Well you may not need to love your neighbor but so you like your neighbor? Do you know them?  Next question, when you where wanting to buy your home did you even think about what your neighbors would be like?

One of my clients purchased a home 6 months ago and are now wanting to sell their home and purchase another. Why? Because they didn’t like their neighbor.  This is not the first I’ve heard of this and probably won’t be the last. It raised some concern for me because buying a home is a huge financial decision.

How could this be avoided?  I don’t think that when we are out looking for a house we put the neighbor high on our list of “make it or break it” when deciding on the home.  We are looking more on the actual house (obviously), then the yard, the neighbor“hood”, schools, location, etc.  We don’t necessarily let a neighbor decide if this home is perfect for us.  Well, I think we should add “interviewing the neighbors” to our house hunting checklist.

Instead of avoiding contact with neighbors when we are looking at a house, we should engage ourselves, if we see a neighbor, say “hi”, try to strike up a brief conversation.  Ask them about the neighborhood,  the schools, etc.  If they are unresponsive, rude or just not approachable, maybe you should take that as a warning. But also make sure to try again if you are serious about buying the house.

I have always suggested that it is smart to visit the home your interested in during different times of the day, drive around the neighborhood, sit out on the street, listen to the surrounding noises.  When you’re viewing the house, take the time to sit out on the back patio and listen again to the noises around you.  Whenever you see a neighbor, again make sure to say “hi” and try to strike up a brief conversation.

Buying a home is a big possibly life long decision.  You don’t want to be stuck in a neighborhood and/or having a neighbor that will make you miserable and or uncomfortable in your own home.

Something to chew on~

Ray Williams

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