How much have your neighbours cost you?

Nearly forgot - must have been around £2,000 for a fence as well - as a wall proved insufficient to keep them out.

So around £10,000 in total.

Nothing like you have experienced Cariad but the previous neighbours, he’s now dead, couldn’t stand the fact that anyone on the street had anything more modern, newer, bigger etc, than him.

When we first moved in we knew there was a couple of double glazed panels that had blown. Rather than just replace the panels we decided to replace all the windows, the original ones were old and unkemp……….within months the neighbours were all renewed, and his were nowhere near as bad as ours.

We had a new external door………he had one.
We had our bathroom replaced………so did he.
He sulked for months when we had a greenhouse……..he didn’t have room for one.

I could go on but in all that time he was spending money for no good reason other than to have the latest, the newest etc.

Over 57 years and six houses, not a penny.

Nothing, we get on well.

My three closest neighbours have been,and still are, worth their weight in gold.
From dog sitting, to dead rodent removal, to lifts when my car has been out of action, to help with taking things to the tip, to unscrewing the salt thingy on the dishwasher when it is stuck solid, to just being lovely people looking out for me .

Ours have saved us money.
Next door runs a double glazing company. He sold us our new windows trade, we fitted them.
We got our fencing trade price.
The 2 builders opposite removed a chimney at mates rates.
We are blessed with lovely neighbours 🥰

There is a dividing brick wall between our small front gardens and it was built 45 years ago. It is crumbling and falling apart . We are both responsible for upkeep ( we own the properties) I'm amazed the wall is still standing . Previous neighbours ignored my request to share the £600 cost to repair and stabilise it . New neighbour moved in and after a month or so I mentioned the wall belonged to us both and would they share the cost of repairs or rebuild . This was 2 yrs ago but sadly they haven't spoken about it . I can't afford rebuild myself so it will just have to collapse . It's also an eyesore which is a shame .

Officially envious of those with good neighbours. All I look to have basically is a casual "take in parcels/feed cats if owners away/etc" level of "relationship".

Thankfully there is a neighbouring household where we swop the odd bit of fruit from the garden with each other, etc, and a more recent one where he mended my computer the other day and offered to help me get any tradespeople I needed - so thank goodness for a potentially reasonable neighbour there now (as previous neighbours - including next door one - clearly had done their best to put off any tradies coming to my place and that took a LOT of doing to overcome and get some). I got proof a couple of times neighbours had interfered with me getting tradespeople to do work I required - though I'm a perfectly standard customer (plenty of drinks/pay promptly/etc).

Thankfully I didn't get neighbours in any of my previous places (2 grotty bedsits, a housing association flat and my starter house) costing me money ever. But £10,000 is rather a lot to have just had to "throw down the drain" just to try and keep my garden secure and trespassers out (and prevent a neighbours friend nicking my house out from under my nose after my offer had been accepted on it by the vendor).

But obviously I can't have neighbours trespassing to and fro in my garden whenever they think they will and nicking a bit of it and just let them do so....and I just grinned wryly to myself when I literally saw the most troublesome trespasser go to walk into my garden one time, look up and spot the security cameras I'd just had put in, make a face and turn round and walk away again.

It had basically never occurred to me how expensive/troublesome some neighbours could be - I'd read about ones like it...but never encountered them previously.

Toetoe

There is a dividing brick wall between our small front gardens and it was built 45 years ago. It is crumbling and falling apart . We are both responsible for upkeep ( we own the properties) I'm amazed the wall is still standing . Previous neighbours ignored my request to share the £600 cost to repair and stabilise it . New neighbour moved in and after a month or so I mentioned the wall belonged to us both and would they share the cost of repairs or rebuild . This was 2 yrs ago but sadly they haven't spoken about it . I can't afford rebuild myself so it will just have to collapse . It's also an eyesore which is a shame .

Sorry to hear that. In those circumstances - as the neighbour I would have shrugged and handed over my £300 once I was clear that I was 50% responsible for it.

