Your neighbours

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

How do you get on with your neighbours? We’ve lived in the same house for 14 years. It’s a cul-de-sac of 5 houses. 2 of the other owners have lived here longer than us and the third for at least 10 years. We all get on very well and do our bit both financially and physically to keep the area looking nice. 

All that is, with one exception. The remaining house has been rented out for as long as we have been here. There has been a regular turnover of tenants during this time. None of them have been particularly bad, but the current couple are a good example. Since moving in last summer, they have never mowed their lawns or tidied up the fallen leaves; they have both a garage and a driveway space, but insist on just parking on the roadside and using our garden verge to get in and out of their car (which they have never washed); their black wheelie bin has not been brought back in since the last collection two weeks ago: in fact I moved it off their front lawn and onto their pathway, but instead of taking the hint and putting it back, they just carried on by walking around it! I have never seen or heard them carrying out any domestic chores. I don’t think they’re being intentionally antisocial, I just don’t think it crosses their minds to be a little more community minded. Maybe it’s a “we pay our rent, so we’re entitled to have everything done for us” attitude. Oh and did I say they’re Millennials?

[Chillidoggy]

Well, of course you have to realise that if us older generation hadn’t ballsed up the housing market so the millennials can’t afford a house, the problem wouldn’t exist.

That’s what my son tells me, anyway.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

I assume your son and his friends appreciate how lucky their generation is to have enjoyed unprecedented years of super low mortgage rates. Sure we had house price inflation, but boy did we have to pay a whole lot of interest before we even touched the surface of the capital.

[andydclements]

Michael.

I'd guess a lot of the attitude to looking after the garden/ taking bins in& out etc hinges on whether it's considered by them to be their home (the emotional description) or just where they live.

I have friends who are in rented accommodation and have been for a long as I can recall,. This year (by way of an example), all with the landlord's approval, they've  removed an overgrowing tree that was shading their garden and that of a neighbour, removed a pond that was apparently dug to get rid of a large amount of rubbish that a previous owner had buried rather than take to the tip, laid a patio (which involved c4t of ballast, a compactor, plus the top surface and edging etc. All this in addition to normal gardening, cleaning driveway etc. The reason-because they want their home to be nice. 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Yes I know there are some super house proud tenants out there, but they just don’t seem to ever move in to this particular house. It wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t even own a lawnmower and probably expect the grass to cut itself.

Edited November 19, 2019 by LotusLeftLotusRight

[andydclements]

If you are a tenant, it must take a lot to make you decide to take on a place that's not in great shape, as you've got the work to get it to a decent state in addition to maintaining it, and at the end of the lease there'll be no thanks/ reward.  Perhaps there's a string of ex-tenants complaining about the bloke down the road who has a really loud car,  a Lotus it seems. 😎

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Maybe, but at least it’s in the garage. You know that big box shape thing that people used to keep cars in...

[Bibs]

I think I've still got a pic of Mr Clemo's garage which I promised never to share

[andydclements]

Yep, that's what came to my mind as well. BUT, it did have a whole car in there, you just had to know how far to dig to find the it.

[Chillidoggy]

1 hour ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

I assume your son and his friends appreciate how lucky their generation is to have enjoyed unprecedented years of super low mortgage rates. Sure we had house price inflation, but boy did we have to pay a whole lot of interest before we even touched the surface of the capital.

Ironically, he can afford a mortgage, but not a deposit.

I bought my first house in 1982, when interest rates were about 15%. I had to beg for a bank loan the same month I moved in to prevent me defaulting on the first mortgage payment.

[pete]

Can you speak to the agent handling the rental.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

I know the landlord, because I have to deal with him regarding communal matters: for example we are having a tree surgeon around on Thursday for some of the co-owned trees and all 5 owners are sharing the cost. But the above are only minor irritations in the overall scheme of things and not really worth escalating. It’s not as if they’re noisy, unpleasant or drug dealers. I just find it difficult to understand that seemingly intelligent people can be so oblivious of their immediate environment.

[C8RKH]

I say hello to my neighbour on the right whenever I see them, so about once every 2 months.

I saw my neighbour on the left about 5 months ago. The neighbour who lives opposite my drive entrance I spoke to about 5 months ago and the new couple who moved into the village three years ago have had a baby and moved on with me never meeting them.

Living in rural Perthshire and spending around 180 nights a year away in hotels for work sort of makes neighbours a novelty.

However, wifey and adult son living at home know them all really well lol...

I suppose the fact I've done that for 20 years+ is a major reason why I've just celebrated, mildy enthusiastically, 25 years of marriage!

