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If there is a neighborhood you like and find a house there, how do you know how your near neighbors will be? It seems to me to be the luck of the draw. What if we buy a property and move in and the neighbors are from hell ? I guess we could build a tall fence. Is there a way to find out or call the Chamber to find out how that neighborhood is ? We are very quiet, private people and never bother our neighbors and I would expect the same...... I am not snobbish just want to be left alone with no hassles. I grew up in the sticks and I have respect for other people but there are those that are hard to live next to . Thank you
You visit often, driving around during daytime and night time. Walk the neighborhood. Look at crime stats and open records to see if a particular house or street gets a lot of calls. But yes, some people are just annoying and may fly under the radar until you actually live there.
You visit often, driving around during daytime and night time. Walk the neighborhood. Look at crime stats and open records to see if a particular house or street gets a lot of calls. But yes, some people are just annoying and may fly under the radar until you actually live there.
This ^^^^^^
Also, really LOOK at your potential neighborhood. If there are kids, are their toys scattered all over 24/7, or does someone pick them up at the end of the day? Is there lots of litter? Are many of the houses in bad repair? Is the grass cut regularly? Walks shoveled (if snow)? Do families have multiple dogs? Are any dogs running loose? Are the yards filled with rusty vehicles? Are porches filled with old appliances or other trash?
Do people seem to be going to work each day? Or if they are retired, are they active?
Large groups of people sitting and smoking/drinking on porches all day are a bad sign.
In general, a neighborhood where the lots are clean and the houses kept in good repair will be a better bet. There may still be problems, but working people who maintain their yards are often too busy to bother you, and if you are quiet and don't do anything to bother them, there will likely be peace.
If there is a neighborhood you like and find a house there, how do you know how your near neighbors will be? It seems to me to be the luck of the draw. What if we buy a property and move in and the neighbors are from hell ? I guess we could build a tall fence. Is there a way to find out or call the Chamber to find out how that neighborhood is ? We are very quiet, private people and never bother our neighbors and I would expect the same...... I am not snobbish just want to be left alone with no hassles. I grew up in the sticks and I have respect for other people but there are those that are hard to live next to . Thank you
See if the new county's website has a feature where you can look up the neighborhood on a GIS map. This should give you owner's names of properties. You can then run those names on a site like blackbookonline.info. Check county court records for these names. This won't help if a property is rented, but at least you'll have access to who owns what.
This will take some time, but can be well worth it. I wish we'd had this available when we bought our current residence!
Also, really LOOK at your potential neighborhood. If there are kids, are their toys scattered all over 24/7, or does someone pick them up at the end of the day? Is there lots of litter? Are many of the houses in bad repair? Is the grass cut regularly? Walks shoveled (if snow)? Do families have multiple dogs? Are any dogs running loose? Are the yards filled with rusty vehicles? Are porches filled with old appliances or other trash?
Do people seem to be going to work each day? Or if they are retired, are they active?
Large groups of people sitting and smoking/drinking on porches all day are a bad sign.
In general, a neighborhood where the lots are clean and the houses kept in good repair will be a better bet. There may still be problems, but working people who maintain their yards are often too busy to bother you, and if you are quiet and don't do anything to bother them, there will likely be peace.
The only way to guarantee good neighbors is to not have them. That means large rural properties. If you can't do that then too bad.
This is not foolproof either. The only time we ever had trouble with our neighbors was in the country. We had true nut cases on either side of us. Even when one nutcase moved, another one moved it.
Other than this place, we have lived in regular neighborhoods and never had any trouble with anyone. If you think about it, if someone is a recluse, or otherwise socially unacceptable, are they going to go to a densely populated setting, or one with fewer people?
It seems to me that there are observable things to look for when moving into a neighborhood.
Do the homeowners take care of their property the way you would take care of yours?
Are there too many cars/boats/4 wheelers parked at a house?
Are there renters, or just homeowners?
Are a lot of houses for sale?
Are the residents in the same stage of life as your family? If you are an empty nester, maybe you don't want to listen to basketballs bouncing all day long.
We have used these observations successfully and been very happy.
Even if you check out a new neighborhood really well, you cannot guarantee that the neighbors who are there when you move in will stay there. When I bought my house, I had a little old lady directly behind me and one next to me. The one behind me died, and her son sold the house to the local slumlord rather than have to do all the deferred maintenance to get a higher price. The little old lady next to me also died a few years later; fortunately her grand-niece bought the house and is a very quiet neighbor. I dread what will happen when the little old lady across from me dies (she's 89), as she has no immediate relatives and no-one in her extended family who would want to live in her house. Hopefully it won't become a rental as well.
Wow,I was looking at properties in FL but I may rethink now. Curious to know where you live so I can avoid that area.
Please, look elsewhere. Try Alaska.
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Neighbors
