Neighbor slandering my home causing it not to sell

[docdiamond]

What is the name of your state? North Carolina

I have had a nice, moderately priced home for sale in a very normal subdivision for about 5 months. The neighbor on one side is a nut. Her yard is maticulous, and thinks we never do enough to maintain our house. As an example, she recently cut down a 4 inch hardwood that hung over her fence without asking us. We know she did it because she admits it. She still thinks she was justified.

She thinks our house is overpriced and that we are misrepresenting the square footage. We know for SURE that we are not misrepresenting the square footage because our realtor hired an appraiser to measure it. We told the woman next door that we had the square footage measured by an appraiser, and even took her inside and showed her around so that she would know that we aren't lying to potential buyers. She STILL thinks we are misrepresenting the square footage. She thinks there is NO WAY it is as big as HER house.

She admits that she talks to potential buyers, and we believe that she is telling them bad things about the house. She has said directly that she doesn't want a black family living next to her, even though there are many black people in the neighborhood already. About 60 buyers have looked at the house over the last 5 months, so there is certainly interest in the house. Is there anything I can do to stop my nutty neigbor from chasing off buyers?

[moburkes]

When does she have an opportunity to talk to potential buyers?

Sue her in court if she cut down any part of the tree that was on YOUR property. She was legally allowed to cut down whatever was overhanging onto her property.

[docdiamond]

The lots are very small, and she is frequently outside working on her yard or sitting on her porch. The driveway to our house is just a few feet from her house. So, it isn't difficult for her to engage in conversation with the buyers. Also, it is my understanding from the neighbor on the other side that buyers will knock on doors and ask questions. She has a lot of opportunity to make contact with our buyers.

[quincy]

Unfortunately, when people buy a house, they also buy a neighborhood. Many buyers will talk to neighbors to get a feel for the area. A nutty neighbor next door CAN affect the sale of a house, but if she is just spouting off opinions, there is not much you can do. Is she one of the reasons you are moving?

[docdiamond]

No, we are selling the house because of the nutty neighbor. She had been a fairly good neighbor before we put the house up for sale. She had recently moved in, and upgraded her own home to perfection. The part that gets me is that regardless of what evidence we give her, she won't stop saying that the house is smaller than what we advertize. And, based on values in the neighborhood, the price we are offering the house for is right on target. We recently told her that, if it doesn't sell soon, we will rent it out. She REALLY doesn't want that, so maybe she will stop slandering the house. We can prove the square footage of the house. She says it is smaller. Since this is a fact and not opinion, does that give us any basis to take action? If so, what action could we take?