[pete]

Your neighbours have obviously read your posts on here😈

[Barrykearley]

My neighbour is a lazy f£&kpig c78t whos got a project Porsche 944 sat on the drive.

 

to contextualise this - he’s on esa, has been since almost birth, and they have fully trained him to be an electrician - but can’t find any work. Four kids - all paid for by benefits. 

Our other neighbours are all great hard working people. There’s something seriously wrong in our society.

 

[C8RKH]

No idea what "esa" is, but then I've worked non stop for the past 36 years, paying taxes and NI since I was 16.

Good news is I've officially maxxed on on my state pension. Bad news is I still need to pay into the state pension for another 15 years. For 51 years of paying in I'll get £175 per week in todays money. No doubt the same as your neighbour will get for paying in fuck all @Barrykearley. Yes, our society is broken. But the good news is Comrade Corbyn will ensure everything is free anyway "oh, Jeremy Corbyn......"

[Barrykearley]

The state can shove the pension up their fecking ass. I won’t be getting one anyway as by then it’ll be means tested to pay the cash to the folks who’ve never worked a day in their life.

broken society - it simply stinks

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

This morning’s update.

Wednesday morning is dustbin collection day. The council contractor works on an alternating fortnightly cycle. It’s not rocket science. Today is finally the day for collection of their offending landfill black bin, which has been standing empty on both their front garden and their access path for the past two weeks. So what do they do? Well they wheel out their green recycling bin of course!

The bin men have been and gone now. So the neighbours’ black bin remains where it was and has now been joined by their full green recycling bin, which has the lid open. Both bins now form a pretty effective barrier to their front door, so surely they must realise their mistake and put them back until next time? Or would they rather leave them where they are and pick their way past them everyday?

It would appear that I overestimated their intelligence after all.

[Chillidoggy]

Bloody annoying, and unsightly when they do that*

 People directly across the road from us have a really nice house, but the frontage is spoiled by the foliage/hedge in the front garden, which looks like a bad haircut. I have to look at the mess every morning, which with a bit of effort could be easily rectified. Monty Don would be horrified.

 

 

 

 

* I confess I also have no idea which bin to put out on which day, I leave that to the wife.

[Dan E]

Oh don't start me on neighbours. One side a divorcee moved in about 5 years ago had been there a week, cut down one side of our trees so they all fell into the house, including leaning over on to our side. So that was her off the Christmas card list haven't spoken to her since, Well actually that is a lie, when she started cutting the top off our laurels at the front which are a the right height, she had an argument with the wife, so that's that then. I didn't pursue the trees as I couldn't be arsed and they will eventually be coming out. 

But the one that really gets my goat is the other side. So we moved in 10 years ago and a lovely elderly couple were next door, he unfortunately died after about a year then she started to get increasingly bad dementia. The son lives in Tonbridge Wells  (25 mins away!!) and the daughter up north, so they called on us I can't even think how many times but at least twice a week. , I have had her fence fixed, her roof repaired, changed her kitchen light (lost the VAT for them as well), Fixed Sky Tv on at least 20 occasions, been in to see if she was dead on many occasions after they gave us a key and they couldn't get hold of her, fixed her boiler, put her bins outs, had dangerous tree sorted. So lets say conservatively must have taken 250 calls in the last 6 to 7 years. At one point when we had the dangerous tree and she (bless her) was confused we were getting 4 to 5 calls a day for a couple of weeks as she couldn't remember what tree

Finally a couple of Months ago they put her in a Home ( they didn't tell her though just said it was a weekend away). Next call, "do you know an Estate Agent?", actually I do speak to this fella and he done a special deal for them (he has sold it already) but in the mean time they asked if we minded them taking a tree that was hanging over our land out and another bush. We said, of course but can you replace it with some Laurels so we have a barrier. bare in mind this is the only time we have ever asked them to do something for us in the last 6 to 7 years. They agreed, no problem.

Tree and bush come out, nothing wont reply to text or calls so I go and buy £325 worth of Laurels and dig them in. He is now getting shitty and saying he didn't approve it (legally I guess he is right, morally meh!) 

Anyway whats that word that rhymes with "hunt" 

I feel slightly better after that 🙂 

 

 

[Chillidoggy]

Any chance you could pop round and trim an overhanging tree for me?

Thanks.

[Sparky]

My neighbours are just lovely.

[Chillidoggy]

I’m sure they say the same about you.

 

[Dan E]

1 hour ago, Sparky said:

My neighbours are just lovely.

How is the Mother in Law? 🙂 

[Sparky]

Very well, despite my best efforts.