AITA For selling my appartment to someone my neighbour didn’t approve?

A Reddit user recently moved out of her apartment after selling it to someone her neighbors weren’t fond of, and she’s now questioning if she made the wrong call. The user and her partner had a close friendship with their neighbors Scott and Christy, sharing good times and a tight-knit bond in their building.

When she sold her apartment, the buyer turned out to be the mother of an “odd couple” down the hall, a detail she discovered after committing to the sale. This led Scott and Christy to feel betrayed, and they openly criticized her, calling her names and cutting off their friendship.

Now settled in her new home, the user feels conflicted, wondering if she should have tried harder to avoid selling to someone the neighbors didn’t like. Read her full story below.

‘ AITA For selling my appartment to someone my neighbour didn’t approve?’

I moved into an apartment building over four years ago. My partner (32M) and I (29F) met and moved in together in the second year, and since then, we became close friends with our neighbors Scott (40) and Christy (43).

We’d hang out, go out for dinners, have drinks, take our dogs out for playdates, and had a great circle of friends that included two other women from the building. Scott and Christy lived across the hall and had an open-door policy, so we’d always pop in for a chat.

This friendship lasted a few years without issues… until my partner and I sold our apartment. There was an “odd” couple at the end of our hall—mostly harmless, but they’d have loud arguments and were generally awkward to be around.

The guy worked at a local bar we frequented, so we’d run into them now and then. My partner and I had been house-hunting for months with no luck. Our apartment had to be sold for family reasons, so we were stressed and eager to find a place.

Finally, we found a house that was perfect for us and our dogs, within budget. We put down a deposit and started the process of selling our apartment. After several low offers, we got one above our expected price while on holiday and had to accept immediately, as we were close to the cooling-off period for our new house.

The buyer was described as a “first-time investor,” and it seemed like our best option. Just before we finished cooling off, we found out the buyer was actually the mother of the odd couple at the end of the hall. We were uneasy since we knew they weren’t well-liked in the building, but we’d already committed to the sale.

Friends had even joked, “hope you don’t sell to them,” but we felt we had no choice. We celebrated the sale with the two other girls in our group, and one of them, who lived in the complex, was a bit annoyed but completely understood our situation and was happy for us. Later, Scott and Christy joined us, and when we told them, they lost it.

They called us “dogs,” said they were “done with us,” and insisted we’d made the worst mistake of lives. We tried to explain our situation—that we would’ve lost the house if we didn’t take the offer—but they didn’t listen and just kept yelling.

After a week of no contact, Scott and Christy left a gift bag at our door. Inside were dog-themed kitchen sponges that read “dirty dog” on the packaging, a bottle of wine (they knew we didn’t drink wine), and a lollipop (which my partner loves). The card inside said something like “Thanks for being great neighbors and good luck.”

We couldn’t tell if this was a peace offering or another dig. I’m now writing this from our new house, where we’ve been for over a month. We never heard another word from Scott and Christy, apart from a few awkward smiles in the hallway.

Thankfully, the other two women have stayed in touch and remain wonderful friends. As much as I’m sad and hurt by everything that happened, I still feel weirdly guilty about giving them a “bad” neighbor. So, am I the a**hole?

Here’s how people reacted to the post:

ManchmalHumanistisch −  NTA. You’ve no obligations when selling your dwelling other than abiding by applicable laws regarding discrimination/etc. Neighbors desires likely could get you in trouble due to not being based on ‘legitimate’ reasons. It’s unfortunate you lost friends over this; hopefully you’ll find some new neighbors to make up for the lost ones!

Worth-Season3645 −  NTA….I do not know of anyone who screens who is buying their home. If your neighbors wanted to approve who would be moving in, they should have recommended your apartment to everyone they know.

Individual_Ad_9213 −  NTA. You sold your place; your neighbors do not have veto power beyond that of the HOA.

Outrageous-Ad-9635 −  NTA. You got an offer above your expected price and had to make a quick decision, but it was a no brainer. Of course you took it. Did Scott and Christy expect you to research everyone who made an offer and give them power of veto? Buying and selling property is about business and you made a business decision. Scott and Christy over reacted and need to grow up.

RemoteBroccoli −  NTA. And thank the lucky stars that these aren’t on the board of an HOA.

Lulu_42 −  NTA. I cannot imagine a huge decision like this ever being run by neighbors or friends. I understand their disappointment (I’m writing this from an apartment where I live next door to some real assholes) but that should have immediately been tempered by the knowledge that this was the only logical thing for you and your partner. If they had been serious, they could have offered to 1) buy it themselves or 2) make up any difference in sales price.

atealein −  NTA. You realized now that your “close friends” were only your “friends” while it was beneficial for them and otherwise are very eager to repeatedly disrespect you and ignore your struggles and issues. They are the bad neighbours. Not the new tenant.

FlanSwimming8607 −  NTA. Who knows the mother may be a great neighbor. They get No say in who you sell to. No explanation needed.

dart1126 −  NTA. Frankly even if you knew it was the mother of one of those people, so what? You have a right to sell your place, you would’ve lost your pending purchase if you didn’t, and what’s the difference?

That other couple already live there, that’s not your fault or problem. Maybe the mother’s presence will be good because the loud arguments may stop. Who knows? Neither you, nor your so called friends knows, so why are they acting like you’ve literally destroyed their lives? Forget them

ContactNo7201 −  NTA but this is certainly another case of over sharing. You didn’t meet the mother for viewing or negotiation. You were told an investor. If you had just told your neighbour’s this information, there would have been no issue. Don’t over share information.

Do you think the user did the right thing by prioritizing her own needs in the sale, or was it unfair to her neighbors? How would you handle a situation where your home sale might impact those you’re close to? Share your thoughts below!