What to Watch Out for When Selling a Home with a Problem Neighbour

You’ve made the exciting decision to sell your house. You’ve got a lot to start thinking about - agents, advertising, all those minor repairs you need to make, oh, and your problem neighbour. Bad neighbours are what reality TV fodder is made from. We all have horror stories heard from friends or family or even lived through yourself. A bad neighbour can range from a slightly annoying busybody to a full-blown issue that sends you moving to a new house. The problem with trying to escape? A lousy neighbour has the opportunity to impact the resale value of your property negatively.

 

Unfortunately, bad neighbours can take you completely by surprise. Someone who can seem tidy in the first few weeks may start to use their front yard as a tip-yard. Someone who comes across polite and soft-spoken may have raging parties lasting until 3am. What are your rundown responsibilities as a seller when it comes to disclosing these issues to potential buyers? In that same vein, what are your rights?

 

Start with a conversation

Even if your house is sparkling clean, if your next-door neighbours have a rundown property, it will devalue your home to potential buyers. In this circumstance, the first thing you should do is go over, knock on the door, and have a conversation. Let them know you are looking to sell your property and ask them to clean up in time for your inspections. Approach them good-naturedly, and maybe throw in something to incentivise their cleaning efforts - if you have someone coming over to mow your lawns, offer to pay the extra to get theirs done too if they’ve cleaned up the old car parts in time. You may find them agreeable, and that’s the problem solved. Likewise, if the issue is overly nosy or noisy neighbours, simply ask them to stay away from your open home or keep their yapping Chihuahua inside during open homes.

 

Go to your strata or local council

If a conversation doesn’t work, try to bring in the big boys. If your neighbour consistently uses power tools below 8am (or the relevant time cut-off in your area), you can report them to the council. Likewise, if your neighbour is leaving junk in their front yard and you live in a strata-titled property or a complex with body corps, you may be able to complain to them and have them take action. This will depend on the restrictions for your community.

 

Go to the police

If your neighbours are aggressive, threatening or partaking in any illegal activities, skip the conversation step. Report them to the police immediately.

 

What do I need to disclose to buyers?

You don’t have to disclose as much as you may think. It’s not your legal responsibility to let a buyer know that your neighbour across the street likes to listen to Latin music every Saturday night on full blast. It’s up to you whether there are any practices you would not feel comfortable not disclosing to the seller due to your own conscience, but many will not be a necessity according to the law.

 

Contracting a professional property conveyancer is a necessary step to ensure that you understand any necessary clauses that you’ll need to include in your Contract of Sale - for example, if your neighbour has a right to part of your property due to a restrictive covenant, that would definitely be necessary to disclose. If the problem is something not needed in your Contract of Sale but something the seller will quickly notice - for example, your neighbours rundown house front - your conveyancer will also be able to recommend a selling point that considers that. If you live in Brisbane or Melbourne, Jim’s Property Conveyancing Brisbane has helped sell houses in all sorts of circumstances and can help make this process as painless as possible. Jim’s Property Conveyancing Brisbane, can help clients to prepare and verify the legal documentation