Nice house for sale. What's wrong with it?
About ten years ago, clients of mine saw a house which they liked. The price was pretty good, considering the market. The neighborhood was good; the right school, close to the MBTA and shops.
But something was wrong. The house next door had long grass. Was it abandoned? It didn’t look like it; it was in good repair and it seemed like someone was living there. Maybe they are just behind on their mowing...
Next visit: the grass is higher. The neighbor is home. She tells us her story. She has a sick child. He is allergic to cut grass, petro-chemicals, cats and other things. The sellers next door have been harming her child by insisting on mowing their lawn.
My buyers like the house.
Next visit, we find the woman next door watching the open house visitors, directing them not to park near her house. The seller’s lawn is noticeably taller. Humm...
My buyers gave up on this house. Someone else bought it that winter. We wondered how they handled the grass-cutting issue.
In this case, a mother was pressuring her neighbors to modify their behavior in order to protect the health of her child. There are also people who allow their beloved dogs to bark and whine all night, outside. Some beloved cats spray on neighborhood porches. Some children make lots of noise in condos, with neighbors below...
These are all things that cannot be found in a search of local newspapers. If you are doing your due diligence in checking a neighborhood, you must walk around some. Don’t forget to see what the abutting property behind looks like. You must talk to the neighbors. If you are shy, bring a friend from New York. The neighbors will tell you things you could not find out in a million hours of reading alone.
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Having a grass allergy doesn't give anyone the right to have an eyesore.
I've seen people, not many, but some-- do a mulched front with bushes or hedges or flowers or something. There's always something you can do other than have the place go overgrown.
Somehow I think your buyers were lucky to not live next door to someone like that. I looked at a house and just as we were about to go in (the home was foreclosed) the neighbor came over and told us where the property line as in "this is mine for me, etc." Maybe he was just being helpful, but I had to wonder a little bit. He and his wife stayed on the porch the entire time and their home looked spotless---but I had to wonder if he'd be complaining if a leaf from our lawn blew onto his, etc.
So true! Prospective buyers must be sensitive to any red flags. Always investigate.
This past weekend I was showing a property when the potential buyer's sister asked about the rules for disclosure about non-tangible things that affect a property. Barking dogs, bad neighbors are certainly part of that, as well as events that may have happened, like a death or a crime. That was a good question, and I've never been satisfied with the normal policies on that issue which pretty much say to avoid those types of discussions, but answer specific questions honestly. Many agents won't be honest if there's a stigma to the property, but the neighbors will tell you if anything bad happened in a house, and they'll probably do that before the commission check clears.
Talking to the neighbors is excellent advice - I suggest that to all my buyers, even to the point of walking around the neighborhood with them and asking people in the area if they like it. It's interesting what you hear.
When I bought long ago, I drove by my future home four times--day and night, weekday and weekend.
But during the boom, buyers took leave of their senses. I know quite a people who were shocked, shocked to discover:
1. A drug user and sometime hood lived in front of their charming cottage
2. A very loud group home sat next to their "two point" high-end house
3. The lovely yard they had enjoyed so much belonged to the neighbor, and they had actually purchased a house without a yard
4. Their serene-looking front yard had long been established as the neighborhood playground, so attempts to shoo away the screaming children who occupied their property every single day got them only lectures from parents
5. Their lovely backyard smelled of chicken wings--24 hours a day, 7 days a week
I don't know if asking neighbors really help. I mean who is going to say bad things about their neighborhood? I would just really make them look bad.
Back to the topic. If they have a child who is allergic to a freshly cut grass, don't grow grass on their property as a starter. I'm sure there are other alternatives rather than having the grass overgrown.
Unless the kid is fatally allergic to cut grass, Mom shouldn't be asking the neighbors not to cut the grass. This is why drugs like Claritin exist.
Next visit, we find the woman next door watching the open house visitors, directing them not to park near her house.
Sounds like a neighbor from Hell. I wouldn't buy the house, either.
My mom is allergic to cut grass. So she has someone else cut the grass. She doesn't spend a lot of time outside when the grass is freshly cut. She works around it. I don't ever remember her asking someone else to work around an allergy that wouldn't kill her.
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