How to Handle a Neighbor That’s Trying to Block Your Home Sale
It would be nice if your home sale was completely in your hands, but that’s just not the way it goes. Your neighbors can play a larger role in the process than you would want them to. In fact, some reports have found that bad neighbors can drag down your home’s value by 10%.
Sometimes there’s little that you can do to control your neighbor, but if your neighbor is trying to stop your home sale, or negatively impact it, there may be something that you can do.
The neighbor whose yard looks like trash dump
You can keep your yard in the best shape possible. But if your neighbor’s yard is unkempt and looks like a junkyard then it is not going to matter as much. This can make selling your home difficult. If you have an extreme case in your neighborhood there may be something that you can do about it.
For example, if you live in a neighborhood with a homeowner’s association start by taking your problem there. If the neighbor is breaking any of the rules then the HOA can handle it from there.
If you don’t have it an HOA you may be able to address the problem if they are breaking the rules of local ordinance. This could be grass that is knee high or broken-down cars kept all around the yard. This is not an easy battle to win, but if the house is hurting your home sale, it may be one worth fighting.
The neighbor that wants to buy your home
There are more than a few stories about neighbors who want to buy the house next door trying to scare away potential buyers. They accomplish this by telling made up stories to buyers as they show up for their showing and making the house sound like it has plenty lots of problems. Their goal is to scare the buyer away so you will sell the house to them.
Most of the time, these neighbors are also looking for deals on your house as well. If they continue to cause a problem for you then try having a conversation with them face-to-face. If that doesn’t work, then you might want to consider talking with the lawyer. Sometimes just a simple letter will be enough to scare them into stopping. But, if that doesn’t work, expect it to be a long road.
The neighbor that’s always difficult
If you have one of those neighbors that likes to make life difficult for others, you might have a problem on your hand. Your first step is to find out how much you are required to disclose to potential buyers. It probably isn’t going to be enough to just hope that the buyer doesn’t ask any questions about the neighbors.
You can try talking to the neighbor directly. And, if that doesn’t work then you can talk to other neighbors in the area to see if it’s something that you can all work together on.
The most important thing is that you disclose the information if you are required to. If you don’t, you could be sued in the future.
Let this also be a reminder to you that when you are buying your next house you should look closely into the neighborhood. You don’t want to move from a house with one bad neighbor to a different house with another difficult neighbor.