These days there is a legal responsibility on vendors to bring up any serious disputes or disagreements with neighbours. Sadly, unresolved problems regarding access, privacy etc can spill over from one owner to another, and no-one in their right mind voluntarily walks into a war zone. Wherever possible remain on amicable terms with your neighbours or it could impact on the property's resale value.
While you do not have sole responsibility for the upkeep of a local area, turning a blind eye to drugs activity, neglect of a property, incidences of prostitution, or petty crime, can aid in the general decline of a neighbourhood. As the neighbourhood slides, so will the property prices.
As one London based agent agrees: 'It's true! A couple of girls started working just outside my house a few weeks before we put it on the market and we just haven't been able to shift it.'
Associations with death in general are not good for house prices. Many Chinese purchasers will avoid homes with four in the house number because it sounds like the Cantonese word for death. The number seven is also avoided for similar reasons.
Should you carelessly murder someone in your home or die while building a home, you affect how that property is regarded for some time. As Charles Seligman notes: 'A murder can render a property virtually unsaleable. Buyers just don't like the association. Recently we had a client who died shortly after finishing his own house and equally buyers are extremely wary.'
Leaving a property empty for any length of time is not good for it. Nature, and the weather in particular will do their worst, while leaving a home sealed and unventilated is akin to switching off a fridge and closing the door.
Also, empty homes attract unwelcome attention, first from thieves who will notice the lack of human activity, then from vandals who will carry on the work probably started by the thieves, and then eventually from squatters, who may or may not choose to treat the property with respect. All of them will exact a price on the fabric of the property.
Check out the mortgage calculator, loans, credit cards & savings comparison tools
Tell us about where you live, & see if your area makes the top (or bottom) 20
Compare current rates on loans, savings accounts, credit cards & mortgages with this handy tool.jpg){kind=small}
Our presenter could be popping round to your house for a consultation and a cuppa
Your Comments
Post your comment
Please note: In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in to Channel 4:
Sign In Here or Register Here
Comments closed
Comments are closed at the present time
Comments
Thank you for your comment!
Your message will be reviewed and the best ones will be published below.
If you intended to make an official comment to Channel 4 please contact us.