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Our neighbor is the seller of the home we bought.
The historic home we bought we found out about word-of-mouth and we met the seller/our neighbor early-on before they were even ready to sell. One of the other neighbors was around working in his yard when we first saw the house.
It was a definite intangible to know we were buying a house with good neighbors, and friendly people.
A bunch of us got together for a 4th of July party, and we've got a big summer block party coming up in a few weeks.
We met the neighbors to the house where it was located when we first got it, but we did not get the location with the house. We had to move it to a different location.
When we selected the property we were going to move it to, we met two neighbors. One was sort of distant through about 400' of woods. I bumped into him in the woods while trying to figure out where our property line would be if we bought the property. He was just taking a walk through the woods behind his house and ventured into our "yard" to be. We had a nice half hour chat in the woods until the mosquitoes drove us away. By road, they are not really a neighbor, it is down the street, around the corner and about ten houses up the street. Through the woods it is only about 400" but it is crossing three other people's property. So, they are not exactly next door neighbors. We actually never saw that neighbor again and do not know if they still live there.
The other neighbor we met briefly before moving the house, we still see from time to time. Their property actually touches ours at the back corner of each respective property. The other neighbors have a couple of acres of woods between us. The corner neighbors are quite friendly and always wave. Even invited us to their church once. We might chat for a minute once in a while if we are both working in the back of our back yards at the same time. When we throw axes and knives at our target (near their property) they frequently seem to find a need to be in their back yard doing something. I think they just like to watch, but they never say anything. Maybe it bothers them. However if we see them we wave and they wave back. Otherwise we do not mix a lot with immediate neighbors. No reason for that, it just didn't happen.
When we moved the house, one neighbor left a bottle of champagne and a welcome note on our porch. We went and thanked them, but we have not been to their house since. We do occasionally see them in their front yard when we take the dogs for a walk and say hi and chat a bit. They are very negative about life in general, Michigan, and our community specifically, we love life, Michigan, and Grosse Ile, so we do not have a lot in common. They are nice people, just too negative for us.
We used to invite all of our immediate neighbors to our 4th of July party, but none of them ever came, although quite a few more distant neighbors come. Eventually someone complained about us leaving invitations int eh mailbox (misuse of federal property and all that), so we just stopped inviting the neighbors that way. We still invite them through Facebook and thy still do not come - not the immediate neighbors anyway.
We live on an island, so pretty much everyone is your neighbor. Thus, we have 10,000 neighbors and we met probably 150 of them before we bought the house or at least before we married the house to the new property. So does that count?
Last edited by Coldjensens; 07-06-2017 at 11:53 AM..
Our first home we not only met neighbors, we spent hours talking with anyone who would talk and learning all we could about the neighborhood. We were pretty nervous about the neighborhood, so we spent over a month investigating, talking to people, slept in my car a couple times outside the house to see what happened at night (nothing). We even talked to some former residents who would have been neighbors if they had not moved.
However we met neighbors the local neighborhood association suggested we meet. Not next door neighbors. Most of them were a block or more away. The immediate neighbors were a boarding house and a house divided into 7 apartments where no one spoke English, so we did not meet them. By the time we bought the house and moved in, different people were living in both places anyway. On one side, the next house was usually empty, then there was a woman's halfway house - we met the people who run it, they were very nice. Some of the residents said I had an appealing bottom, so I liked them OK, but they were gone and replaced before we moved in too. Next was a condo complex with about 30 units. Did not meet any of them. Behind us was the Court of Appeals - did not meet them either. Although I had met three of the justices for about an hour once about a year before we bought the house. Didn't get to know them at all, but I liked their decision.
How would you meet the neighbors before you bought the house? Do some people actually go door to door trying to contact people that live near the house you are interested in? How does that usually end up, I know that I will not open the door to anyone I don't know and was not expecting.
You just knock on the door, introduce yourself & talk to people. I've done it many times, often with very interesting & helpful results including negative reviews on a builder I was considering using (I couldn't get that guy to shut up) & some not so helpful info "God has a protective fence around this community, so nothing bad ever happens here" LOL. I've never had someone not talk to me or not answer my questions. I also have done this for others, but usually they've caught me when I was outside, as I tend not to answer my door b/c of all the missionaries & solicitors. People are still quite open & friendly, if they believe you are who you say you are. Last time I did it, I turned out to be those people's neighbors for the next 16 years. Well, except for "protective fence" guy, who was a renter & moved thank goodness.
ETA: Even when purchasing land, I've almost always had someone come out & introduce themselves to us, so the reverse of what I've done. They're just checking out potential new neighbors.
