When we moved into our flat, roughly ten years ago, the back–to–back corner house behind looked like it had long since been abandoned. It was very well hidden, not visible from the street. All the surrounding houses had been plastered, painted and redecorated in the last few years, as is the Luxembourg norm, but this house still had exposed brickwork. I’d guess it had been untouched for 30 years.
My wife asked around, and discovered it belonged to a old lady—I find myself presuming a little old lady—who had, long ago, moved into an old people’s home, leaving most of her life behind in this house. Apparently, she had no living relatives, hence the house was effectively abandoned.
This morning, on waking up, I heard crashes and crunches, and discovered the house was being cleared out. Workmen were throwing everything: furniture, bedding, pictures, everything, into a skip. This almost certainly means that the old lady has died, and, because she had no living relatives, it became the town counci’s responsibility to clear and eventually resell the house.
Although I never met the old lady, nor even saw a photo of her, I still felt sad at her passing. She may never have been present during our time here, but she was still a neighbour.
Access to the house was by a neighbour’s driveway, who, over the years, has installed a carport and a gate. I have no clue whether this was done with the consent of the old lady, that’s none of my business, but it makes access problematic.
The house needs renovating, and whoever renovates or replaces it will need access. Whoever buys it will need access. Whoever eventually lives there will need access. I guess that, unless those neighbours buy it, they’re going to have a complication. Whatever happens, we’ll get a few months of crashes and crunches and, eventually, a new neighbour.