A spot of trouble with next door that could prove costly
It costs nothing to be neighbourly, as your granny might say. And certainly that might be true in most cases, depending on your point of view – and your location.
In my experience, getting on with one’s neighbours in a small rural village usually involves a great deal of expense in the purchase of fundraising cakes at community events.
But when it comes to selling your house, a serious dispute with neighbours can prove to be very expensive indeed.
Research out this week highlights the detrimental impact nuisance neighbours can have on people’s lives and the value of their property.
Bad neighbours are not only stressful to live next to, they can adversely affect the sale of your home, with would-be buyers looking for telltale signs of potentially problematic neighbours.
Half of those surveyed by Gocompare, the financial services comparison website, wouldn’t buy a property if there were rubbish strewn in a neighbour’s garden and a student let next door would put off more than a third of buyers from purchasing.
There is little you can do in the case of the latter, although a friendly word with a neighbour and perhaps an offer to help clear their garden before viewings begin might work wonders, if it is worded diplomatically enough.
But it is getting into a legal dispute with your neighbours that could be most costly.
The survey found that 28 per cent of us have fallen out with a neighbour, with the most common disputes concerning noise and issues with pets and rubbish.
That is only to be expected since, as we live cheek by jowl with other people, niggles can occur. But for a minority of respondents in the survey, six per cent, the relationship with next door became so bad it escalated into a legal dispute.
And while calling the police or sending a stiffly worded letter from your solicitor may seem like a more sensible option than throwing brickbats over the garden fence, an official record of a neighbourly dispute could come back to bite you when it comes time to sell.
Ben Wilson, Gocompare’s home insurance spokesman, said of the research: “Not all neighbours are easy to live next to. If you have an issue with a neighbour, the first thing you should do is to have a friendly chat with them, as they may be completely unaware of any upset they may be causing.
“If you’re unable to resolve the matter amicably, depending on the cause of the dispute, there are a number of options available to you.
“Citizens Advice has a useful step-by-step guide on the action you can take, and your home insurance may provide valuable help as well.”
But he said: “It’s also worth noting anyone looking to sell their property is legally required to disclose information about any disputes they’ve had with neighbours on the seller’s property information form.
“Providing false or omitting information could lead to legal action being taken against you by the buyers – so honesty is the best policy.”
Having to tell a potential buyer that your argument with a neighbour escalated into a legal dispute isn’t likely to make them want to move in, so it is always best to try diplomacy in disputes – perhaps by taking round a cake – before it gets that far.