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No one is going to tell you they suck as neighbors. You are wise to research your desired area, but a drive through after 6 PM will give you a different take than a drive through at 10 AM. Walk through the area and get a feel for the sights, sounds and smells, but no guy who lets his dog bark all night in the back yard is going to tell you he is an inconsiderate neighbor.
Be careful waltzing onto private property uninvited. All the tough talk about bold people ignoring strange looks and barging up to homes uninvited....yeah, tell us about all the doors slammed in your face, not just the ones who invite you in for tea. Not everyone feels safe answering a door--some even become anxious and edgy. Business cards or laminated IDs mean absolutely nothing, and are common tactics in pre-meditated home invasions.
My advice is if you are going to do it anyway, ring the bell, do not knock. Step back 5-6 feet after you ring, keep facing the door and keep your hands at your side. You will find out why after a few houses.
Last edited by WVREDLEG; 01-10-2016 at 09:22 AM..
Reason: correct spelling
Every time we purchase a home I knock on the neighbors doors.
I always knock on doors before buying and have never been treated rudely. In fact, everyone has been quite friendly and willing to talk. And because of talking to a neighbor when I purchased a new build, I was able to avoid one of the problems they had had with the builder.
Quite honestly, if I had knocked on a few doors of a house I was interested in buying and had been treated rudely, it would have turned me off of that house.
Hello again, Im asking a lot of questions lately as about to put it a strong offer on a home...thank God for this forum!
So my question is, Ive driven around the neighborhood, the actual development or subdivision and the houses seem nice and quiet, not a busy street. But we have to check on quality of build and how tough the HoA laws are to live with... While driving around I havent seen a single soul outside that I could just stop and ask friendly questions...
now im thinking of just stopping by and knocking doors and ringing bells....would people think im too weird? has anyone ever done this and got stares? is it too intrusive?
thanks!
I wouldn't mind it, as a homeowner in an area. However, you may not get truthful answers, or objective answers.
If I lived next door, I might be concerned that if I said something negative, it'd get back to my neighbors that I interfered with a house sale. Also, people who have had trouble w/the HOA would have a negative opinion, wouldn't they?
Here's a thought, though. Many neighborhoods have a FACEBOOK of NEXTDOOR.COM page. If they have a FB page, you might be able to sneak a peak to see what ongoing concerns are, or what the people are like. Nextdoor.com is private, so unless you get a sign-on for a visitor status peak, you're out of the luck there. If the neighborhood has neither, that tells you that the neighborhood is not really a "group" and works together, whether against crime or other concerns.
so youre saying before i ring bells, better to try canvassing at all times of the day and weekends etc....
yes, i have, and we will get the home inspected...but the general quality of the homes depends on the contractor that built the home ....so thats why wanted to make sure people are happy.
Does the development have a webpage, neighborhood association, list serv? Have you looked on Nextdoor.com? Lots of ways to get info. Go to the local forum for your area and search for threads about the developer. My city-data local forum has tons of posts like that.
Also, are there any other homes in the development for sale right now? you could ask a realtor to show them to you.
Knocking on doors might be frustrating, but there are still people in this world who would let you in. Maybe if you carried the pre-approval for your mortgage. I'd step out on my front porch and answer your questions. If I like you I would let you in.
I would not share a single bad bit of information with anyone knocking on my door. For one thing, it's in my best interest for my neighbor to sell their house and sell it for as much as possible.
I wouldn't answer, but if I did, this is my thinking exactly. But some people are too stupid to see more than 2 days into the future. A smart person does not contribute to or cause their own neighborhood's negative reputation.
It hasn't been THAT cold in the northeast this year. It was in the 60s in Buffalo just a couple of weeks ago, and it's not like north easterners are not used to winter cold and don't leave their house.
park your car and get out and WALK the neighborhood--at several times during the day. See how loud things are at 7:30 am, about the time leaf blowers and lawn mowers are allowed to start. Walk around right before noon and beyond. Walk around in the evening--after work and dinner hours and LISTEN.
Where are the school bus stops? Any on your block? Is it right in front of your house? When is trash day? Are people prompt in putting out their cans and bringing them in, or does it take several days for them to bring them in?
Are the people on both sides and behind you possibly renters? Do any of them have dogs tied up instead of in a fenced back yard? Any trash lying around?
...
I pretty much agree with this advice.
My current townhouse is an end unit, and for some reason several couples have thought it was the development office. While I didn't really mind answering their questions, I felt it was intrusive to ring my door bell to ask such questions. Might not be a great way to start off neighborly relations.
Here are 2 other suggestions:
1. If you are in the neighborhood and people are out walking, to ask them for their POV doesn't seem overly presumptuous.
2. Go to the other half of City-Data and ask for feedback on the local forum.
I've knocked on the doors of multiple neighbors at all the properties I've owned before I've purchased them (and people have knocked on mine). It's not weird at all. It happens all the time. Just be mindful of the time of day, and be safe, of course.
With that said, you can get a copy of the HOA bylaws and review them before placing an offer. I personally would never own within an HOA again (I'd rather just live in a better area that doesn't need a HOA to tell people not to park boats in their front yard), but that's a personal decision.
I used to live in a development with and HOA. Soliciting was not allowed. Signs were posted. Didn't stop people. If you knocked on my door or rang the bell, you better be one of my neighbors, a repairman, USPS/UPS/FedEx, or a utility worker with ID. If not, I wouldn't answer the door for you. I lived in a community with that policy for a reason. And my experience living there would NOT be your experience.
I never answer my door unless I am expecting a friend or neighbor who has called or texted first. If I look out my peephole and do not recognize the person, I will not answer. I do have a no soliciting sign on my door as well.
This time of year, you will not see people outside in my neighborhood either...it's a whole -2 degrees today, so dogs get let out QUICKLY, mail is picked up as a quick drive by, pop out, and scoot back in. Garage doors open, cars slip in, and garage doors go down quickly - it's COLD!! The ONLY time you might catch people out is after a snowfall when everyone is out shoveling and snow blowing - then when the first finishes, he or she pops over to the neighbor to help them finish up.
Come spring, summer, and fall, it's a whole different story - everyone is outside then.
With that said....if a stranger stopped me and started asking all kinds of questions about my neighborhood, I would be quite suspicious and would give only very general, non-specific answers.
If someone saw me during the day doing something and asked me for feedback, I'd give it to them. I did that with our former home. They gave positive feedback, though the neighborhood did suck. I'm not mad at them because they were good neighbors and it was a nice ten years living next to them.
With our second home, we didn't bother to do any canvassing neighbors. We really didn't need to. We got a sense of the neighborhood and area before even looking at the houses.
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