Tuesday 23 October 2012

Time for a change

It is out of our hands. There are three houses in the lane where we live. Two of those houses are for sale.


The one that is not, is our cottage, which is the second house in the lane or the middle house. So sooner or later we shall have new neighbours on either side. We live on the outskirts of a rural village about four miles from Chester. Despite being so close to a city we are almost living in the country and are surrounded by farms. The lane where we live is unadopted which means that it is unmade. Our cottage is over one hundred years old and is actually two farm workers cottages knocked into one, but the other two house are modern and fairly recently built. We are biased, but to us our cottage is the most desirable property in the lane, as we prefer something older with character. There is a fourth house at the end of the lane, which fronts onto the made up lane that our lane is off and then on either side of our unmade lane there is a farm. Either you think that this setting is idyllic or you don’t. You are probably wondering what have we done to upset the neighbours? Nothing, we have just been minding our own business. We do not have pets, play loud music, have wild parties or wander around in the nude. The cottage is well maintained and we keep the garden tidy. I would like to think that we are the ideal neighbours. As we see things the present neighbours are the architects of their own downfall.

The first house  is owned by a couple and the wife’s very active seventy something  mother. When I first met them I thought that the husband must be a saint to have his mother-in-law living with him. A few years ago the halo slipped and he had an affair. Now he has gone, the couple are divorced and the house has been for sale for nearly two years. They are on their third estate agent, the price has been drastically reduced and they have, to our knowledge, had one very low offer that they refused. We shall be sad to see them go as they have been good neighbours.

The house on the other side is a totally different story. When we first moved to the cottage the couple that owned the other house both worked away from home and were hardly ever there. Then quite suddenly they disappeared and the house was for sale. It took over 18 months for a buyer to turn up. In that time we got used to the peace and quiet of an empty house next door. I was working in our back garden when our new neighbour-to-be took his architect round to discuss an extension on the back of the house. My sixth sense told me that they were going to be trouble and  it was correct, they have been. From picking a fight with the dairy farmer to leaving their dog 'home alone' to bark until the early hours of the morning. They do not fit here and have been trying to sell their house on and off for some time. More off than on actually and I do not think that they have had even one viewing. We are desperate for them to move. The sooner they go the better.

I do not envy either neighbour the stress of moving. However, if they are to go we are looking forward to some nice new neighbours. On one side at least. Who knows what we shall get. The devil that you know is often better than the devil you don't.

14 comments:

Akelamalu said...

The majority of people that live in our Grove are our age living in 3 bed family houses. Eventually these houses will come up for sale and it's inevitable that families with children will move in shattering the peace. Don't get me wrong I love children, we have five grandchildren but one gets used to peace and quiet. I guess when the inevitable happens it will be time for us to move too. Hope your new neighbours are nice.

Gill - That British Woman said...

I totally agree with that saying. We got new neighbours the other month, not that they are right next door, but their property surrounds ours. So far so good though. I couldn't go back to living in a city setting with all those people on top of one another.

I hope when those houses do sell that you get lovely new neighbours,

Gill in Canada

the fly in the web said...

I do hope you have nice new neighbours....who care for their dogs if they have them.

I don't suppose either of them would like to swap for a house in France....
We have had serious buyers, with steady jobs, needing only small mortgages...and in all three cases their banks have taken months to turn them down.
Most depressing!

Jane and Lance Hattatt said...

Hello:
These are certainly very difficult times for house buyers and sellers but we have to say that the picture in Brighton looked very much against the national trend. Accommodation of every kind was in demand, rents high and prices buoyant, the differences from county to county are startling.

Whatever, we wish you good fortune with your new neighbours. It does make all the difference to enjoying a peaceful life if one can live in harmony with one's neighbours.

GaynorB said...

We have good neighbours on the one side. The ones on the other are very quiet, but not so good.

With regards to your not such good neighbours just believe that "things can only get better", and keep your fingers crossed!

Diane said...

I hope the new neighbours are good. They may not sell easily though at the moment. Our house in the UK was bottom of the market and a first time buyer's price and even that took us longer than expected to sell. Thankfully it has now gone. Good luck with the new neighbours Diane

Thud said...

I sympathise having had terrible neighbours in the past. Now I'm happy building my own little world and I hope never to have neighbours again.

Maggie May said...

As I have a difficult neighbour on one side too, I do sympathise.
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Leon Sims said...

I hope that you get nice new neighbours soon or maybe better still, the houses remain vacant.

Suburbia said...

It was one of my biggest worries when I moved, yet neighbours both sides are wonderful here, I realise I'm lucky! Good luck!

Rob-bear said...

I do hope the new neighbours on both sides are delightful folks. And that they arrive soon

Trubes said...

I do sypathise, in having awful neighbours. Many years ago we had such an experience. Himself was a 'landlord' and had some run down properties down in the Docklands. Rumour had it he was involved in all sorts of dodgy dealimgs, including drug dealing. Thankfully, the law caught up with him and he was sent tp prison for a considerable time, the houuse was sold, Since then we have two sets of lovely neighbours.

Di.xx

LindyLouMac said...

Ah neighbours! At last I am back visiting your blog after my longer than expected break. Sorry you had problems commenting yesterday, no idea why that was. You have been busy posting since I was last here,lots to read and enjoy.

sebba63 said...

Fingers crossed that the neighbours will be nothing but pleasant and lovely to get along with. living in a smaller community intensifies the need to have a greater relationship with your neighbours.

James, Warrington Home Owner