New neighbour

MonkeyLove

MonkeyLove

Striker
Had our new neighbour come round earlier and already it seems like they are going to be a nightmare. He spoke to my wife and she said he came across as very condescending and a bit of a mysoginist.

Anyway he said there was a ‘problem’ as his survey had shown up damp in his living room caused by our gutters. He didn’t say what he was looking for - us to sort it for him to put right or just ensure they were cleared to stop it in the future.

Two things? Surely he knew this before he decided to proceed with the purchase so has little recourse to expect us to pay to fix it?

Secondly I’ve got no idea how his surveyor has determined we are the ones solely responsible for this. Where I think it’s come from is we both have conservatories which are side by side and nearly touching. Their house was a rental and although well looked after had been empty for 18 months as the owner died and it was in probate before the family could sell. When it was a rental it had Ivy in their garden that climbed along the fence and into both gutters as we frequently cut it back/removed it. The roots were cut out 2 years ago but it probably damaged both gutters and was from their side.

So 2 questions does he have any recourse to try and make us pay (I don’t know if he does yet) for something that happened before he lived there and he knew from the survey before he decided to go ahead and buy? And being that it was likely caused by a historical plant on their side how could we be blamed for that?

With the amount of rain recently I also don’t know how much it may have overflown their side and or how well their gutters were cleared whilst it was empty.

I have no issues ensuring the gutters are clear going forward. We try and do that anyway.
 
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MonkeyLove said:
Had our new neighbour come round earlier and already it seems like they are going to be a nightmare. He spoke to my wife and she said he came across as very condescending and a bit of a mysoginist.

Anyway he said there was a ‘problem’ as his survey had shown up damp in his living room caused by our gutters. He didn’t say what he was looking for - us to sort it for him to put right or just ensure they were cleared to stop it in the future.

Two things? Surely he knew this before he decided to proceed with the purchase so has little recourse to expect us to pay to fix it?

Secondly I’ve got no idea how his surveyor has determined we are the ones solely responsible for this. Where I think it’s come from is we both have conservatories which are side by side and nearly touching. Their house was a rental and although well looked after had been empty for 18 months as the owner died and it was in probate before the family could sell. When it was a rental it had Ivy in their garden that climbed along the fence and into both gutters as we frequently cut it back/removed it. The roots were cut out 2 years ago but it probably damaged both gutters and was from their side.

So 2 questions does he have any recourse to try and make us pay (I don’t know if he does yet) for something that happened before he lived there and he knew from the survey before he decided to go ahead and buy? And being that it was likely caused by a historical plant on their side how could we be blamed for that?

I have no issues ensuring the gutters are clear going forward. We try and do that anyway.
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Call round with a welcome bottle of wine or two; get him pissed and (a) get the measure of him and (b) get him to sign a waiver regarding any gutter-related property damage.
 
MonkeyLove said:
Had our new neighbour come round earlier and already it seems like they are going to be a nightmare. He spoke to my wife and she said he came across as very condescending and a bit of a mysoginist.

Anyway he said there was a ‘problem’ as his survey had shown up damp in his living room caused by our gutters. He didn’t say what he was looking for - us to sort it for him to put right or just ensure they were cleared to stop it in the future.

Two things? Surely he knew this before he decided to proceed with the purchase so has little recourse to expect us to pay to fix it?

Secondly I’ve got no idea how his surveyor has determined we are the ones solely responsible for this. Where I think it’s come from is we both have conservatories which are side by side and nearly touching. Their house was a rental and although well looked after had been empty for 18 months as the owner died and it was in probate before the family could sell. When it was a rental it had Ivy in their garden that climbed along the fence and into both gutters as we frequently cut it back/removed it. The roots were cut out 2 years ago but it probably damaged both gutters and was from their side.

So 2 questions does he have any recourse to try and make us pay (I don’t know if he does yet) for something that happened before he lived there and he knew from the survey before he decided to go ahead and buy? And being that it was likely caused by a historical plant on their side how could we be blamed for that?

With the amount of rain recently I also don’t know how much it may have overflown their side and or how well their gutters were cleared whilst it was empty.

