More than 90% of UK estate agents say that having a problem neighbour severely impacts the value of your home according to recent research from Privilege Home Insurance. Unsightly gardens, shoddy maintenance and general mess all contribute to the fact that a dodgy neighbour reduces the price of an average house by over £17,000. On the other hand, a well behaved neighbour may increase the value of your house by up to £20,000.
This means the difference between a good and bad neighbour can mean the price of your property can fluctuate by almost £40,000, in London this figure heads upwards of £80,000. The worst possible thing for a neighbour to have is boarded up windows, believed to knock off just shy of £25,000 from the price of the average house in the UK.
I’m not wholly sure of the accuracy of these numbers, but they are interesting none the less, if nothing else to make sure that if you can, you get on well with your neighbours and if work is required on their property do what you can to help/encourage them to get it done!
Need to move up the ladder? Read our trading up checklist
Bad neighbours: Top things that devalue your house
|
Rank |
Maintenance Issue |
-% Effect on Value |
Effect of value of ave. house |
|
1 |
Broken or boarded up windows |
10.70% |
-£22,602.00 |
|
2 |
Unsightly or imposing extensions and DIY |
7.00% |
-£14,786.00 |
|
3 |
Rubbish or Junk in the driveway/front garden |
6.10% |
-£12,885.00 |
|
4 |
Run down vehicles in the front drive |
5.40% |
-£11,406.00 |
|
5 |
Garish/unsightly coloured external buildings/fixtures |
4.80% |
-£10,139.00 |
|
6 |
Building work |
4.70% |
-£9,928.00 |
|
7 |
Overgrown Garden |
4.40% |
-£9,294.00 |
|
8 |
Rotting or chipped window or door frames |
4.20% |
-£8,872.00 |
|
9 |
Overflowing gutters |
3.60% |
-£7,604.00 |
|
10 |
Dirty brickwork or property frontage |
3.50% |
-£7,393.00 |
The research also discovered who the worst and best type of neighbours are:
Worst neighbours have these characteristics:
Family that lives in London
Parents in their40s
Unemployed
Drive a Volkswagen (really? I drive one and I’m a lovely neighbour!)
Own a dog
Best neighbours have these characteristics:
Live in Plymouth
Single
Aged 60 and over
Don't have a pet
Drive a Nissan
Top bad neighbourly behaviour
|
Rank |
Bad Neighbourly Behaviour |
Percentage |
|
1 |
They're noisy |
23.70% |
|
2 |
They're unfriendly |
18.90% |
|
3 |
They have an untidy / overgrown garden |
17.30% |
|
4 |
They're rude |
17.20% |
|
5 |
They have a loud dog |
15.40% |
|
6 |
They park across my drive |
15.20% |
|
7 |
They keep me awake at night |
15.10% |
|
8 |
They have loud arguments |
14.10% |
|
9 |
They hold loud parties |
13.70% |
|
10 |
They do DIY or housework at anti-social hours |
13.60% |
Over 30% of people with unwanted neighbours revealed that they have suffered sleepless nights as as a result of their travails. Similarly, a third said nasty neighbours make them want to move house with more than 10% stating that they had either attempted to move or desperately needed to due to the bad blood between them and their neighbours.
Want to move out? Read our selling a home quickly checklist
How does your region rank with bad neighbours?
|
City |
% with bad neighbours |
|
London |
54.00% |
|
Newcastle |
52.00% |
|
Birmingham |
50.00% |
|
Cardiff |
49.00% |
|
Manchester |
47.00% |
|
Glasgow |
47.00% |
|
Liverpool |
45.00% |
|
Edinburgh |
45.00% |
|
Belfast |
44.00% |
|
Sheffield |
43.00% |
|
Southampton |
38.00% |
|
Norwich |
37.00% |
|
Nottingham |
34.00% |
|
Leeds |
34.00% |
|
Brighton |
33.00% |
|
Bristol |
32.00% |
|
Plymouth |
28.00% |
