Bad neighbors can potentially have a negative impact on the sale of a property. Bad neighbors aren’t always people, they can be distressed properties, low ranking schools, junkyards, landfills, power plants and sinkholes. It comes down to “bad neighbors” being anything that turns people off.
There is the bad neighbor who owns the home with peeling paint, a refrigerator on the porch, and an overgrown yard packed with junk including several inoperable vehicles. Many municipalities have ordinances against out of control weeds, grass exceeding a certain height, and unregistered vehicles. It is easy to check community by-laws for rules and regulations or with municipal authorities to see what ordinances apply.
We all know the bad neighbor isn’t necessarily the homeowner mentioned above, but can be a registered sex offender, a noisy partier or a drug dealer, and have a houseful of barking dogs or meandering cats.
In the case of sex offenders, landfills, and power plants, your options are severely limited. As long as these “bad neighbors” are following the letter of the law, you’ll just have to grin and bear it. If not, you have the option of contacting local government authorities.
Yes, bad neighbors can have a negative effect on the sale a home. Have you or your clients had experiences with bad neighbors, and how were the situations handled?
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