I have no issues ensuring the gutters are clear going forward. We try and do that anyway.
Click to expand...
Tell him to feck off
 
MonkeyLove said:
Had our new neighbour come round earlier and already it seems like they are going to be a nightmare. He spoke to my wife and she said he came across as very condescending and a bit of a mysoginist.

Anyway he said there was a ‘problem’ as his survey had shown up damp in his living room caused by our gutters. He didn’t say what he was looking for - us to sort it for him to put right or just ensure they were cleared to stop it in the future.

Two things? Surely he knew this before he decided to proceed with the purchase so has little recourse to expect us to pay to fix it?

Secondly I’ve got no idea how his surveyor has determined we are the ones solely responsible for this. Where I think it’s come from is we both have conservatories which are side by side and nearly touching. Their house was a rental and although well looked after had been empty for 18 months as the owner died and it was in probate before the family could sell. When it was a rental it had Ivy in their garden that climbed along the fence and into both gutters as we frequently cut it back/removed it. The roots were cut out 2 years ago but it probably damaged both gutters and was from their side.

So 2 questions does he have any recourse to try and make us pay (I don’t know if he does yet) for something that happened before he lived there and he knew from the survey before he decided to go ahead and buy? And being that it was likely caused by a historical plant on their side how could we be blamed for that?

With the amount of rain recently I also don’t know how much it may have overflown their side and or how well their gutters were cleared whilst it was empty.

I have no issues ensuring the gutters are clear going forward. We try and do that anyway.
Click to expand...
Just tell Rob to wind his neck in mate. He's a right grumpy sod at the best of times.
 
MonkeyLove said:
Just had a look at his gutter and it’s also full of moss and dead leaves
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I would suggest that may be a contributing factor. 😂

Seriously though, he needs to provide you with more than hearsay for you to act on this. If he's telling the truth he should have something in writing, take it from there.
 
MonkeyLove said:
Had our new neighbour come round earlier and already it seems like they are going to be a nightmare. He spoke to my wife and she said he came across as very condescending and a bit of a mysoginist.

Anyway he said there was a ‘problem’ as his survey had shown up damp in his living room caused by our gutters. He didn’t say what he was looking for - us to sort it for him to put right or just ensure they were cleared to stop it in the future.

Two things? Surely he knew this before he decided to proceed with the purchase so has little recourse to expect us to pay to fix it?

Secondly I’ve got no idea how his surveyor has determined we are the ones solely responsible for this. Where I think it’s come from is we both have conservatories which are side by side and nearly touching. Their house was a rental and although well looked after had been empty for 18 months as the owner died and it was in probate before the family could sell. When it was a rental it had Ivy in their garden that climbed along the fence and into both gutters as we frequently cut it back/removed it. The roots were cut out 2 years ago but it probably damaged both gutters and was from their side.

So 2 questions does he have any recourse to try and make us pay (I don’t know if he does yet) for something that happened before he lived there and he knew from the survey before he decided to go ahead and buy? And being that it was likely caused by a historical plant on their side how could we be blamed for that?

With the amount of rain recently I also don’t know how much it may have overflown their side and or how well their gutters were cleared whilst it was empty.

I have no issues ensuring the gutters are clear going forward. We try and do that anyway.
Click to expand...
No recourse against you whatsoever. Offer to have the gutters cleared out and share the costs. Penetrating dampness is at its worse this time of year. Is this an old property with solid walls?
 
AndrewP said:
I would suggest that may be a contributing factor. 😂

Seriously though, he needs to provide you with more than hearsay for you to act on this. If he's telling the truth he should have something in writing, take it from there.
Click to expand...
No need to even engage with him over it.

Just tell him what you’ve told us.
 
MonkeyLove said:
Just had a look at his gutter and it’s also full of moss and dead leaves
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Hopefully that's the problem and easily solved. If the house has been empty for a few months with no heating that wouldn't have helped either. I'd just play a straight bat and act as a friendly neighbour in the first instance, get the gutters cleared on a 50:50 cost basis. Then judge as time passes and act accordingly.
 

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