My wife's parents have stated they are going to will us their nice home in California, but only if we live in it. It is in a 55+ compound in an upscale, monied area, with an HOA. I plan to retire in 5 years at age 60, and my in laws health is quite poor, so there is a chance we could move into this home at retirement. Our last visit there (two weeks ago) I viewed the house from that perspesctive somewhat.
The houses are on small lots and very close to each other (less than a 6' spread), all with covered decks out back and a solid 5 foot divider wall between the decks. The weather was quite warm, so my wife's sister (who was also visiting) had purchased a 4'X8' inflatable pool for the deck for her and my wife to lay in and have wine (a harmless goofy middle age girl thing).
I inflated and filled the pool for them, and while doing so the neighbor next door came out back ( a healthy looking man in his late 60's it appeared), and looked over the wall several times at the pool with a sour look on his face. After he poked his head over the 4th time or so, I stood up to introduce myself, but he went in his back door and disappeared.
I asked my father in law about him and he told me the man is odd and likes to complain to the HOA and leave notes on peoples doors. My FIL told me after the HOA had published some flag mounting guidance recently (before the 4th of July each year) the man had left notes up and down the street telling people "flags were not welcome, because this is not a Republican neighborhood".
I looked up the HOA rules on inflatable pools (since I figured this had caused his scowling at me over the wall), and saw small inflatable pools were OK for short periods, as long as they were not left permanently filled or became dirty.
My wife made some fudge, and I asked her to bring some over to the guy along with her sister, so they could let him know the pool would be drained and put away when we left the next week.
She told me the guy took the fudge, but complained about our rental car parking on the street, even though the car was not in front of his house or blocking traffic. He also told her the small pool was "not allowed" and he wanted it drained and put up the next day.
Since we were guests, I asked my FIL about the pool, and he said he preferred if it was drained and put up, so the neighbor wouldnt leave notes or complain. Apparently the HOA has rules that if a guest generates enough complaints, the home owner gets fined.
There is no way I would want to live next door to that guy. I dont like the HOA either, or the proximity of the homes to each other. The couple on the other side (whom my wife also brought some fudge) seemed down right delightful
My wife likes the idea of the house though, so we are at a crossroad. It would be a financial boon for us true, but the neighbor?
My wife's parents have stated they are going to will us their nice home in California, but only if we live in it. It is in a 55+ compound in an upscale, monied area, with an HOA. I plan to retire in 5 years at age 60, and my in laws health is quite poor, so there is a chance we could move into this home at retirement. Our last visit there (two weeks ago) I viewed the house from that perspesctive somewhat.
The houses are on small lots and very close to each other (less than a 6' spread), all with covered decks out back and a solid 5 foot divider wall between the decks. The weather was quite warm, so my wife's sister (who was also visiting) had purchased a 4'X8' inflatable pool for the deck for her and my wife to lay in and have wine (a harmless goofy middle age girl thing).
I inflated and filled the pool for them, and while doing so the neighbor next door came out back ( a healthy looking man in his late 60's it appeared), and looked over the wall several times at the pool with a sour look on his face. After he poked his head over the 4th time or so, I stood up to introduce myself, but he went in his back door and disappeared.
I asked my father in law about him and he told me the man is odd and likes to complain to the HOA and leave notes on peoples doors. My FIL told me after the HOA had published some flag mounting guidance recently (before the 4th of July each year) the man had left notes up and down the street telling people "flags were not welcome, because this is not a Republican neighborhood".
I looked up the HOA rules on inflatable pools (since I figured this had caused his scowling at me over the wall), and saw small inflatable pools were OK for short periods, as long as they were not left permanently filled or became dirty.
My wife made some fudge, and I asked her to bring some over to the guy along with her sister, so they could let him know the pool would be drained and put away when we left the next week.
She told me the guy took the fudge, but complained about our rental car parking on the street, even though the car was not in front of his house or blocking traffic. He also told her the small pool was "not allowed" and he wanted it drained and put up the next day.
Since we were guests, I asked my FIL about the pool, and he said he preferred if it was drained and put up, so the neighbor wouldnt leave notes or complain. Apparently the HOA has rules that if a guest generates enough complaints, the home owner gets fined.
There is no way I would want to live next door to that guy. I dont like the HOA either, or the proximity of the homes to each other. The couple on the other side (whom my wife also brought some fudge) seemed down right delightful
My wife likes the idea of the house though, so we are at a crossroad. It would be a financial boon for us true, but the neighbor?
So are you saying the HOA board bases their fining on number of complaints and NOT on veracity after investigation? Wouldn't like that passive aggressive behavior from a board.
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