My fruit-swopping neighbours can't complain there - as I needed to replace a boundary feature with a new wall and I think the cost might have swung 3 ways possibly if I'd looked into it (me, A.N. Other and the fruit-swopping ones). But I just asked for the access my workman needed to take down the old fences and put up my new wall and they duly came round daily during the work and opened up the access and I paid the full cost myself and didn't so much as ask them for any money towards it (though I'd certainly have appreciated an offer - as it was around £5,000!!!). But I just shrugged and thought "Well I'm the only one paying for this - so I'll have what I have decided on there then - ie instead of the tatty/broken stuff that was there". I just figured out "they sorta owe me one on the favours front - as I've removed that tattiness from a boundary that was theirs too and, in the process, removed all the bindweed that was there and they're not out with weedkiller at it at regular intervals (as it's gone now for good)".

Someone bought the agricultural field next to us and now runs it as a dog walking business. We've spent £2000 on additional fencing to preserve our privacy and it has knocked about £50,000 off the value of our house.

We have lovely neighbours now but the previous ones made us pay half to remove a willow tree adjacent to our house that the builders had planted. It was on their land.

Our neighbours at the back offered to pay half to have the fence replaced despite it being our fence. We refused their kind offer.

In our last house, our neighbour nearly cost me my sanity. So we moved, and now I have the most wonderful neighbours who I know will never cost me a penny.

Not nearly as much as they might have. We went halves with a neighbour who was taking her own immediate neighbours to court over an issue that was potentially extremely detrimental to our area. It took a long time - and a lot of solicitor/barrister time for the case to finally come to court, and we stood to lose a great deal of money if we lost.

But thanks to a judge who ‘got’ the issues very quickly, we won, and although it will still have cost us, the seriously hefty costs are down to them.

Our neighbours in our last house made us money by being customers of our company.
18 years after moving they still are 🙂

Never paid a penny wherever I ve lived

Looks like Greyduster and Eddiecat have got the most expensive "bills" to date.

Greyduster - dare we ask what your neighbours were doing?

Though I can certainly understand why people might move if the neighbours were bad enough - and I had to grit my teeth and make it very plain I was going nowhere (as I knew that was the reason for the trouble in the first place - ie the first next door neighbour had ganged up with anyone she could think of to try and drive me out deliberately - as clearly at least one of her friends still wanted my house themselves and, in fact, unless I am very much mistaken bought the next door neighbours house off her when she "moved on").

I ve either got on with my neighbours, or just had a passing good day. The ones at the moment we smile, and nod and I know they would take a parcel in for me, if needed and that’s it
We have an adjoining outhouse half their side half mine, when they arrived a couple of years ago, they reroofed the whole thing and didn’t ask for any payment, so the reverse for me I guess.

your neighbours sound a nightmare Cariad

Nothing always got on with neighbours wherever I lived.

I've been fortunate with my neighbours. We exchange pleasantries and they mind their own business and I mind mine. I do feel for anyone that has bad neighbours as it can make your life hell. In the main, most of mine are fine.

Had nightmare neighbours both sides, in our previous house.
One was a builder and constantly blocked our drive with his van .
The other, took down the very wide, (5 ft ) beautiful hedge and built a fence , encroaching into our garden, thus gaining 5 feet of land . He did this when I was on a 4 week holiday in Canada.
I had to take him to Court. I won ofcourse, but I had to pay the initial £2000 - it cost him almost £15000 (my legal fees, his, plus Surveyors fees etc)
I’m now in a rather peaceful neighbourhood with lovely neighbours, except one moody lady next door .
So basically, my neighbour cost me £2000

I was confused by the title and couldn't understand how neighbours could cost you money.

So far, over many years, our neighbours have been great although the NDN in our last house was rather odd and refused to have towering leylandii on our borders chopped down. When she moved and more sociable neighbours moved in, we found the roots had gone up both our drains and blocked them! We had to get that sorted between us and had the trees removed. That was years ago.
We've moved since.

Apart from that, 🤞 fine!
None of them are intrusive but there if we need them, I hope they feel the same about us.

I’ve never had problem neighbours, they have all been nice, helpful people.

My neighbours are lovely. I’m sure they would come to my aid if I needed help.