“Shortly after submitting an offer for our long-awaited dream home, my husband received an email from a potential neighbour informing him that we must attend a meeting with various owners to see if we qualified to live there. We were furious. It turned out that the author was a client of my husband’s and the whole thing was a practical joke. But, as we have discovered over the years, there’s always some truth behind a prank and we’ve certainly had our fair share of problematic neighbours,” says a Durban resident.
She agrees with many other homeowners – the majority of problems are usually about noise, pets and parking and, more often than not, even the best-intentioned agents and buyers don’t spot the problems.
Almost everyone gathered around a braai fire has a tale about a not-so-nice neighbour with disputes arising over everything from teenage parties running into the early hours to the incessant barking dog and even the sludge filled garden pond breeding enough mosquitos to take over the entire suburb.
What the same resident found out when she was woken by a loud and smelly generator at four every Sunday morning during loadshedding, is that there is often little you can do to quell the irritation, especially if the perpetrator claims he has a right to fire up the belching machine parked close to the neighbour’s bedroom so the family can have breakfast before sunrise.
Luckily, that dispute was resolved by reasonable neighbours meeting in the middle and living happily ever after. But worst-case scenarios often lead to people selling their homes, often at a loss.
Spotting the red flags
Many experienced buyers admit that they have turned detective whilst house hunting to eliminate potential problems upfront. As Chris Tyson, Tyson Properties CEO explains, although sellers are legally obliged to disclose details of previous or ongoing disputes with neighbours, the chances of that happening are slim.
"You will never know about nuisance neighbours or if the seller did not tell the agent. A seller is hardly likely to volunteer that information to an agent or potential buyer if they want to sell their house. That leaves it up to the buyer to do some homework ahead of making a serious offer,” he says.
Common sense is always king and one Johannesburg house hunter always peers over the hedge or garden wall to suss out the adjoining property. On one occasion, looking into the neighbour’s yard revealed piles of boxes and junk. Further enquiries divulged that the homeowner was a hoarder and that his collection created an ideal nesting place for rodents that visited adjoining properties.
Word of mouth can a very powerful way to ascertain any problems in a particular street – often people have friends who have friends or family in a certain area and are happy to pass on stories they’ve heard on the neighbourhood grapevine.
“If you are serious about buying, it is always a good idea to visit the home at different times of day, during the evening or even on weekends. That way, you not only find out about things like noise but also about traffic and parking when people are at home or entertaining,” Tyson advises.
Another useful tip is finding about any neighbourhood chat groups or crime watch Apps that are often the most obvious places for residents to air their grievances. These could be anything from noise and air pollution to dumping of rubbish or frequent service delivery issues or outages.
Obvious clues
Here are a few of the most common sings that all is not well next door:
· The neighbouring property or building looks neglected. which probably means the neighbour cannot afford to maintain it or does not want to.
· The general neatness of sidewalks and pavements that are often maintained by residents tells if all are on the same page.
· If you are buying an apartment or townhouse in an estate, look out for prams, toys and bicycles so you can check about the noise levels and behaviour of the kids in the hood.
· Be on the lookout for renovations, piles of bricks and building materials so you can check the longevity of any potentially disruptive building projects.
· Is your neighbour a landlord or the homeowner – if it is the former, there is always the risk of a change of residents and new problems.
· Are there any Airbnb’s in the neighbourhood that could pose a problem if you cannot tolerate the arrival and departure of guests.
· How close are schools – what might be peaceful over weekends could become a traffic jam when school closes or during sports events.
· The police or neighbourhood crime groups can tell you how safe the neighbourhood is, especially if you are buying outside of an estate where residents contribute towards added security
Check out the backup
Remember that all is not lost if the neighbours misbehave. In many instances, you can either resolve problems amicably or call in some backup. Local police and neighbourhood anti-crime groups can help with noise and misbehaviour. Those running noisy businesses from home with incessant comings and goings and hooting can be reported if the property is not zoned for business use.
If you are buying in an estate or apartment block, find out about or even talk to a member of the body corporate. Before signing an offer, you can ask for the scheme’s financial statements, the body corporate rules, and the minutes of recent meetings. This will give you a clear picture of how well the body corporate is run and what you can expect as a new resident, Tyson adds.
