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A homeowner recently took to Reddit after a neighbor made an awkward request: Take down a garden flag until the house next door sells.
According to the post, the seller rang the homeowner’s doorbell and explained that a potential buyer was uncomfortable with the flag due to religious beliefs. The request, they said, would only be temporary, only until the sale closes.
At first, the owner considered this. “I’m okay helping out and being a neighbor,” they wrote. “But I can’t help but feel a certain way about it.”
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The flag was not political or profane. It was religious, just not mainstream. After commentators pressed for details, the homeowner clarified that the flag read: “This house is protected from witchcraft,” featuring a pentagram. “I’m pagan. I was raised pagan. It’s my faith.”
Many argued that removing the flag would only create a temporary illusion for the seller while setting the homeowner up for a long-term conflict. As one upvoted answer said, “As a buyer, I’d like it to stay up. That way I can determine whether or not I’d want to buy the house next door.”
Others echoed the same idea: Visible signs, whether flags, decorations or yard behavior, help buyers decide if a neighborhood is a good fit. As one commenter said, “If you take your flag down, you might get neighbors you don’t want.”
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Several shoppers shared personal stories of walking away from homes after seeing Confederate flags, extreme political banners or aggressive signs nearby. One wrote: “I didn’t even get out of the car.” Another added: “There’s nothing worse than having neighbors you just don’t care about.”
A recurring theme was fairness. Commenters pointed out that the seller would benefit from the requirement, while the homeowner would be left to deal with the consequences. “This is just an illusion for the buyer,” said one response. “And a long-term problem for [original poster].”
This reality is also why some people choose a different way to gain exposure to real estate. Platforms like Arrived allow people to invest in rental housing shares for as little as $100, offering potential rental income and long-term appreciation without worrying about who lives next door or if the neighbor’s flag becomes a problem.
See also: Forget overturned houses—This fund allows you to invest in equity like Wall Street does
Real estate professionals also intervened. “It’s something I would never consider doing,” one broker wrote. “It could end up getting the agent in a lot of trouble too. As it should.” Another commenter questioned whether there was even an actual buyer involved, suggesting the request may have come from an agent trying to sanitize the surroundings.
Religious double standards also appeared repeatedly. “If it had been a ‘Bless this mess’ or had any Christian iconography, she wouldn’t have asked you to take it down,” one commenter noted.
In the end, the owner decided to leave the flag up. In an edit, they explained why: “I have to worry about who would move into the neighborhood and I don’t want to deal with horrible neighbors for my family’s safety.”
Read next: From Moxy Hotels to $12 billion in real estate — The firm behind NYC’s trendiest properties is letting individual investors in.
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This item The seller has asked them to take down their garden flag until the house is sold because the buyer doesn’t like it. The flag is quite unusual, although it originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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