You may have taken all the right steps to sell your Lake County, Florida home. You’ve maintained your home in great condition and gone out of your way to create a great first impression by cleaning, decluttering, and staging your home. Even with all this preparation, selling a house with bad neighbors can be an enormous struggle. 

Neighborliness has been on a decline for decades. Today, a third of Americans say they’ve never interacted with the people next door. This has led to a sense of mistrust and lack of cordiality among neighbors.  

According to research commissioned by Homes.com over a third of those polled (36%) have had issues that escalated into full-blown arguments, and 16% had moved from their home in part because of a neighbor.

A problem neighbor is an unfortunate reality for many. Issues with neighbors can increase your stress level, induce fear, and lead to depression. Worst of all, a troublesome neighbor can negatively affect the value of your home, reducing its marketability and desirability. After all, no one wants to live with a neighbor from hell.

Problem neighbors can cause all kinds of headaches. There is the messy neighbor who doesn’t mow their lawn and uses their yard as a storage facility for their possessions (junk), creating a community eyesore. You have the nosey neighbor who gossips about your comings and goings and always peers into your home.

There is the absent neighbor whose vacant house causes you to worry, from the threat of increased crime to the possibility of a dangerous fire. We cannot forget to mention the noisy neighbor who throws late-night parties or fires up the leaf blower at six in the morning and the antisocial neighbor who is unfriendly and belligerent.

Whatever neighbor you’re stuck with, try to resolve any dispute before you put your home up for sale. It will make showing your house less stressful, and ultimately, it will protect the value of your home.

Below, we’ll share some tips that could help you reach a resolution with your neighbor and prevent you from having to resort to the drastic measure of discounting the price of your home to get it sold.

Tip #1 – Talk it out

Remember, selling your The Villages house without an ongoing dispute is much easier. The first step to end the conflict with your neighbor is to talk to your neighbor in a polite manner. Be clear about what bothers you and how the issue can be resolved. Your approach should be firm but not confrontational. Be open and patient and be willing to overlook some of your neighbor’s offenses to get him to change his behavior.

Tip #2 – Contact your Homeowners Association (HOA)

As a homeowners association member, you are subject to the rules of a Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). Almost all CC&Rs include a section that addresses common nuisance issues. If your neighbor is creating a nuisance, your HOA may intervene and assert pressure on your neighbor to change his behavior. 

They can also act as a mediator to resolve the offending problem and use their power to fine the culpable homeowner or sue to force compliance through injunctive relief.

Tip #3 – Contact the local city government

If you have already spoken to your neighbor and contacted the HOA but could not get your neighbor to change his behavior, contact your local city government. Your neighbor could be violating municipal codes. Your local departments can force your neighbor to correct municipal violations with the threat of a fine or court action.

Here is a list of some common nuisances and the corresponding municipal departments where you can file a complaint:

• Noise Issues                                  →      Police Department
• Sight Issues such as overgrown     →      Health Department
• trees or shrubs, unmowed grass,
• inadequate storage and disposal
• of garbage, poor housing hygiene
• and general disrepair
• Barking dog or dangerous             →      Animal Control Dept.
• and vicious dogs
• Vacant or abandoned property      →      Building Department
• Odor Issues such as smoke or       →      Environmental Serv. Dept.
• foul odor     

Tip #4 – Take legal action

If you have followed our previous tips and the conflict with your neighbor persists, you may have to take legal action. Contact an attorney and ask him to send your neighbor a letter threatening to take legal action.

If this does not stop your problem neighbor, you must sue him or her. Upon a favorable verdict, a judge could issue a court order that directs your neighbor to stop the offending actions.

Tip #5 – Disclosure is required by law

To sell a house in Lake County with bad neighbors, you must disclose all unresolved disputes you may currently have as well as problems you may have had in the past. You must disclose material facts that can affect the purchaser’s willingness to buy or the price they are willing to pay.

If you fail to disclose, your buyer could take legal action against you. They could seek monetary damages to rectify the situation or get reimbursed for any loss of value to the property.  

Sell Your The Villages House To Fix and Flippers And Forget About Your Problem Neighbors

If you have made all attempts to resolve a dispute with a neighbor without any success and are finding it difficult to sell your home, call a local real estate investor such as Fix and Flippers. We don’t care if your neighbor is nosey, noisy, messy or just plain crazy. You don’t have to worry about a thing.

We can buy your home for cash and since we don’t need a mortgage approval, appraisal, or home inspection, we guarantee you a fast closing. We’ll guide you through the entire sales process to make the sale as smooth and worry-free as possible.

What’s more, we’ll buy your house as-is no matter its condition. Even if it is fire-damaged, has open code violations or has termite, foundation or roofing problems.

On top of that, by selling to us you’ll eliminate the need to hire an agent, pay a hefty real estate commission, and put up with the uncertainty of finding a buyer. There are no fees for our service. You will not be charged a penny. Guaranteed.

To learn more about how to sell a house with bad neighbors for top dollar call Fix and Flippers at 858-386-0949 and schedule a free no no-obligation appointment. Sell your house in just one day and in as fast as 7 days you can count your money and wave goodbye to your neighbors. 

Look for a quick recap of the How to Sell a House with Bad Neighbors infographic below Successfully.

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