Things that set alarm bells ringing when buying a house

[Gittins Gal]

Now I'm sure most of you live in big country piles so don't have to worry about the pitfalls of living cheek by jowel with the great unwashed.

But a recent experience of an acquaintance of mine made my mindful of the fact that the things you need to look out for when choosing a property go way beyond what one would consider diligent.

The aforementioned acquaintance bought a lovely 4 bed semi in a village not far from Woking. It ticked all the tight boxes, nothing untoward in the survey or the search so in she moved.

She was aware of the fact that there was a school 300 yrds down the road and probably thought it a plus point. What she hadn't bargained on was the gridlock and general mayhem caused by people doing the school run. She tells me she literally gets her drive blocked in by pig headed people of both sexes double parking outside. This doesn't just go on for 25 minutes either side of 9am and 4pm. No, it starts at 8 and goes on until 10 as for so many people (mainly women) the whole routine is a social event so her otherwise peaceful backwater reverberates to a cacophony of OK Yah yummy mummies for approximately 4 hours a day and half the time she can't even get out the house to escape the din because the street is gridlocked and her drive is blocked by a Humvee.

So, never, ever live near a school.

Odd things I've noticed that have put me off buying a house have included the next door neighbour being in possession of an outdoor hot tub (cue shrieking middle aged women who can't take their lambrini during antisocial hours) and several unkempt gardens. If the grass in one's prospective neighbour's lawn is knee height then I don't want that person as a neighbour.

I'm sure there are plenty of others that people can add...

[BrilloPad]

Someone bought a country pile in a couple of acrss near Guildford. No neighbouring properties. But the next door film producer held these massive parties that made the place unlivable most Saturday nights.

Tell your friend to either :-
1. contact the school. they can often be very helpful
2. take photos of those involved and confront them. send photos to the school.
3. contact the police whenever their driveway is blocked. If you can't get access its a police issue.
4. let down tryres - not advisable as they get stuck.
5. brake fluid/battery acid over the car.
6. chain themselves to the car

[mudskipper]

Or park in front of your own house, get all the neighbours to do the same, then the school run will have to find somewhere else to park.

Our primary school did a 'kiss and drop' in response to complaints from local residents - a teacher supervised drive in/out in the playground where you chucked your little darling out and drove off. So schools do listen and act.

[Pondlife]

TL;DR

[scooterscot]

Or park in front of your own house, get all the neighbours to do the same, then the school run will have to find somewhere else to park.

Good idea.

[d000hg]

If you take photos of cars parked illegally and send them to the police, they can send parking tickets. The road to our house is a narrow 1-way street passing a restaurant and people often park in the road, sometimes so that it is physically not possible to get past. We asked how a fire engine would get through in such cases but apparently they'd just ram obstructing vehicles off the road - now every time we see it I'm tempted to phone in a fire

But definitely take photos. Leave notes on the cars or confront the drivers if it's the same people every time, send photos to the school and the police. A sign on your wall "do not block drive" might be an obvious thing to do for what little good it can do.

[lukemg]

+1 lived in a cul-de-sac that had 2 schools at the end. carnage in the morning and afto but I was usually long gone during that time so didn't bother me.
People did park everywhere on the basis it was 'only for a minute'.

[TheFaQQer]

The school my children go to have advised those living nearby to call the police if their access is blocked. Once a few tickets get given out, they stop (for a bit).

[BrilloPad]

In a previous house some neighbours had objected to a new bus rout and parking meaning cars could get through but not busses.

During the protest 2 police cars turn up with 5 rozzers. Someone expressed amazement to see a police officer and one replied "Madam - you have the enire Coldharbour ward police here - what more do you want". There was then another incident and they all buggered off to that - leaving the residents and bus driver to it.....

[Sysman]

If the grass in one's prospective neighbour's lawn is knee height then I don't want that person as a neighbour.

That's a business opportunity for your kids (if you have any).

I would have gladly paid a neighbour to cut my lawn when I was working away from home for weeks at a time.

Experience has taught me the wisdom of visiting the area at various times during the day (and night).

Examples of things you won't be aware of if you only visit during normal house viewing hours:

• the guy who gets home when the pub shuts and whacks his stereo on full blast
• the guy who thinks it's OK to operate a chainsaw at 6 in the morning
• the DIY fan who likes to knock walls around and drill a lot; this type is often proud of the fact that he does this stuff after a full day's work and late into the night
• is it on the route home for pedestrians leaving a pub or night club?
• is the road a "handy short cut" for commuters?
• what time in the morning do nearby trains/buses/trams/planes start, and what time at night do they stop?
• that nearby cricket or rugby club might look nice an peaceful enough but how many discos or other fund raising events do they have a year?