc that are in the garden in my car. Hopefully he won't be offended if I put it like that.

 

That is a really good way of putting it. Also as others have said get your estate agents to work a bit harder for their money

 

I'm feeling really guilty we've been renovating over several years now and the outside often has 'stuff' stacked up waiting for me to do another run to the tip. My poor neighbours

[IanT]

We sold our house last year after 6 months. In that time we had over 30 viewers, and the sale fell through twice before finally selling to a couple who were not time wasters. Alot of people told us they loved the house, but good manners mean that they are not going to tell you to your face that they don't like it.

There is some good advice above about perhaps offering to help, and asking your estate agent to explain about the situation next door, but in this market my advice would be to be patient, and try not to get your hopes up too high with every viewer. Best of luck!

[C&T]

We tried to sell, and had some wonderful reasons why offers weren't made!

 

TBH, your neighbours front garden may just be the easy excuse that potential buyers are giving when actually your bungalow simply just isn't for them. Maybe they want a project (after watching all the TV programes!)

 

We were promised our house would be easy to sell etc etc - but all Estate Agents will tell you that to get you on their books. I am sure your property is wonderful! But until you get the right person through the door you are stuck... You've not been on the market for long, so I wouldn't panic yet - easy to say!

 

So I'ld say it is not worth falling out with your neighbour over - yet anyway!

[Griffin]

Could you offer to help him? It sounds as though he is slowly getting to grips with the place but he may be sorting the inside first and leaving the garden till last. Just a thought.

We're in the same boat, it's taken seven years to get the inside of this house up to scratch, this year we've started on the gardens!

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Same here, but we don't have a skip on the lawn.... yet!

 

Our last sale was four years ago, we were lucky and sold quickly (it was a very different market), but had quite a few viewings before striking lucky. Our estate agents asked each viewer, interested or not, their reasons for liking or disliking the house they had seen. These comments were passed back to the vendors - some comments we had were obviously just people trying to be polite, but many were useful.

 

The comments we received meant that we changed how we showed people around the house, and we made more fuss of the garden, small though it was.

 

Does your estate agent offer anything similar, that would help you find out if next door really is an issue? It might set your mind at rest and help you avoid a awkward situation with your neighbour.

 

 

 

one couple complained that the house wasn't near enough to their preferred junior school... which they knew before they viewed it in the first place And then there were the couple who weren't actually buying, they just liked looking round other people's houses Nowt so queer as folk!